Apple VR Archives - Gizmochina

Apple AR Glasses Reportedly Put On Hold Due To Technical Issues

Jeet — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 05:25:38 +0000

Apple has been working on expanding its lineup of hardware portfolio with the launch of a couple of new devices aiming to make the company future-proof. The technology giant has been working on VR/AR headsets and AR Glasses.

Apple AR Glasses, which is a different product from the mixed reality or AR/VR headset that the company is planning to launch later this year, has reportedly been delayed for launch yet again.

As per the latest report, the Apple AR Glasses have been put on hold or postponed indefinitely due to technical issues. Earlier, the device was set to debut this year but was postponed to 2024 or 2025, and now it appears to have been put on hold without any release timeline.

Apple isn’t the only one working on AR Glasses or similar hardware. Google, which started all these with Google Glasses, is working on a new device under Project Iris, while Meta is working on Nazare, both of which are expected to debut in 2024.

While the AR Glasses-type products won’t be ready to wear full-time for users, companies like Google and Meta have taken an alternate approach. Google says that it would begin testing prototypes while Meta‘s Nazare, Artemis, and Hypernova products will initially be given only to developers. This buys the company enough time to work on the device that users can use for an extended period of time without any side effects.

Apple’s AR/VR or Mixed Reality Headset is set to debut with a price tag of around $3,000 and packing desktop-like M2 chip. However, the company is expected to launch a relatively cheaper model in 2024 or 2025 with a starting price closer to around $1,500, which will compete against the products like Meta Quest Pro.

Apple gives $180K bonuses to top employees so they don’t leave for Meta

Sudhanshu — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 14:45:24 +0000

Competition in silicon valley is getting tough with tech giants scrambling to gain and retain talented employees. In its latest effort to achieve the same, Apple has issued unusual and significant stock bonuses to some of its employees.

According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is providing some hefty bonuses to select engineers in order to prevent them from leaving for competitor companies like Meta (formerly known as Facebook). According to the report, select engineers from silicon design, hardware, and software development, and operations were informed that they would be receiving a stock bonus which ranged from $50000 to $180,000.

Most engineers received stock worth $80,000 to $120,000, but the bonus isn’t a no-strings-attached reward as it comes in the form of restricted stock units that are set to vest over the course of four years provided the employees stay with Apple and do not take jobs at other companies.

The Bloomberg report further reads that “The payouts aren’t part of normal Apple compensation packages, which include a base salary, stock units and a cash bonus. Apple sometimes awards additional cash bonuses to employees, but the size of the latest stock grants were atypical and surprisingly timed, the people said. They were given to about 10% to 20% of engineers in applicable divisions.”

The Cupertino company has informed its managers that these bonuses could be provided to engineers as a bonus payout for high performance. After losing more than 100 employees to Meta in the last few months, the move comes as a preventative measure to keep the tech giant from conceding any more ground to Meta ahead of their AR headset launch.

Apple hardware chief Dan Riccio is now focusing on the company’s AR/VR device

Jeet — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 05:59:34 +0000

Apple recently announced that its longtime hardware engineering chief Dan Riccio will be stepping down to focus on a “new project” within the company. While the company has not revealed what that project is, a new report claims that it is the company’s upcoming augmented reality, virtual reality, or mixed reality headset.

Currently, Mike Rockwell is overseeing the development of an AR headset at Apple but things don’t seem to be going well. With Dan Riccio into the mix, Rockwell will handle the day-to-day work on the project while Riccio will have oversight over the efforts.

Riccio has already handed over top-level management of the Apple iPhone to John Ternus, who will also be the new head of hardware engineering. It has also been confirmed that Johny Srouji will handle the development of a new camera and display technology. He is the same executive that headed the design and engineering of Apple Silicon.

As per the reports, Apple is working on an ultra-high-end 8K VR headset that could possibly cost around $3,000. This is surprising given that so far, the company’s work has been on AR and not VR. The company has been building ARKit, which is a developer API enabling the creation of AR experiences using cameras and sensors of iPhones and iPads.

Based on the information available so far, it seems that the upcoming AR/VR device from Apple will primarily be focusing on the developers or creators and not the mass adoption. We expect to know more about this product in the coming months.