Report claims Apple is teaming with Valve to develop its AR headset

Another day, another Apple rumor, this time about the company's long-rumored AR headset.

The report comes from DigiTimes (so grain of salt) via MacRumors and claims that U.S. video game developer Valve is partnering with Apple to bring the headset to market some time in the second half of 2020.

If Valve sounds familiar, that's because it's the maker of online game platform Steam as well as games like Half-Life, Portal, and Counter-Strike. Valve has its own headset, the Valve Index, and previously partnered with Apple on VR gaming support.

These rumors have been flying around for years, both before and after Apple CEO Tim Cook's October 2017 statement that Apple AR headsets (or glasses or whatever) wouldn't be on the market "any time soon" because the technology just wasn't up to Apple's high standards.

Two years later, things may have changed. The persistence of these rumors indicate something is up. Instead of a completely native Apple headset, partnering with a third party makes more sense, as does making the glasses more of an iPhone accessory than a standalone device. By narrowing the scope, Apple can control the quality of the product while leveraging others' resources.

Again, though, we should look upon all these rumors with plenty of skepticism. After all, Apple has, from time to time, teased products that never came to be (RIP AirPower).

In other words, don't believe the hype until Tim Cook struts across a darkened stage with a new pair of glasses and utters those famous words: "One more thing..."