Apple's Mixed Reality Headset Needs These Specs to Win at VR

Apple is expected to unveil its long-awaited mixed-reality headset next week, and observers say it will have a sleek look and excellent display quality to win over users. 

The headset is rumored to have super bright displays with very high resolution. But the high specs alone might not be enough to justify the headset's reported $3,000 price tag. 

"The most important hardware specification is likely not the typically discussed computing power or display resolution but the overall ergonomic design of the product," DJ Smith, the chief creative officer at mixed reality agency The Glimpse Group, told Lifewire in an email interview. "Apple's products historically are known for their clean, minimalist design, and making an XR device comfortable to wear could be a huge competitive edge over the other immersive technology industry options."

Will Apple's Headset Get a Hardware Boost?

Display analyst Ross Young claims to have inside information on how Apple’s headset will work. He said in a recent Tweet that the device will have two displays measuring 1.41 inches diagonally. Each display will have over 5000 nits of brightness and 4,000 pixels per inch.

By way of comparison, the Microsoft HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset has less than 500 nits of brightness, wrote spatial computing expert Robert Scoble in a response to the Tweet. "So this is more than 10x brighter than that or Magic Leap's displays," he said. "This will eviscerate any TV you have seen."

Apple will need to clear a high bar. With this being the first high-end mixed reality headset hitting the market, as opposed to dedicated virtual reality headsets already available, "Apple will need to exceed standards set by existing VR devices and provide a minimum 4k display with 120hz to be competitive at its price point," Bryan Maine, the CEO of the virtual reality consulting company Seed VR, told Lifewire via email. 

Eye comfort will be critical to Apple's headset, Yurii Husynskyi, Senior Marketing Designer at software company MacPaw, said in an interview with Lifewire. "The screens on their devices equipped with M2 processors currently exhibit a significant shimmer effect," he added. "It would be highly appreciated if Apple acknowledges this concern and incorporates screens that eliminate the shimmer, as it can often lead to headaches and eye strain."

The high screen resolution will allow see-through experiences for augmented reality applications, said Mytaverse CTO Jaime Lopez in an email with Lifewire. 

"The 'Make or Break' here will be how Apple is going to deal with the gaming component and how it is planning to integrate with 3D games (or game engines in general) that have been dominated by Windows Systems historically," Lopez added. 

Battery life will be another vital ingredient. Analysts have speculated that the headset's battery will slip into users' pockets and connect via a wire to the headset. "Whether or not the consumer will accept needing multiple batteries for a full day of use will deeply affect their desire to continue wearing it," Maine said. 

Competition for Apple's Mixed Reality Headset

Apple's headset isn't the only new VR coming out this year. Meta announced its Quest 3 headset with a slimmer design and a $499 price tag this week. 

Valve has been at the forefront of virtual reality development, with its latest Index headset expected to release later this year, Maine pointed out. "They have decided to continue developing tethered devices relying on the computer to supply the processing and power requirements," he added. 

The Valve Steam Deck was released as a "stepping stone device to showcase their current level of ability to develop a battery-powered mobile gaming device," Maine said. He added that this is also the path Sony has taken with its VR headset released earlier this year, which requires a PS5 tether to function, and earlier this month officially announcing their project Q mobile gamepad."

The battle for headset supremacy may be won by the manufacturer offering the smoothest experience through hardware. 

"The headsets need to get lighter (waaaay lighter) and have less eye strain on the users by increasing resolution and brightness," Lopez said. "But also, very importantly, computing power has to increase to the point that latency gets reduced to the point that we don't feel the lag when rotating our head."