Apple creates its own 3D world and video service for a mixed reality headset

Bloomberg again writes about Apple's plans to release a mixed reality headset that will "take the company into a new era of computing." The device won't be available until next year, but job listings and personnel changes at the company are already showing some of the device's capabilities.

For example, several listings indicate that Apple is looking for a software maker with experience creating visual effects and digital content for augmented and virtual reality environments.

The listings also imply that Apple wants to create a headset video service with 3D content that can be played in a VR environment.

And the most interesting jobs - which specifically mention the development of a three-dimensional mixed reality world, assuming that Apple is working on a metaverse-like virtual environment, though Apple would clearly avoid it term. The company's marketing director said in a recent interview that the metaverse is "a word I will never use."

The headset itself is likely to cost between $2,000 and $3,000, according to the source. It will be equipped with a Mac-level M2 chip, more than 10 cameras placed outside and inside the device, and display of the highest quality - with the highest resolution ever used in the screens of headsets for mass market.

The device will run on a new operating system called realityOS, which will include includes mixed reality versions of core Apple apps like Messages, FaceTime, and Maps. The first version of the OS, codenamed Oak, is under internal development and should be ready for new hardware next year.

Another key detail is the name of the device, as it confirms the high-end nature of the headset. In August, Apple filed trademark applications for Reality Pro and Reality One, suggesting the company is choosing between the two brands for the device.