Apple’s Headset Could Use Memojis and SharePlay for VR FaceTime Calls

BY Chandraveer Mathur

Published 14 Feb 2022

iPadOS 14 New Memojis

Apple’s mixed reality headset is rumored to be delayed until 2023, but its operating system, dubbed realityOS or rOS, continues to be the center of attention. In the latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said Memojis and SharePlay could have an integral role in shared experiences on rOS.

Gurman notes that shared experiences on realityOS could revolve around Apple’s editing virtual experiences—Memojis and SharePlay. He imagines a VR implementation of FaceTime where headset users could interact with others in virtual conference rooms. Each person would be virtually represented by their 3D Memojis. Since the headset is rumored to be capable of facial expression detection, those would be relayed to the VR FaceTime call participants through your Memoji. Gurman also said that SharePlay could be heavily used in reality so that several headset users could collectively enjoy music, movies, and other content together.

Rumors about Apple’s headset began circulating early in 2017, but Apple’s plans for realityOS were confirmed recently when it made references to the operating system in open-source code on GitHub and App Store upload logs. Rumor has it that several new iOS features are being developed for rOS in the long run. MacRumors reports that ARKit, AR Walking Directions in Apple Maps, Spatial Audio, and the LiDAR scanner will eventually make their way to Apple’s mixed reality headset. Since the features would be derived from Apple’s current operating systems, it would help provide a sense of familiarity when users transition to realityOS.

As Gurman speculates, do you believe Apple would create a Memoji-based Metaverse equivalent for headset users? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

[Via Bloomberg]