Headsets for reading

2023. Apple to bring books to virtual reality



According to Bloomberg’s tech oracle, Mark Gurman, whose uncanny knack for predicting Apple’s every twitch and sneeze has become the stuff of Silicon Valley folklore, Apple is apparently cooking up a version of Apple Books designed for their impending Apple VR headset. Yes, that’s right—a headset so advanced you could read War and Peace in virtual reality while pretending to sit in Tolstoy’s study. Seamlessly tying itself to the Apple ecosystem (because of course it does), the device will allegedly buddy up with your iPhones and iPads, making the leap between realities as smooth as swiping a screen. Naturally, Apple, in its usual cloak-and-dagger fashion, hasn’t said a peep about these leaks, so don’t go reserving your virtual bookshelf just yet. And in true Apple style, even if Gurman’s tidbits are spot-on, some features might vanish into the ether, possibly taking the scenic route to existence—if they ever materialize at all.


2023. Sol Reader - E Ink headset for hands-free e-reading



The Sol Reader, a gadget that seems like it was dreamed up by a particularly bookish Vogon on a coffee break, is a head-mounted display that replaces the tiresome business of holding a book or e-reader entirely. Utilizing e-paper panels (because regular screens are so last century), this 100-gram marvel lets you lounge like a galactic aristocrat, flipping through pages without lifting so much as a finger—well, except for the one you'd use on its diminutive controller. Debuting at CES 2023, it’s pitched as the ultimate lazy-literature device, boasting 30 hours of battery life that would make Marvin the Paranoid Android begrudgingly mutter, “adequate.” Recharge it via USB-C and you’re good to go for weeks of hands-free reading bliss, lying flat like the universe intended.