Are these parts from a VR headset or a 2018 HomePod?

(Image credit: Future)

A new Apple VR headset leak has seemingly shown off some of the device’s more boring components, although if the leak is legit – more on that in a moment – it could be the most interesting one we've seen, as it may have finally confirmed that the rumored headset is a tangible product.

Apple has supposedly been working on a VR headset for some time, but has yet to make any official statement about a product. As such, while we’ve heard that it will use an M2 chip, will be revealed at WWDC 2023, and will cost $3,000 dollars, there’s no guarantee that any of these details are true, or even that the VR headset itself is close to appearing.

However, a new leak shared by MacRumors (opens in new tab) is claimed to show the first actual components from the long-awaited headset. Despite the components not being particularly exciting, if the images are legitimate then this would be the first physical evidence that Apple is indeed working on a VR headset, and that it will soon have something physical to show for its efforts. 

The images themselves come from Twitter user MrWhite128 – you’ll have to follow the private account to actually see the post – and appear to show ribbon cables that would connect sensors and other components inside the headset.

Still only a rumor 

We always recommend taking leaks with a pinch of salt, and as potentially exciting as this particular leak is, we'd recommend taking it with rather more than a pinch. 

For a start, MrWhite never explicitly says these are Apple VR headset components. The images were shared in a post that only included the face-wearing sunglasses emoji, and it’s other people that have connected them to the Apple product.

Also, as has been pointed out by MacRumors readers, some of the cables look an awful lot like ones found in Apple HomePod (2018) teardowns – such as iFixit’s (opens in new tab). There’s a chance that Apple could be using similar sensor arrays for its headset, but when you couple this with the fact that MrWhite doesn’t appear to have too much of a track record with Apple leaks we’re left feeling more than a little skeptical. 

We’ll have to wait and see if these images prove to be legitimate snaps of Apple headset components, but we doubt MrWhite’s post will be the last that supposedly reveals Apple’s hardware before its expected launch. We just hope the next leak is of parts that are a little more noteworthy, if not on the same scale as the recent Google pixel 7a leak that apparently revealed the whole phone.

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