Apple’s mixed reality headset will reportedly come with an M2 chip

Apple’s mixed reality headset has been shrouded in rumors for months now, and a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman indicates that it could come with Apple’s flagship M2 processor. According to Gurman, Apple’s most recent version of the device, which is reportedly capable of delivering augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences, includes a base M2 chip and 16GB of RAM.

This deviates from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s previous prediction that Apple’s headset will have one processor with the capabilities of an M1 chip and an additional lower-end processor dedicated to handling data from the device’s sensors. While Gurman doesn’t mention the purported secondary chip in this report, a multiple chip setup has also been rumored in an earlier report from The Information.

If Apple was originally planning to use the M1 as the headset’s primary processor, it only makes sense for the company to swap it out for the most recent iteration of its in-house chip. Apple announced the new M2 chip at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) earlier this month, and says it offers an 18 percent faster CPU and 35 percent faster GPU when compared to the older M1 chip.

Rumors of the device’s standalone form factor have started to trickle out as well, and Gurman’s prediction that it will include 16GB of RAM could indicate a potentially more powerful level of performance than the all-in-one Meta Quest 2. Meta’s VR headset comes with 6GB of RAM and the Snapdragon XR2 Platform, so it’ll be interesting to see how Apple’s headset compares when it finally gets released.

There have been signs that Apple’s headset is getting closer to its rumored January 2023 launch window. Apple’s board of directors reportedly got the chance to try out the headset in May. RealityOS, the operating system the headset will reportedly use, has also appeared in Apple’s code and in a trademark application likely filed by the company.

Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook all but confirmed the headset’s existence when he told interviewers at China Daily to “stay tuned and you will see what we have to offer” in the mixed reality space.