While virtual reality is continuing to gain popularity with games like Half-Life: Alyx and headsets such as the Oculus Quest 2 leading the charge, the potential of augmented reality hasn't escaped the attention of developers, consumers, and businesses alike. While most augmented reality applications are currently focused on businesses and the military, consumers will likely be seeing the world in a new way with Apple's upcoming smart glasses.
While virtual reality focuses on bringing the user into an all-encompassing digital world, augmented reality instead looks at allowing users to continue to view the real world while having a screen overlayed on top of it. The technology has been around for a while, perhaps most notably reaching consumers with Google Glass, which released in limited quantities years ago.
Now, according to industry insider Ming-Chi Kuo of TFI Asset Management, Apple is getting ready to launch its own augmented reality glasses. According to Kuo, the glasses will reach consumers in 2022, and they'll be surprisingly powerful. Rather than relying upon being physically or wirelessly connected to a cellphone, the new glasses are said to utilize Apple's propietary M1 chips, which power the latest versions of the Macbook Pro. This will allegedly allow the Apple augmented reality glasses to run independently with power on-par with an Apple computer.
At this time, information on the planned smart glasses is sparse. There's no word on what price range the glasses might have, nor when they'll officially be revealed. However, Kuo notes that the glasses are still intended to be an iPhone accessory. It remains to be seen if users of other devices will be able to fully benefit from Apple's AR glasses.
While Apple AR glasses are likely to generate plenty of hype among consumers, they aren't the only augmented reality devices aimed at consumers in development. The Lynx R1 VR/AR headset recently finished its crowdfunding phase, and offers a combined virtual reality and augmented reality experience wirelessly, akin to the Oculus Quest. However, the design is more alike to other VR headsets, and allows users to see the world around them on-screen via cameras, rather than simplistic glasses that allow the user to view the world around them freely.
It will be interesting to see if the Apple AR glasses have a camera, as Google Glass did. Google Glass wearers made the news for drawing ire from other people who weren't happy at the glasses' built-in cameras. However, Google Glass got its start back in 2013, when smart phone cameras were less capable and ubiquitous. Even if the Apple AR glasses have a camera, they may not generate as much disdain from random people as Google Glass did.
Source: CNBC