A recent Bloomberg report has revealed that US tech giant, Apple could launch a tech-loaded VR-AR headset within a year. The report says that the virtual reality and augmented reality headset may actually be the precursor of more applications using AR glasses. 
Apple has been a leader in research and development relating to AR and VR technology for several years, even CEO, Tim Cook had stated that augmented reality was promising.
The headset, which is expected to be quite expensive, could usher in a new way of producing smartphones using augmented reality glasses. 2022 is the expected year of release of the headset by Apple and it will square up against other VR headsets like Facebook’s Oculus and PlayStation VR, from Sony.
The VR-AR headset is a culmination of active research and development in the area by Apple for several years, as the company deployed components of VR and AR devices and software. Last year the LiDAR technology was deployed in the sensor of the iPhone 12 Pro, making the device to be more versatile and in performing augmented reality activities.
The technology used for the VR headset could be scaled up and adjusted so that Apple could indeed come up with thinner and premium looking smart glasses touted to replace the iPhone within the decade.
The new VR-AR headset is primarily a virtual reality gadget, with a remarkable 3D digital environment on display, which enables the user to carry out any task from watching a video to playing his favorite game, as well as a number of other tasks. However, the VR=AR headset may have much limited AR capability, as this is an area of continuing research, as they inch towards firming up the technology for more revolutionary applications.
The headset, like the existing stuff of this nature, will have a battery that powers its operations and does not require a console, unlike Sony’s PlayStation equivalent headset, PSVR. However, it is projected that the price of the VR-AR headset from Apple will be much higher than that of its current competitors.
From the Bloomberg report, there could be single sales of the device daily at its various retail locations, as a strategy to ramp up the cost and demand of the flagship product from Apple. It is also seen in some quarters as a gamble by Apple into the uncharted territory of augmented reality, an area that is still in development. The design of the headset may after all, just be a prototype of a more enduring device or gadget using smart AR glass technology.
The risk of such release of seemingly revolutionary products is the possibility of it turning to a flop. A clear case is the Google glass product, launched in 2013 but collapsed two years later.
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