Apple’s AR headset looks set to solve my biggest issue with AR/VR headsets

Apple's AR headset will have cutting-edge 3D sensing for incredible experiences

Render of Apple AR headset by Antonio De Rosa
(Image credit: Antonio De Rosa, ADR Studio Design)

Apple's AR headset is likely to be my third AR/VR device: I rushed to get my hands on the PlayStation VR for my PS4, got the adapter to use it with my PS5 and supplemented it with an Oculus Quest. They're both really interesting bits of tech, but they're also a bit disappointing. And part of that is because they need me to hold controllers in my hand, a requirement that ultimately led to my home insurer looking for the best Samsung TV to replace the one my son punched a hole in during a game of Superhot VR.

It looks like the PSVR 2 will be similarly dangerous to TVs. But apparently Apple has decided once again to think different.

Apple's AR headset controls could be very hand-y

This one comes from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo via MacRumors, although it's important to note that this is a prediction rather than a product leak so keep your pinch of salt handy. The prediction is that Apple will use four sets of 3D sensors, sensors that are of higher quality and specification than anything in the iPhone 13, and that those sensors will be capable of gesture recognition and object tracking. The example given is that you could unclench your fist and see a balloon emerge from it.

That's the kind of augmented reality I want, and the kind of control I want to have in VR too: as much as I love my PSVR, I love having an un-smashed Samsung TV too. So I'm really hoping that this particular prediction comes true.

Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series. When she’s not scribbling, she’s the singer in Glaswegian rock band HAVR (havrmusic.com).