According to The Information, Apple's AR/VR headset is rumored to be built to depend on another device and may need to transfer more CPU-heavy tasks to a connected iPhone/Mac. Apple is working on a custom chip to make the headset. This SoC will intentionally lack capabilities that are found in Apple's other processors.
While the new chip reportedly doesnt have Apples neural engine, which handles AI and machine learning, its reportedly designed to be better at wirelessly sending and receiving data, and compressing/decompressing video than traditional chips, which makes sense if the headset is designed to stream data from another device rather than doing the heavy processing itself.
An uncomplicated SoC for an augmented battery
Informations sources claim that the chip is designed to be as efficient as possible in order to maximize battery life. This can be achieved by either removing any unused chips or streaming data from another device. For wearable technology, like a watch or set of glasses, theres always been a delicate balance between battery life and performance/capability. Although the original Apple Watch was able to delegate many tasks to a connected iPhone (though Apple eventually managed to make its processor powerful enough for many of these tasks), it wasn't able to do all.
The idea that Apple's headset relies on a separate device might sound familiar. This 2020 Bloomberg report mentions that previous versions of the headset were intended to work with a separate stationary hub. In prototype form, the headset looked like a small Mac until Jony Ive suggested that the headset should be independent. Tim Cook agreed with his chief design officer.
Although Ive resigned from Apple, it doesn't mean Apple is going back to a bulky, stationary hub. The Information reports that the AR/VR headset still contains its own CPU and GPU. This suggests that it could communicate with a tablet or phone, or work in a simple stand-alone mode. Apple's Apple Watch can perform basic tasks even in low-battery mode.
Big picture thinking
The Information reports that the device will feature an unusually large image sensor. This is similar to a headset lens. It has also been reported by the Information that it was difficult to make. Although it has not been seen in any previous leaks, the publication claims that it is designed to capture high resolution image data from the environment of a user for AR. This could prove to be useful considering that the headset can both be used as an AR and VR device. It is difficult to do VR without completely blocking the user's view and it is difficult to do AR without the user seeing the outside world. The image sensor could provide a view of users surroundings from the headset, similar to Oculus passthrough, but at a higher quality.
Rumours that Apple is working on an Augmented Reality device are not new. However, they have been around for years. Ming-Chi Kuo, a noted analyst, predicted that we would see a helmet-type headset by 2022. However, The Information claims that the custom chips required for the headset will not be available for mass production for at most one year. Even if that's true, it would take a long time to ship a product by 2022. However, this could still be possible if the first version of the headset is targeted at developers or very few early adopters. Kuo predicts that the new, sleeker glasses model will be available in 2023. The Information claims this could happen as early as 2023. The glasses device, unlike the helmet-type headset is only rumored to be for AR.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been enthusiastic about AR since the beginning. He believes it will revolutionize the way we work, play and connect, as well as allow us to have better conversations. We don't know what AR/VR features the company is planning to implement. It is difficult to know if the device that requires processing to be offloaded onto another device is just a quirk in early models or a design decision that will last for many years.
