Apple’s latest rental spots for an impending AR/VR headset

Apple has hired the former head of communications for Meta’s augmented reality division, Andrea Schubert, according to Mark Gurman’s Bloomberg Power On newsletter.

A company like Apple will naturally attract notable talent on a regular basis, but this particular hire is of interest. It suggests that Schubert may have a major hand in launching Apple’s rumored augmented and virtual reality headsets.

The headset is expected to launch in 2022, though since it’s part of an entirely new line, there’s no good historical guide as to when it might appear. Your best bets are in June at Apple WWDC and then in September, along with the next-generation iPhones.

Either outcome gives Schubert and the team a good half year to work on strategy for this potentially impactful release. Or to “get your ducks in a row,” as Gurman puts it.

Last month, Gurman, again in his Power On newsletter, suggested that Apple plans to launch the headphones in 2022. Right now, though, there are two distinct identities it could adopt.

Apple’s first headphones may primarily be a set of smart glasses, something that doesn’t completely obscure your normal vision. Or it could be a full VR headset, more like the Oculus Quest 2.

To conclude that hiring the Meta/Facebook group suggests that the latter is the obvious route may be an overstatement. However, there are proven examples of success stories of the latter, while smart glasses to date have never caught on. That Google Glass from 2013 is still the most notable example of the form isn’t a great sign.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo claims that the headphones will have a built-in processor based on Apple’s M1 architecture, as seen in Apple’s MacBooks. And that it will use a pair of 4K resolution OLED screens, one for each eye. Therefore, augmented reality apps will use cameras to paste external elements into view, rather than overlay AR objects onto your normal view.

This VR-based approach is likely to allow for compatibility with a good selection of existing iOS apps, particularly Apple Arcade games that are already optimized for use with a gamepad, rather than just a touchscreen. That mat proves important in the early months of headphones, when Apple’s bespoke headset apps and gaming ports may be in short supply on the floor.