Apple CEO Tim Cook hints at rumoured AR/VR headset in interview

While Apple doesn’t make a habit of commenting about future products, CEO Tim Cook in an interview with China Daily gave a strong hint the company is working on an AR/VR headset.

The rumours about an Apple augmented reality and virtual reality device have been around for years and refuse to go away.

Reports suggest the Apple headset would combine augmented reality with virtual reality.

In his interview with China Daily, Cook said he was excited about the opportunities with augmented reality.

 “I am incredibly excited about AR as you might know, and the critical thing to any technology including AR is putting humanity at the centre of it,” Cook told the China Daily. “And that is what we focus on every day.

“Right now, as an example, we have over 14,000 ARKit apps in the App Store, which provide AR experiences for millions of people around the world.

“I think despite that, we’re still in the very early innings of how this technology will evolve.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities we’ve seen in this space and sort of stay tuned and you’ll see what we have to offer.”

3D renders by Antonio DeRosa have also been doing the rounds based on reports and patent filings.

These images show a visor that follows the curve of the users face with an adjustable band with similarities to the Apple Watch band design and the AirPods Max headphone headband.

A recent patent filing from Apple called “Head Mounted Display Unit with Adaptable Facial Interface” also referred to advanced eye tracking and adjustable lenses.

The patent filing, obtained by Mac rumours, also describes a 3D document editing system with an image of a person using a keyboard so the headset could be used as a virtual monitor.

The headset will reportedly include two 4K micro-OLED displays and 15 camera modules to track user and hand movements.

The latest reports indicate Apple may unveil a VR headset in January 2023.