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Apple’s AR headset affords groundbreaking 3D hand monitoring

Apple’s highly hyped AR headset will take inspiration from the Cupertino-based company’s popular Face ID feature, if a new research note from respected Apple analyst Ming-chi Kuo is to be believed.

As first reported by MacRumors, the Apple AR / MR headset will employ four 3D sensors for advanced hand tracking, all of which are said to be more advanced than the single unit built into the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera system for Face ID.

According to Kuo, the goal is for the Apple headset to be able to recognize objects as well as “micro-gestures” and “dynamic detail changes” of the hand, similar to the way Face ID records your facial expressions and converts them to Animoji.

The result will be a “more intuitive and clear human-machine user interface” compared to other commercially available products, according to the expert. To illustrate his point, Kuo cites the example of an Apple Mixed Reality headset user who sees a balloon fly out of his hand as soon as the 3D sensors detect that his fist is no longer closed.

He even goes so far as to speculate that the Apple AR headset will be able to recognize objects from a distance of up to 200 percent than the iPhone and Face ID between 300-400 grams – about as much as a can of baked beans or chopped tomatoes.

A second, lighter model will follow in 2024, according to Kuo, with further improvements such as better battery life and a faster processor. This refined version would apparently be the one designed for the mass market, with the first iteration looking more like a release aimed at early adopters.

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