Apple Lays Out More Pieces of Its Future AR Headset Puzzle
Anyone following Apple's latest developer conference for news on its long-expected AR/VR headset was bound to be disappointed. The event had news about Macs, iPads, iPhones, Apple Watch, the smart home and even cars, but AR was barely mentioned.
After reports of delays, Apple may not end up releasing this headset until 2023. That could mean another year of waiting… or it could mean an event later this year previewing what's to come. Right now we're left with a lot of unknowns, but that doesn't mean there weren't clues and new software that seem like they'll be very useful for a headset to come.
Apple already has a well-developed set of AR tools for iPhones and iPads, and depth-sensing lidar scanners that can do the sorts of real world "meshing" that VR and AR headsets need to overlay virtual objects convincingly. There is a set of tools that recognizes text and objects from camera feeds, much like Google Lens. The Apple Watch even has some accessibility-focused gesture recognition.
What WWDC 2022 showed off were a handful of refinements that, the more I think about them, seem aimed at laying down additional groundwork before a headset arrives.
FaceTime and Messages: tools for Apple's metaverse?
As companies have pivoted to metaverse messaging over the last year, it's generally been code for rethinking massively social cross-platform interactions. "Social" is a weird thing for Apple, which isn't a social network-focused company like Meta or Snap or Niantic.
Apple does have FaceTime and Messages, which form a proprietary network across Apple's devices that could be the glue to connect with people on headsets. Apple's SharePlay framework, which was introduced in 2021's iOS 15, is trying to collaboration and watching/playing content with others feel more instant. SharePlay's reach has expanded in iOS 16. A lot of it looks like the sort of adhesive that Apple's metaverse ambitions need.
Apple already has Memoji avatars, but Apple has also been increasingly adding sharing tools that link apps and collaborative content through Messages and FaceTime. Those added features in iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and MacOS Ventura could make sharing things easier, but on a headset they could be essential shortcuts for connecting quickly with others. Meta's VR headsets lean on friends and party-based connections via Messenger for social; Apple could be heading down the same path. SharePlay coming to Game Center, Apple's overlooked social gaming hub, seems like a similarly useful tool for future cross-play experiences.
2022-06-13 07:00:01
