In this week’s edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reported that Apple’s long-awaited AR/VR headset “probably” won’t require an iPhone for initial setup or use.
“I’m told that the latest test versions of the device and its onboard xrOS operating system can be set up without an iPhone and can download a user’s content and iCloud data directly from the cloud.
This indicates that Apple’s debut mixed-reality headset could be set up and used as a standalone device. That would be in stark contrast to other “firsts” from Apple, like the first Apple Watch, which could only be set up alongside an iPhone.
Gurman went on to note that users will still be able to transfer their data to the headset from an iPhone or iPad.
What’s more, Gurman has learned that the upcoming headset’s “in-air typing” feature for text input, while available in the latest prototypes, isn’t quite polished yet, so users might want to connect an iPhone for touch-screen text input anyway — at least until the headset’s input methods get better. “The hope within Apple is to make rapid improvements after the device is released,” added the oracle for all things Apple.
Apple is expected to unveil its first mixed-reality headset, which Gurman believes could be named the Reality Pro, at the company’s next Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) event, which is typically held in June of each year.
According to Gurman, Apple will quickly follow that up with a more affordable headset with lower-end displays and other components in 2025 or the end of 2024 at the earliest.
Apple this week also rolled out scheduling changes for all of its retail employees in Canada and the U.S., reducing the number of consecutive workdays from six to five, giving more weekend time off to part-time employees, and setting a consistent weekend workday or day off for full-time employees.
