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New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3,000 price tag

ManaByte

Member
New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3,000 price tag | Ars Technica

Among the new revelations is that the new headset will allegedly feature two 8K screens (one for each eye) and that Apple has considered a steep $3,000 price point.

The headset (which the report says is codenamed N301) will be able to display rich 3D graphics at that resolution, the report says, thanks to an ultrafast M1 chip successor and because Apple will liberally use an already-known VR technique that involves using eye-tracking to render objects in the user's periphery at a lower fidelity than what the user is focusing on.

At least one version of the headset that Apple is testing includes more than a dozen cameras used for everything from tracking hand movement to delivering a live feed of the space around the user for mixed and augmented reality experiences, instead of just fully immersive VR ones.

The headset also features a lidar sensor, which Apple included in some recent iPhone and iPad models. Lidar scans the space in front of the sensor to quickly generate a 3D map for the placement of 3D objects, plus accurate shadows, occlusion, and more.

8K for each eye? Holy shit if true.
 

ManaByte

Member
$3,000 lol what?
GIF by Mashable
 

gamer82

Member
You have to love apple and their pricing. They have no shame lol £3000 to play mobile games .

I left apple a year ago their customer support has been absyml that last few years .

Apple TV is my limit now and this sort of pricing just shows they are just greedy definitely not for every day consumer.

£500 for bulky over ear headphones is bad enough.
 
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AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
You can laugh about the price tag, but it's Apple. People will absolutely eat this shit up on the name alone. There are people who pride themselves in being Apple product whores and replacing their iPhone / iPad every single time a new one comes out.

Gentle reminder that Apple sell wheels you can stick onto your Mac for $700.
 

gamer82

Member
You can laugh about the price tag, but it's Apple. People will absolutely eat this shit up on the name alone. There are people who pride themselves in being Apple product whores and replacing their iPhone / iPad every single time a new one comes out.

Gentle reminder that Apple sell wheels you can stick onto your Mac for $700.
It's madness ,but if you have the money to waste on such things then this is the problem. On day they may just go to far and people will wake up. You have to wonder if Steve Jobs was still around would he have sold wheels for $700
 
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Nobody reading the article or the op, as usual.

8k per eye will not be driven at full resolution, but it is rumored to have eye-tracking, so they can use foveated rendering and only render at high res and fidelity what you're actively looking at (which is just very a small portion of the screen). 8k will minimize screen-door (which is already near-invisible on something that's 299) and make static experiences really mind-blowing.

I hope they focus on FOV too.

Anyway I don't think we'll see Apple release a VR headset this year. And not even in 2022. Who knows though.
 
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iconmaster

Banned
At least one version of the headset that Apple is testing includes more than a dozen cameras used for everything from tracking hand movement to delivering a live feed of the space around the user for mixed and augmented reality experiences, instead of just fully immersive VR ones.

The headset also features a lidar sensor, which Apple included in some recent iPhone and iPad models. Lidar scans the space in front of the sensor to quickly generate a 3D map for the placement of 3D objects, plus accurate shadows, occlusion, and more.

That does sound like $3000 worth of technology on your head. It also sounds massive.

1qqBz1c.jpg


I guess you'd need the top of the line Mac Pro to make use of the this also so there is that

Good point, but if I'm moving around in VR I'll need it to…

Gentle reminder that Apple sell wheels you can stick onto your Mac for $700.

…oh.
 
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sobaka770

Banned
That sounds excessive even for Apple with their tax. Sounds like the rumour about it being some kind of device for professionals first is true.
 
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Rex_DX

Gold Member
If this is an AIO headset, three grand is nearly competitive with the Index.

Sure you can run an Index at 80hz and turn down resolution to get it to run games on a GTX 970, but to experience supersampling -or even default resolution- at 144hz like it's designed for, you really need a pc that's significantly more powerful. And expensive.

So for $3K, all-in, for 8k and presumably higher frame rates ... that's not an insane price point given the cost of the other premium HMDs: the Valve Index and Pimax 5K and 8k.

This begs the question what will you actually be able to play on it because Apple is absolutely going to continue with its closed ecosystem policy which so many actually seem to endorse and prefer. So no SteamVR or Oculus titles and presumably ... Apple first party games? That sounds awful.

Also inside out tracking is pretty essential for AIOs yet is still terrible compared to lighthouse tech.

All in all, people will eat this shit up - mainly because "but it's Apple!" - but also because it's not a crazy price point given the alternatives. Though I'd love to to see the eventual breakdown between this $3K set and the $299 Quest 2.
 
That's certainly one way to attack the market.

I expect at this price point it will deliver one happy ending every 24 hours.
 

ZehDon

Member
I'm less interested in the technology, and more interested in Apple's design for the headset. The PSVR, while technologically inferior to most PC VR headsets, was extremely well designed, and it's still my favourite headset to use, even if the tracking is a bit wiff and image quality quite low.
 

jakinov

Member
People here forget that Apple sells to more than just regular customers and that VR is not just for games. This can be used by businesses too. Based on the description above i.e. "delivering a live feed of the space around the user for mixed and augmented reality experiences, instead of just fully immersive VR ones.", it sounds like there's overlap with Hololens which is priced even higher at $3500. So every enterprise use case Microsoft advertises, can likely apply to this headset too.

Small-medium sized business can use this such as in real-estate. Interior designers, furniture stores, builders, etc. Schools can use it for teaching experiences.

Everyone isn't going to have one isn't going to have one (at least not right away) but the technology is still cutting edge and so early adopters are going to have indirectly subsidize the R&D for now.


People struggling to grab an Index due to the price and those hacks release one for $3,000.

Nice to have another premium alternative tho, 8K in each eye sounds amazing.
So far the specs are higher and it seemingly is a standalone and not an accessory like the Index (based on references to the CPU). Apple is known for their engineering and they pay a shit ton of money to ensure they have really smart people working on their products. We're taking about teams of people making hundreds of thousands years in salary, stock, and bonuses.
 

//DEVIL//

Member
watch it selling more than PSVR ( or whatever is the highest selling VR device ) thanks to the apple fans.

I mean i love my iPhone and my mac but fuck..

reminds of the monitor stand for 999$ :/
 
Wonder what sort of content and processing would be pushing this bad boy? A $40K PC to render 120fps 8K x 2 just to play DOOM. Second though flight sim enthusiasts would probably spend all that is required for this.
 

TheMan

Member
1000 would already be a tough tough sell
3000? I would need porn so realistic my dick actually gets wet. I need to feel the heat and smell the natto on the breath of the japanese woman in front of me as she cries with delight with each thrust
 
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Lol at people saying this is to play games. 3000 for a headset when you have the Hololens that costs 3500 on the market?

This is not for the average joe. This shit is for enterprise solutions, for businesses that need them. Just like the Hololens.
 

kamkamkam

Member
This is pretty cool....but what runs this though.

4k is about 8 million pixels.

8k is about 33 million pixels.

2 * 8K = 66 millions pixels... good luck with current hardware.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Yes please. The VR market needs more ubiquity of inputs and streamlined experience, which Apple can deliver.

For $4,500. :lollipop_smirking:
Looks I overshot the price.

8k per eye plus foveated rendering is pretty next gen. I can't afford something like this when it would essentially be a toy for me, but VR needs ambitious attempts like this.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
For $1000 they might have a viable consumer product here. I'd save money for a stand alone of that caliber. But at $3000 it doesn't other than pro.
 
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