Famed Apple Inc. analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the company’s anticipated augmented and virtual reality headset will debut in late 2022, featuring the computing power of its laptops with M1 chips.

The news today came by way of MacRumors and 9to5Mac, in which Kuo shared further details about the technical capabilities of the headset and Apple’s likely plans for the headset.

The first important reveal from Kuo is that he believes the device will be a standalone wearable that will not require a secondary device, such as a Mac or an iPhone. Instead, it will contain its own embedded processor “with the same computing power level as the Mac,” which would be a comparable level to the M1.

Kuo also said the goal would be to replace the iPhone with AR devices in 10 years and such a headset would be a stepping stone to achieve this.

The screens within the headset would be a pair of 4K Micro OLED displays from Sony, which would need M1-power to drive them. This is lower than the rumored resolution from a report that came out in February, but it puts the headset in line with current enterprise-ready and high-end consumer VR headsets such as the Valve Index and the Varjo VR-3.

With these screens, the upcoming headset would be capable of supporting virtual reality experiences as well as AR content, especially given the power of an M1-like processor under the hood.

Alongside the primary processor, the headset will sport a secondary, lower-power processor which “will be in charge of sensor-related computing.”

As the AR headset will require at least six to eight cameras to provide continuous video for AR services for users, eye tracking and gesture detection. In comparison, Kuo added, the iPhone only up to three cameras in simulations operation and doesn’t require continuous computing.

Kuo previously mentioned that the headset would also feature Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. That would be extremely important if it were to be a standalone device to provide it both the network stability and the bandwidth necessary to run AR/VR experiences without being wired and keep up with ever-more-demanding content.

According to Kuo, all of these elements together support his conclusion that the headset is truly standalone, which conflicts with previous reports that it might rely on an iPhone or separate processor box.

“If the AR headset is positioned only as an accessory for the Mac or iPhone, it will not be conducive to the growth of the product,” he said. “An AR headset that works independently means that it will have its own ecosystem and provide the most complete and flexible user experience.”

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