Apple Inc.’s long-rumored mixed reality headset is getting closer to becoming a reality, with a report that company executives previewed an advanced version last week.

Mark Gurman at Bloomberg reported today that Apple’s board, which consists of eight independent directors and Chief Executive Tim Cook, saw a preview of the device. Gurman also says Apple in recent weeks has speeded up the development or rOS, its “reality operating system” that will power the long-fabled Apple headset.

For Apple fans, the interesting part is Gurman’s suggestion that the progress on the device, combined with the board presentation, means that it could potentially come to market “within the next several months.”

Reports of a possible Apple headset date back to at least 2015. The headset was described in a recent report as struggling because of internal politics. Apple employees allegedly claimed that the headset has existed in semi-limbo because Cook isn’t a product visionary. It was also claimed that Cook rarely visited the headset project and that his lackluster support made it hard for the headset team to compete with other products for headcount and engineering resources.

What form the headset will take is pure speculation, but there has been plenty of that for years.

In November, it was reported that the Apple headset could launch in 2022 and would be powered by Apple’s M1 chips. That report said the screens within the headset would be a pair of 4K Micro OLED displays from Sony, which would need M1-power to drive them. It was reportedly “capable of supporting virtual reality experiences as well as AR content, especially given the power of an M1-like processor under the hood.”

When the headset will come to market is still very much unknown, Gurman’s report aside. In January, it was reported that Apple was considering pushing back the launch of the headset to 2023 on account of development challenges. Indeed, Gurman made that claim.

The only clear thing is that Apple is developing some sort of headset and it may launch this year or next year. Code supporting the headset was reported to have been found in beta releases of iOS 16 in April.

Photo: Pixabay