Reports of an augmented reality headset from Apple have been doing the rounds for a couple of years. But it continues to remain unclear as to when the company is expected to make the official announcement. The first rumours started off in 2017 and it was reported that the company would reveal the device sometime in 2020. The reports further mentioned that Apple was testing a prototype internally with a system-in-package that was similar to the Apple Watch Series 1 chip. There were also reports that the device would run on the new rOS operating system that was based on iOS.
But then it was later reported that the company was developing augmented reality glasses which will have 3D cameras and would depend on the iPhone to function. That year, Apple had introduced the ARKit API with the iOS 11 that had helped to improve the augmented reality technology for the iOS apps. In 2018, Apple had started to discuss with the companies to build components for the VR and AR devices including the EMagin that produces the OLED Display components for such kinds of headsets.
Ming Cho Kuo a popular Apple analyst said that the company had plans to start the mass production of its first augmented reality headset between 2019 and 2020. He had then also warned that the plans could also face a change due to any design changes or supply issues. Later in 2019, references were found in the iOS code that indicated towards the rumours about Apple working on a new AR device. It has got a new internal system known as the StarBoard which is responsible for managing and rendering the AR images on the iPhone which are then processed in the AR headset.
Apple has also been filing patents related to the device that have the ability to provide 3D virtual views of the user’s environment that is augmented with virtual content.
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