Apple will launch later this year the mixed reality headset, or glasses for augmented reality and virtual reality. However, he introduced another novelty, namely the addition of the Continuity functionality. This means that the viewer will have the ability to communicate with all Apple devices.
The Continuity feature for Apple’s headset
Continuity functionality, in the Apple world, involves the fact that all devices of the brand communicate interchangeably. Thus they allow users to switch from one device to another without interrupting what they were doing.
This kind of mode has been implemented in Apple’s mixed reality headset. Indeed, last week, the European Patent Office published a patent application for Apple entitled “Multi-device continuity for use with extended reality (XR) systems”in which Apple offers a few examples of how it imagines similar interoperability working between the mixed reality headset and other Apple devices.
Here are some examples of what the mixed reality headset can do with Continuity
A very suggestive example described by the developers of the Cupertino company transports us directly into the future. Thanks to the mixed reality viewer, the user who is consulting emails, with a wave of the hand or a change of gaze, will be able to transfer the email screen to a larger virtual display suspended in front of him.
Another option foreseen by Apple is to implement the Mac screen. The viewer will allow the user to expand the screen, showing accessory windows outside the boundaries of the monitor screen. An extended reality is thus projected.
How far Apple will go with the Continuity feature isn’t known, but it’s likely that some of the examples in the patent give a good general idea of what the company has plans to achieve.
xrOS, mixed reality headset operating system
Of what is known at the moment, the mixed reality viewer will not need an iPhone to work and can therefore be used on its own. Indeed, it will be put into practice xrOS, a new operating system designed specifically for the AR/VR experience. xrOS will include iOS apps like Safari, Photos, Messages, Maps, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Podcasts and Calendar, as well as a FaceTime app customized for the headset.