Apple Headset to Use 'New Proprietary Charging Connector' for External Battery

Apple's mixed reality headset will have two ports including a USB-C interface for data transfer and a new proprietary charging connector for the external battery, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Apple mixed reality headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane

Most AR/VR headsets on the market have an integrated battery, but reports suggest that Apple's headset will connect to a separate, external battery that is worn at the waist, which allows the headset to be lighter and more comfortable.

Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman revealed that the charging cable that goes from the battery pack into the headset has a round tip that inserts magnetically.

According to Gurman, the round tip must be rotated clockwise to lock it in so that it doesn't fall out during use, while "the cable itself connects to the battery pack, and those two pieces aren't separable."

The external battery pack is said to look like an iPhone MagSafe battery pack and is "about the size of an iPhone but thicker," reports Gurman. It is designed to be charged via USB-C, and can be powered up using the same adapter included with the MacBook Pro.

The battery will power the headset for approximately two hours, and it will be able to be swapped out for continuous usage while a second battery charges. Given the short battery life, the presumption is that Apple will offer additional battery packs for sale separately.

Apple's headset is rumored to be called "Reality One" or "Reality Pro" and is expected to debut at WWDC in June, along with xrOS, Apple's new mixed-reality operating system. For more information on the purported features of the headset, be sure to check out our most recent breakdown.

Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...

Top Rated Comments

howywood Avatar
16 months ago
God damn you, Tim Apple and your gaslighting about being an environmentally friendly company.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macropanda Avatar
16 months ago
How very Apple. Of course they couldn't just add a usb-c port for power and leave it at that.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TSE Avatar
16 months ago
Of course. They want you to buy the Apple $99 battery. Not the USB-C one on Amazon for $30.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cardfan Avatar
16 months ago
So much flop in this one. Swim googles. Battery pack belt. 2 hour battery life. Lol.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vertsix Avatar
16 months ago

yea like Steve Apple was not..he started this
Steve started this because USB 1.0 back in the day were worse than FireWire or 30-pin connectors for iPod.

Lightning, similarly, was designed because microUSB sucked.

Now, there's no excuse to continue this *******y. USB-C is a sufficiently acceptable connector with lots of flexibility, in performance and reliability.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Skyscraperfan Avatar
16 months ago
If you use it at home, why would you use a battery which will degrade with every circle. Why can't it be plugged in like a notebook? It would annoy me to change the battery after two hours.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)