Apple MacBook Air is slated to get a redesign in 2022. In this photo, the MacBook Air 2020 with the M1 processor is seen. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express) Apple’s new product lineup for 2022 will include a series of powerful new Mac pros based on the M1 and M1 Max chipset, along with a redesigned MacBook Air and a new iPad Pro. This is what Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has revealed in his latest PowerOn newsletter.
Gurman is predicting a new iMac Pro with a bigger screen, Mac Pro with 40 CPU cores and 128 GPU cores, a new Mac mini, which was expected at last year’s MacBook Pro event, but did not make an appearance. The MacBook Air will get another redesign, while an updated entry-level MacBook Pro and iPad Pro with wireless charging is also expected during the course of the year.
What is not clear is whether Apple will introduce the M2 chipset, which would be the next-generation version of its existing powerful M1 silicon. The newsletter also mentions the upcoming iOS 16 which is codenamed Sydney while macOS 13 is codenamed Rome.
The big question though is whether Apple will announce its virtual reality (VR) or mixed reality (VR+Augemented Reality AR) headset this year or not. The headset is codenamed N301 while the OS is codenamed Oak, according to Gurman. Apple’s headset has been talked about for some time now, and the expectation is that it will make an appearance this year.
Apple AR/VR headset: What we know so far
According to earlier reports by Bloomberg, the headset will be a pricey product, starting at $2000. It could also be aimed at developers in the initial phase. Apple is also a bit late to the VR headset party with Meta (formerly Facebook) having a bit of edge in the space given the Oculus Quest 2. Meta itself has plans to launch a more advanced VR/AR headset in 2022 codenamed Project Cambria, which the company showcased when it rebranded itself as Meta with a focus on the ‘metaverse’.
Meanwhile, Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo had said in a note in December last year, that the headset will support augmented reality and virtual reality and come with an array of advanced sensors. The sensors will include advanced hand gesture detection, as well as 3D sensors for face detection, tracking.
The technology will be much more advanced than the one that Apple is currently using on Face ID for iPhones, iPads. The Face ID sensors are also used to track a user’s head movements and expressions for the Memoji and Animoji features on the devices.
The report had said that Apple’s AR/VR headset will be able to detect details of hand movements and ensure a “more vivid human-machine interface.” It will support eye-tracking, iris recognition, voice control, skin detection, facial expression detection, and spatial detection among other features.
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