Apple has been granted a patent (number US 11805347 B2) for a “Display System Having an Audio Output Device.” It involves the upcoming Vision Pro.
The US$3,499 (and higher) Spatial Computer is due in “early” 2024, according to Apple. However, I suspect early means sometime before summer. And the device will apparently only be available in limited quantities at first.
About the patent
Augmented reality/virtual reality systems provide content to a user, which may include visual and aural content. The visual content may be provided by a head-mounted display unit (HMD), while the aural content is often provided by headphones that are physically separate from the head-mounted display unit.
Apple’s idea is for the Vision Pro to have detachable speakers. Aural content provided from the audio output device and/or a built-in audio output device may be output according to the position of HMD. Visual content may also be provided according to the position of the movable audio output device.
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “A display system includes a head-mounted display unit and a detachable speaker unit. The head-mounted display unit outputs visual content to a user and provides a visual pass-through of a real environment to the user. The detachable speaker unit is detachably coupleable to the head-mounted display unit for providing aural content to the user. At least one of the visual content or the aural content is changed according to a position of the detachable speaker unit relative to the head-mounted display unit.”
