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Apple shows VR headset to board, signalling progress on project that will push iPhone maker into new product category

  • Apple showed off the headset that could combine elements of virtual and augmented reality, after recently ramping up development of its dedicated rOS
  • The device could help expand the nascent industry currently dominated by Facebook owner Meta and its Oculus products

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A concept design for an Apple virtual reality headset by Antonio De Rosa. Apple recently showed its headset to its board in a sign that the project is making progress. Photo: Handout
Bloomberg
Apple Inc executives previewed its upcoming mixed-reality headset to the company’s board last week, indicating that development of the device has reached an advanced stage, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company’s board, made up of eight independent directors and Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook, convenes at least four times a year. A version of the device was demonstrated to the directors during the latest gathering, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the meeting was private.

In recent weeks, Apple has also ramped up development of rOS – short for reality operating system – the software that will run on the headset, according to other people familiar with the work. That progress, coupled with the board presentation, suggests that the product’s debut could potentially come within the next several months.

The headset, which combines elements of virtual and augmented reality, is Apple’s next big bet. It represents the company’s first major new product category since the Apple Watch in 2015 and would vault the tech giant into a still-nascent industry – one currently dominated by Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. Apple is seeking new ways to expand its devices business, which makes up about 80 per cent of annual sales.

Apple has aimed to unveil the headset as early as the end of this year or sometime next year, with a consumer release planned for 2023. It targeted an introduction at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, but challenges related to content and overheating have led to potential delays, Bloomberg has reported. The company declined to comment on plans for the headset.

Apple’s sales have been soaring, hitting record levels in recent quarters. But supply-chain snags and concerns about slowing consumer spending have weighed on its stock. The shares are down about 23 per cent this year – part of a broader tech slump – including a 2.6 per cent dip on Thursday.

The iPhone maker’s board has typically been the first group outside of Apple’s regular employees to see future products. Executives demonstrated the Siri voice assistant to the Apple board several weeks before its public introduction in 2011, around the time that Steve Jobs resigned as CEO.

The headset features advanced processors – on par with those in Apple’s latest Macs – as well as ultra-high-resolution screens. Though the first model will offer both VR and AR, the company is also working on stand-alone AR glasses, code-named N421, for release later this decade. Unlike VR, augmented reality overlays digital information and images on top of the real world.

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