It’s time to see Apple’s plans for virtual reality. At WWDC 2023, the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple is expected to introduce its first VR headset and tell the world why it thinks this tech is the future.
There’s a lot riding on the introduction: this is one of only a few major new product categories that Apple has stepped into under CEO Tim Cook, and it’s one that many other companies have tried and struggled to succeed in. Meta’s high-end Quest Pro was a flop; Samsung discontinued the Gear VR; HTC has struggled to gain support from app makers. And more generally speaking, it’s still not clear how many hours a day anyone wants to keep one of these things on their head.
Apple has been preparing for this day for years. It launched augmented reality coding tools, called ARKit, back in 2017, and it’s been shipping lidar sensors on iPhones and iPads for several years now as a way to let the devices better scan the world around them to position objects in AR. We’re likely to see these same tricks at play in the headset, which is expected to offer augmented reality features, too.
Alongside the VR headset, we’re also expecting the usual slew of WWDC announcements: new versions of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS. There’s also rumored to be a new MacBook Air on the way, and there’s at least a chance Apple will discuss changes it’s making to comply with EU regulations that open up its mobile platforms.
The WWDC keynote starts at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. You can watch the event right here. Our team is also live blogging the event from Apple’s Apple Park HQ, so read on below for up-to-the-minute details.
Source: The Verge
