Reality Pro: 6 facts about Apple’s mixed reality headset

In a few days the Worldwide Developer Conference will be held in California. For the occasion, Apple has invited many app creators but also journalists specializing in video games. And precisely, the manufacturer could present during the event its very first mixed reality headset, giving pride of place to gaming. For several months, rumors about him have followed one another.

Among these, we can cite in particular that of its release date: if the wearable should indeed see the light of day on June 5, it would not however be marketed before the end of 2023 or even the following year. To learn more about the device, let’s take stock of everything we know today – to be considered with tweezers until D-Day, of course.

1 – It will be (really) expensive

To begin with, we can assume without getting too wet that the Reality Pro will be particularly expensive. The analysts who have looked into his case have not stopped outbidding since the first indications concerning him, until arriving at a consensus of approximately three thousand dollars. A sum to which it will certainly be necessary to add a few hundred euros, because Apple is used to selling its products much more expensively in Europe – without this ever really being justified, however.

For comparison, the Meta Quest Pro, flagship of the moment, costs “only” 1,199.99 euros in metropolitan France, for its basic version. But as we will see a little below, its technical sheet has nothing to do with that of the Reality Pro, which should be much more efficient.

2 – He will be powerful

Efficient, and for good reason: the Reality Pro will be powered by a proprietary processor, from the Apple silicon range whose reputation is second to none. This has been equipping Macs since the end of 2020 and it is its M2 generation that will integrate the virtual reality headset. Specifically, the motherboard in question would be doubled for maximum velocity. A rather surprising choice, because the designer previously tended to go to the next level in this case (as with the M2 Pro).

The amount of RAM that will be associated remains unclear to this day, however it reaches up to twenty-four gigabytes on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air equipped with the M2 chip. A good indicator of what Apple may be preparing for its eyewear. All you have to do is cross your fingers so that no overheating problem spoils the daily experience.

3 – Its features

Now let’s move on to the different assets of the Reality Pro operating system. Sources as to his name still diverge today, but clear mentions to ros, xrOS And realityOS have already been seen at Apple. These were pieces of code taken from the company’s already published platforms or trademark (intellectual property) filings abroad, black and white proof of the seriousness of this information.

An iPhone in front of your eyes

What the rumors about the Reality Pro tell us about its apps is above all that many of them will be native. Apple should thus deliver the device with several services that are already found on its iPhone, such as Messages or FaceTime but also Books, Contacts, Reminders, the proprietary Safari browser and TV.

The headset will then behave not like a simple relay of the mobile like the first Apple Watch, but rather like an independent and totally autonomous interface. An iPhone may be needed to associate the device with an existing iCloud account, but that’s it. With this, an app dedicated to well-being would also be included, in particular offering advice for meditation.

Place for games

Of course, it is impossible not to also mention the case of video games. Phil Schiller, current vice-president in charge of marketing at Apple, would have done his best to make this theme the flagship component of Reality Pro. It must be said that everything is already ready, or almost: on the one hand Apple Arcade has a catalog of more than two hundred titles accessible unlimited for 4.99 euros per month, including AR productions, and on the other contracts would have been signed with reputable studios. We do not yet know what licenses are in preparation, but we are talking about leading publishers here. Hollywood would also be in the loop, for immersive films (spoiler: this value proposition has never taken off with the competition).

The Reality Pro will be entitled to its App Store

In a similar vein, Apple’s mixed reality headset will take inspiration from existing App Stores for Mac, iPad, Apple TV and iPhone to create its own. Third-party developers will join the firm with three trillion dollars of capitalization with their own services, the latter puncturing the passage of 15 to 30% commission on each in-app purchase.

4 – An extraordinary screen

Very recently, an insider also learned that the screen offered by the Reality Pro will probably be the best on the market. This in order to stand out from the competition on the one hand, but also to suit augmented reality applications which require very sharp image quality. The brightness would then reach five thousand nits, an absolute record, while the definition would offer 4K for each eye. As we know that display is what costs the most for subcontractors, we can easily understand the price positioning here.

5 – Design by Jony Ive

For our fifth point, let’s talk about design. In all likelihood, Jony Ive was part of the team in charge of defining the format of Apple’s headphones – before finally stopping his collaboration with Tim Cook’s group after creating his own communication agency. Ive is the protagonist behind the guidelines of the first iPod, the first iPhone, the first iPad, the first iMac and the first AirPods. Just that.

At his side, the Reality Pro could also have counted on the know-how of Jeff Williams, currently COO of Apple and perhaps a candidate for the succession of Tim Cook. Williams is in charge of human interface group, the chief design department of the American company. It is also this leader who manages the production, with a model also from the imagination of Paul Meade, a former Microsoft employee. Redmond, we remind you, still sells the HoloLens 2. The latter, on the other hand, is aimed primarily at professionals, who clearly do not seem to be the main target of the Reality Pro.

6 – Maximum autonomy

To conclude this chapter, let’s now look at the endurance of the Reality Pro. There too the designers will have been put to the test, Ive having particularly advised to create a light machine that is pleasant to wear for long minutes. And it’s done: the helmet battery will not be glued to the frame, but deported. This would be more exactly installed around the waist of the user, and connected to the eyewear by a cable, one of the plugs of which would be proprietary and magnetic – but different from the MagSafe 3.

The objective here would be twofold. On the one hand, it is therefore for the comfort of consumers that Apple has thought of reducing the pressure on the neck. But not only, since the “belt” from which the energy comes could in fact accommodate several batteries to last a very long time. Each of them offering a two-hour battery life, which is roughly what the Meta Quest Pro also offers. We do not know the price of these accessories per unit, but the format would more or less resemble that of the MagSafe external battery compatible with the iPhone.