Rumour: Apple's AR/VR headset will rely on iPhone or Mac for processing

The SoC will be built for wirelesses data transfers

The long rumoured AR/VR headset from Apple might not be as powerful as we thought. Reports from the Information suggest that the headset will rely on a nearby iPhone or Mac for processing capabilities.

The Cupertino technology giant is working on a custom System on Chip (SoC) for its headset and the report suggests that it will built to stream data wirelessly. The purpose is to offload heavy processing tasks to a nearly Apple device.

One of the strengths of the new SoC will be  strong compressing/decompressing algorithms meant for video streams and the ability to wirelessly send and receive data faster than any other Apple product. It will not house Apple's neural engine - the company's AI on chip - that is found on its other devices.

The intention is to make the headset as power efficient as it can be which is why Apple will remove any unneeded processing overhead from the chip. The headset will have its own Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) but will also rely on a connected device like an iPhone or a Mac for larger processing loads.

The report also says that the chips used in the headset will not be ready for mass production for another year, which means Apple is targeting a late 2022 or early 2023 release for the headset.

Apple finished work on the chips last year, two sources close to the project revealed to the publication. The physical design of the SoC and two other chips are ready for trial production.