Apple could be about to reveal first hints of its augmented reality headset, rumour claims

Apple could soon reveal the first hints at a whole new kind of product, a report has claimed.

The company has long been said to be working on an augmented or mixed reality headset, which would allow people to overlay digital information on top of the real world. Rumours and hints have suggested that the project is a major undertaking within Apple, with a view to releasing the product in the next year or so.

But Apple has never publicly commented on those rumours, let alone given out any information on what it might be planning. While Tim Cook has hinted that Apple is working on AR hardware, for instance – including in an interview with The Independent in 2017 – he has never confirmed that those rumours are actually true.

The upcoming WWDC 2022 conference, however, could see the first hints at what Apple is planning. The company could preview some of the software that will power the headset at the conference in June, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

The often reliable Apple reporter said that the new version of the iPhone software due to be released at the event – named iOS 16 – is full of references to the headset and the way it works with the iPhone. As such, the headset is likely to be released during the period that iOS 16 is active, and before another update is released next summer.

Apple had originally intended to introduce the headset itself at WWDC, Mr Gurman reported. But delays in having it ready mean that is now “probably out of the question”, he reported.

However, the company could detail its features, as well as giving hints of the foundations that are underpinning the headset itself: a piece of software called rOS, or reality operating system.

Beyond those augmented reality features, Apple’s new software could include updates to notifications and new health tracking features for the iPhone, Mr Gurman reported. The Apple Watch is also likely to get its own health tracking upgrades with the release of watchOS 9.

Apple could also release new Macs during the event, he suggested.

Other reports have suggested that a new Mac Pro – potentially Apple’s most powerful computer ever – could come during the event or before. Apple said that it would finish its transition entirely to its own processors by this June, when the process was first introduced.

WWDC will take place at the beginning of June. As with all Apple’s events since the first lockdown, it will be held online – though Apple will invite some select people into a special audience at its campus.