Apple's mixed reality headset might rely on iPhone or Mac to function: Report

Apple's mixed reality headsets have long been subjected to rumours and reports. As the name suggests, Apple Glasses will be smart glasses that can overlay digital entities in the real world, which will be relayed to the user via a sophisticated system of sensors, processors and display. While the product has been in the rumour mill for quite a long time, a new report suggests that Apple's mixed reality headset will lack the computational capabilities shared by other processors from the company such as the smartphone processor called 'A Bionic' and the latest M1X chipset. Instead, the chip designed for Apple Glasses is said to have wireless transmission capability.

Apple mixed reality headsets might rely upon a companion smartphone for processing information

According to a report by The Information, Apple's upcoming smart glasses will lack the computational power to be an independent product. The chip designed for Apple's smart glasses would not have machine learning and AI capabilities. Instead, the chip is reportedly designed to perform better at the wireless transmission of data and compression/decompression of video feed. In order to perform the advanced augmented reality and virtual reality overlays, the device will connect to a companion smartphone, most likely to be limited to the Apple ecosystem. The implementation is similar to how early Apple Watches could not function without iPhones. Previously, Bloomberg reported that early versions of the product will be designed to work with a companion processing unit, like a "stationary hub, which in prototype form resembled a small Mac."

Report also mentions the presence of unusually large image sensors on the smart headset 

In addition, The Information's sources also say that the chip designed for Apple mixed reality headsets will be highly efficient in terms of consumption of power, for maximizing battery life. For reference, smart wearable devices such as watches and headsets fall slightly shorter on battery life as the space to house a battery unit is very limited, whether inside a watch or a headset. The device is still believed to have a processor and a graphic processing unit inside to facilitate a basic standby mode, without consuming a lot of battery. The report also mentions that the upcoming Apple mixed reality headsets will come with "unusually large" image sensors, which might be as big as those on the iPhone, as the device needs to capture high-resolution images for executing AR and VR related features.