Apple Is Working On An AR Headset That Works With The iPhone

Dhir Acharya - Mar 01, 2019

A patent filed in August 2018 by Apple describes in details the use of an AR environment on the iPhone and may also involve a headset.

Apple is growing its interest in augmented reality. The reason we say this is due to a patent the iPhone maker filed in August 2018, including 292 pages describing in details the use of an AR environment on the iPhone and may also involve an AR headset.

What’s worth noting here, perhaps also the best part of the patent, lies in the part published on Thursday numbered US 2019/0065027. It looks like Apple is working on different approaches to using an AR headset along with an iPhone. According to the company’s description, people use a headset to view an AR environment where computer images are laid on top of the real world. Next, users interact with that augmented reality environment via a touch-sensitive surface.

Apple's patent

The patent, which was first spotted by Patently Apple, is a solid proof of Apple’s plan to build an augmented reality headset, which internal sources said the company expects to launch the next year.

Apple didn’t respond to a comment request immediately.

Apple's patent

Meanwhile, Microsoft announced it HoloLens2 headset last Sunday, which is priced at $3,500. It hopes many businesses will use this device to help their employees who regularly work with X-rays, schematics, or other data that a normal screen, keyboard, and mouse are not as efficient.

Microsoft's HoloLens 2

In an interview, Alex Kipman, HoloLens leader at Microsoft Redmond, said that the goal of creating these devices is to transform humans.

Another device of this kind is Magic Leap headset, released last August at $2,295, whose consumer version will soon launch. While HoloLens helps users interact with its AR world by tracking their eyes, voice, and hands, Magic Leap’s AR environment is created by Lightwear headset which is connected to a wearable computer using wires. Users can interact with Magic Leap with Control the handheld remote.

Magic Leap

Apple may be going the same way with Magic Leap as the patent shows a headset wirelessly connected to a separate computer and an iPhone. According to Cnet, Apple’s prototypes involved a cordless device in a wireless connection with another device running on Apple’s customized chips.