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Apple’s AR/VR Headset Will Be Tethered to an iPhone
A few details of the custom chips designed by Apple for its forthcoming augmented reality headset indicate it will be wirelessly tethered to a phone for the most advanced features, just as early versions of the Apple Watch required users to carry their iPhone with them.
Apple’s longtime partner TSMC is manufacturing the three chips, which are at least a year away from mass production. More significant are the details of the SoC, which isn’t as powerful as the ones made for iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. It lacks the artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities, known as Apple’s neural engine, which those devices include. The headset is meant to communicate wirelessly with a host device that will handle the more powerful computing required to display virtual, mixed and augmented reality images. Apple has designed its chip to perform some functions better than the more general-purpose chips made by third parties and is better at transmitting wireless data between the headset and the host, compressing and decompressing video and using power as efficiently as possible to maximize battery life, the person said. The headset’s SoC has a central processing unit and graphics processing unit, which suggests it can still operate in a less-powerful stand-alone mode.
Current-generation VR headsets such as Facebook’s Oculus Quest are capable of running software in stand-alone mode but can also let users play more-advanced games by tethering the headset to a computer via wireless or wired connections. Magic Leap makes an AR headset tethered by cable to a small, lightweight pack worn by the user that handles graphics and processing power. The chip design is based on TSMC’s 5-nanometer manufacturing process, the current generation of chip-making technology, which means Apple’s SoC won’t be cutting edge by the time the headset is released. The insider said the headset’s SoC doesn’t need to be as compact or as powerful as the iPhone’s, which is updated annually and based on advanced node or leading-edge technology—TSMC’s most advanced processes for packing the most transistors it can on a chip. Another person said Apple has finished designing the image sensor and display driver for the headset. The CMOS image sensor is unusually large, similar to the size of one of the headset’s lenses, as it’s meant to capture high-resolution image data from a user’s surroundings for AR. TSMC has struggled to produce the chip without defects and has faced low yields during trial production, the person said. Apple likely has to design the display driver from scratch since no third parties make a chip that can handle the headset’s ultrahigh-resolution displays. The company plans to follow the headset with a sleek pair of AR glasses that could debut as early as 2023.
A few details of the custom chips designed by Apple for its forthcoming augmented reality headset indicate it will be wirelessly tethered to a phone for the most advanced features, just as early versions of the Apple Watch required users to carry their iPhone with them.
Apple’s longtime partner TSMC is manufacturing the three chips, which are at least a year away from mass production. More significant are the details of the SoC, which isn’t as powerful as the ones made for iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. It lacks the artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities, known as Apple’s neural engine, which those devices include. The headset is meant to communicate wirelessly with a host device that will handle the more powerful computing required to display virtual, mixed and augmented reality images. Apple has designed its chip to perform some functions better than the more general-purpose chips made by third parties and is better at transmitting wireless data between the headset and the host, compressing and decompressing video and using power as efficiently as possible to maximize battery life, the person said. The headset’s SoC has a central processing unit and graphics processing unit, which suggests it can still operate in a less-powerful stand-alone mode.
Current-generation VR headsets such as Facebook’s Oculus Quest are capable of running software in stand-alone mode but can also let users play more-advanced games by tethering the headset to a computer via wireless or wired connections. Magic Leap makes an AR headset tethered by cable to a small, lightweight pack worn by the user that handles graphics and processing power. The chip design is based on TSMC’s 5-nanometer manufacturing process, the current generation of chip-making technology, which means Apple’s SoC won’t be cutting edge by the time the headset is released. The insider said the headset’s SoC doesn’t need to be as compact or as powerful as the iPhone’s, which is updated annually and based on advanced node or leading-edge technology—TSMC’s most advanced processes for packing the most transistors it can on a chip. Another person said Apple has finished designing the image sensor and display driver for the headset. The CMOS image sensor is unusually large, similar to the size of one of the headset’s lenses, as it’s meant to capture high-resolution image data from a user’s surroundings for AR. TSMC has struggled to produce the chip without defects and has faced low yields during trial production, the person said. Apple likely has to design the display driver from scratch since no third parties make a chip that can handle the headset’s ultrahigh-resolution displays. The company plans to follow the headset with a sleek pair of AR glasses that could debut as early as 2023.
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