9 Reasons to Consider Purchasing the Apple AR/VR Headset

Mark Gurman of Bloomberg says that the Apple AR/VR headset will have a long list of skills that will surprise people when it comes out at Apple WWDC 2023 in June. These will reportedly include “gaming, fitness, and collaboration tools” and “services for watching sports,” which could go well with Apple’s move into Friday Night Baseball and its rumored bid for Premier League soccer events.

Another exciting option is that the “around $3,000 headset” will have “new versions of Apple’s existing iPad features.” This could give the mixed reality headset a lot of start apps, like Apple Books and Freeform, which can help people come up with new ideas.

Like the iPad, the AR/VR headset will probably have some standard features, like a home screen and the Control Center, where you can change things like Wi-Fi or the volume. Bloomberg says that the next generation of Face ID will also have a headset that uses “a scan of the user’s eyes instead of a face or fingerprint.”

But the most exciting thing about these new reports is the possible uses for the Apple AR/VR headset, which we’ll review below. The length of this list might make you think that Apple is throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks instead of making a headset with a clear purpose.

Still, it’s a good sign that Apple is making many fun, consumer-friendly experiences for its headset, even though it costs as much as a professional tool. Here are the nine main ways Apple’s upcoming headset can be used, as described in the most recent story from Bloomberg.

Fitness workouts

Apple’s AR/VR headset might cost about as much as three Peloton bikes, but it could be a great way to get fit, and a story from Bloomberg says that will be one of its first big draws.

It says, “Apple is also working on a version of its Fitness+ service for the headset, which will let users work out while watching an instructor in VR.” If the AR/VR gear can handle sweat better than Apple’s AirPods Max headphones, this could be an inspiring and robust experience.

We’ve already seen Meta push the VR fitness experience with some of the best Oculus Quest fitness games, but adding augmented reality to the mix could make it even more potent by adding game-like goals to your real-world view.

Meditation

Some might say that putting on a $3,000 mixed reality headset is the opposite of true meditation, but it doesn’t look like that will stop Apple from adding this feature to its AR/VR headset’s health features.

Bloomberg says that “a series of calming graphics, sounds, and voice-overs” will be used in an app to help people meditate. In some ways, this is a good thing for an AR/VR headset. Isolating yourself from the rest of the world might be bad for some hobbies, but it could be a good thing for meditation.

Still, a VR version of Headspace could be fun, but it wouldn’t be a reason to buy Apple’s gear. It would be more of a bonus.

Brainstorming ideas

Back at work, Apple thinks that its AR/VR headset will help teams work together and develop new ideas.

Bloomberg says that “Apple is making a version of its Freeform collaboration app for the headset,” which it “sees as a major selling point for the product.”

Even though we’ve worked in VR for a whole week with the Meta Quest Pro, we still need to figure out that. But the service will “let users work on virtual whiteboards while in mixed reality,” which suggests that Apple sees its AR/VR headset as a business tool.

Watching sports in new ways

Watching TV and live sports on Apple’s mixed reality headset is more exciting than VR whiteboards, and Bloomberg says that will be another big focus at the launch.

Bloomberg says that “one of the things that will make people want to buy the headset is the ability to watch sports in a more immersive way.” This will work with Apple’s current deals to show live Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball games on Apple TV Plus. This could also be why Apple wants to bid for the rights to show Premier League games in the UK.

How should this go? We can get an idea by looking at NextVR (above), a company that now works for Apple and makes live VR sports events for the Meta Quest 2. You can watch videos from the field or courtside and get a good view of virtual comedy and music shows.

Video and Music Production

iMovie and GarageBand are two of the essential apps Apple is working on for its AR/VR headset. These apps could bring new ways to make videos and songs.

Since Apple’s headset might not have a controller but instead track your eyes and hands, this could be a powerful new way to make and improve digital works.

Another benefit of an AR/VR headset is that it can mimic real-world equipment that costs much more than the headset itself. For example, Tribe XR is a virtual reality DJ studio and school where you can learn to use industry-standard equipment like the Pioneer CDJ-3000.

If Apple’s mixed reality headset is easier to use than the best VR headsets, artistic experiences like these will likely be a big draw.

Gaming

You might have thought that gaming would be a big part of the appeal of any AR/VR gear, but Bloomberg says that wasn’t Apple’s plan at first.

Still, it seems that gaming will now be “a central part of the device’s appeal,” which differs from what Apple said earlier in its development. We don’t know much about Apple’s gaming history, so we will wait to rate this one.

But games like Beat Saber (shown above) and Pistol Whip from Meta Quest 2 would add to the device’s general appeal, even if they would need more than convince people to buy Apple’s pricey headset.

 Next-gen FaceTime

Given our experiences with VR meetings in Horizon Workrooms on the Meta Quest, we’re not sure how well this one will work, but Apple is reportedly planning a new version of FaceTime for its AR/VR headset.

Bloomberg says the new FaceTime will show 3D versions of users in virtual meeting rooms. The goal is to make people feel like they are talking to each other in the same room.

We’ve heard this one before, and VR video conferencing has yet to show us any big benefits in the real world, even though you can do it from a virtual beach. But we can’t wait to try this out, and we’re keeping our virtual fingers crossed that it works more reliably than FaceTime does now.

An extension for your iPad

A bit surprising about Bloomberg’s new report is how many iPad apps Apple plans to have ready for its AR/VR headset when it comes out.

According to rumors, this will include “optimized versions of the Safari web browser and Apple’s services for calendars, contacts, files, home control, mail, maps, messaging, notes, photos, and reminders, as well as its music, news, stocks, and weather apps.”

Is the stocks app in virtual reality or augmented reality? That sounds like torture, but accessing “millions of existing apps from third-party developers via the new 3D interface” is more attractive. If you don’t like the idea of strapping an iPhone to your face, the best apps must be designed for the AR/VR experience.

Virtual Reading

On the surface, this is the most strange way that Bloomberg’s story says Apple’s AR/VR headset could be used, but we hope to be pleasantly surprised. According to the site’s rumors, Apple “is working on a version of Apple Books for the headset that will let users read in virtual reality.”

We might need more vision, but we don’t see how virtual books could be better than reading on an iPad or from an actual book unless the experience takes you to the Library of Congress or the British Library. Interactive books are also helpful, especially for learning, so this is another idea we’re looking forward to seeing come to (virtual) life.

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