Apple’s rumoured mixed reality headset, tipped to place the iPhone maker firmly in the metaverse race, could be among a number of products set to be launched by the company in the next year, Bloomberg reported.

Rumours about the device have been rife in recent months, after the company reportedly gave its board a look at the product in May. Meanwhile, CEO Tim Cook last week pretty much confirmed to Chinese media it was planning to delve into the mixed-reality (MR) space.

In the latest bout of rumours, Bloomberg reported the headset could be part of a deluge of devices launched by Apple at the back end of 2022 and 2023, also including the iPhone 14, three iterations of the Apple Watch, an updated AirPods Pro, a fresh HomePod and new Macs.

On to the headset, Apple’s latest M2 processor, announced earlier this month at its Worldwide Developers’ Conference, could power the device. It boasts an 18 per cent faster CPU and a 35 per cent faster GPU than the M1 chip.

Bloomberg’s report suggested the headset will also come with 16GB of RAM,  outperforming rival Meta Platforms’ virtual reality headset, Meta Quest 2. Meta’s device has only 6GB of RAM and is powered by the Snapdragon XR2 Platform.

RealityOS, the operating system used in Apple’s new headset, has also appeared in a trademark application likely filed by the tech giant, The Verge reported.