Some reliable rumors indicate Samsung.
The current field of headsets is still full of iteration and innovation, but trend of Instagram filters and the absurdly popular Pokemon Go are great examples of ways smartphone s have organically adopted AR tech into their lives. Virtual Reality, which requires wearing a full screen, hasn't captured the public as successfully as AR, mostly due to its high entry costs.
It appears, based on a Bloomberg story, that Apple plans to offer its take on AR and VR with its first headset soon. The story cites "people familiar with [Apple's] plans" but the volume and specificity of details make it easy to believe these plans are much more than rumors. Apple's iPhones have leaned heavily on AR tech for a majority of their new features, but prior to now, the company hasn't announced any significant VR investments. However, it's worth noting that one of the company's top executives recently took the reigns of its AR/VR engineering team and that division has now blossomed to over 1,000 employees.
Apple's Take on a VR/AR Headset
Regardless of the various reports suggesting an eventual VR golden age, the technology has gotten off to a disappointingly slow start. Part of the problem is the headsets themselves tend to be expensive, but the biggest issue is their reliance on high-end PCs or video game consoles to provide an enjoyable experience. Products like Samsung Gear offer a more rudimentary VR experience intended for use with smartphones, but the "real" VR devices, like those from Oculus and HTC, require connecting to a powerful, expensive PC.
Apple's headset will allegedly be powerful and portable. The device will connect wirelessly to a nearby box which does most of the heavy lifting for processing images. The headset will have tracking hardware (accelerometers, gyroscopes, and cameras at minimum) so it won't require base stations to keep track of a 's position. The Oculus Quest VR headset has led the way in of powerful, mobile VR, but Apple is a company with much more experience building accessible technology for the mass market. Rather than release a cumbersome device with lots of wires, expect Apple's headset to be more similar to a pair of glasses or a minimalist, wearable screen.
The reports mention a full headset may not show up until late 2021, but Apple's AR/VR initiative will first bear fruit in the form of a new iPad Pro in "the first half of 2020". It will allegedly feature a camera capable of capturing and recreating an entire 3D space. This technology will also exist as a feature on the company's inevitable 5G phone, which is also expected later in 2020. Therefore, if Apple is indeed expanding its lineup of wearable tech to include AR/VR, the next iPad could be our first peek at this exciting future.
Source: Bloomberg