(Bloomberg) – Apple Inc. is rushing to build a host of software and services for its upcoming mixed reality headset, trying to win over potentially wary consumers with apps that use the device’s new 3D interface.
Those offerings will include games, fitness and collaboration tools, new versions of Apple’s existing iPad features, and services for watching sports, according to people familiar with the matter. The headset, priced at around $3,000, will be unveiled at an event in June and will go on sale in a few months.
Apple’s hardware offerings have long depended on having a wide variety of software—the mantra of the Steve Jobs era epitomized “There’s an app for it.” But there may be more pressure on mixed reality headsets, a technology unfamiliar to many consumers and prohibitively expensive to start with. Apple will have to tell the world why everyone needs such a device and how to use it.
Much of this has to do with adapting the iPad app for new headsets that include virtual and augmented reality. Users will be able to access millions of existing third-party apps through a new 3D interface as plans remain under wraps, according to people who asked not to be named.
The push will include an optimized version of the Safari web browser and Apple’s Calendar, Contacts, Files, Home Control, Mail, Maps, Messages, Notes, Photos, and Reminders services, as well as the Music, News, Stocks, and Weather apps. There will also be a version of the FaceTime conferencing service and an Apple TV app. These features are similar to those of the iPad.
In addition to the main app, the company is also working on a headphone version of Apple Books that will allow users to read in virtual reality. The company is also testing a camera app that can take pictures with the headset. On the health front, the app will help users meditate with soothing graphics, sounds, and voice-overs.
Another highlight for the device could be that Apple is also working on a headset version of its Fitness+ service that allows users to work out while watching a trainer in virtual reality. Meta Platforms Inc., the market leader in VR headsets, is also trying to make exercise part of its offerings.
Apple is working on a headset version of its Freeform collaboration app, which it sees as the product’s main selling point. The service, which launched on other devices from the company last year, allows users to simultaneously work on a virtual whiteboard in mixed reality.
In the meantime, FaceTime will generate 3D versions of users in virtual conference rooms, according to Bloomberg. The idea is for the participants to feel like they are talking together in the same place – the goal of the VR goggles for a while. Meta is pursuing a similar goal with its Quest headset, but so far it’s not a must-have feature for most consumers.
The purpose of Apple headphones is not only to be a niche product. Existing mixed reality models haven’t generated much interest, and they lack the killer app that made the iPhone so popular.
Apple will demonstrate that headsets are a compelling new way to create and consume content. The hope is to create a platform that can eventually replace the iPhone, although that is still a long way off.
Engaging app developers is key to this mission, as highlighted by Apple’s choice of location to launch the headset: WWDC. Some of the company’s engineers were working 80-hour weeks ahead of the June 5 launch.
One advantage of the headset is the immersive way to watch sports. The company already offers Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball games on Apple TV+, but wants to make the experience even richer. In 2020, Apple acquired Southern California-based NextVR to support this effort.
Immersive video will also extend to the TV app, where the company plans to allow users to watch videos in various virtual environments such as the desert or the sky.
Apple aims to position headphones as devices that get the job done. The platform will support Pages word processing, Numbers spreadsheet and Keynote slideshow apps, as well as iMovie and GarageBand for video and music production.
Games will also be a central part of the device’s appeal. This is a big departure from Apple’s position early on in product development when it wasn’t going to focus on this category.
Over the course of several months, the company has been working with several developers to help them update their existing mixed reality software. The time between device announcement and launch will give other developers time to optimize their apps for the new platform.
A key part of the product will be a watch face – like the digital crown on an Apple Watch – that will allow the wearer to switch between virtual and augmented reality. In VR, users will be completely immersed in their applications. When AR is enabled, they will see the real world around them just like in ARKit on iPhone and iPad.
The device will be able to run multiple apps at the same time while floating in the mixed reality interface. Like other headsets, the product remembers where you are while using apps. For example, if the user launches a web browser from the kitchen, then leaves for another room and returns, the browser will reappear.
Many iPad apps in the App Store will be able to launch automatically or with a little tweak on the headset. The operating system of the device, xrOS, is based on the iOS platform, which lays the foundation for interoperability. It’s part of Apple’s broader push to make apps run smoother on its hardware, including Macs, iPhones, and iPads.
Owners will be able to control the headset with their eyes and hand gestures. It determines where people are looking and users can then pinch their fingers to select items and navigate menus. The device will have a virtual air keyboard but can also be connected to a real keyboard for better performance.
The headset’s home screen will be similar to the iPad’s home screen and offer a familiar control center for adjusting Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and volume levels. Like the iPad, it will also have a biometric system to unlock the device. But it will rely on users’ eye scans rather than faces or fingerprints.
Post time: Apr-21-2023