The Apple AR/VR headset will put a MacBook Pro on your face

If you've been wondering why the predicted price of the Apple AR/VR headset is reportedly $1,000 to $3,000, a new report makes it clear: you're going to be strapping a high-end Mac to your face. In a new report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as reported by MacRumors, the Apple AR headset is so powerful it needs the same 96W power adapter as the 14-inch MacBook Pro. 

Kuo says that the AR/VR headset will have the same computing power as an M-series Mac, delivered via two processors. The high performance processor will do the heavy lifting and the lower performance one will handle all the sensor data for tracking movement.

Kuo also said something that'll make the blood drain from Oculus owner Mark Zuckerberg's face: it'll be "two to three years" ahead of any rival product in terms of its computing power.

In your face, Facebook

We've previously reported that Apple isn't interested in the metaverse hype pushed by the likes of Meta/Facebook, and Kuo's research note suggests that it's trying to do something a lot more ambitious than a VR social space. The Apple AR/VR headset will deliver seamless switching between AR and VR modes, which sounds fascinating: whenever I try to imagine the games or apps that could take advantage of that, I get so excited I have to go and have a lie down.

Apple's AR/VR headset is still expected to be launched in late 2022 with widespread availability in 2023. I don't know if I can afford it, but I really want it: it looks very much like Apple will have the best VR headset to launch this year.