Apple's AR glasses are at least 3 years away but could copy the iPhone when it enters the market
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, in the latest weekly edition of his Power On newsletter, gives us the latest information about a device that many Apple fans consider the logical successor to the iPhone, Augmented Reality (AR) glasses. More specifically, this would be a lightweight pair of AR glasses designed to look like regular spectacles that people would wear 24/7 and be able to do many of the same things they currently do with their handsets.
As we've noted several times, Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers AR to Virtual Reality (VR). The difference? While VR takes you to a totally fake environment and lets you interact within that environment, AR shows you a real-world feed showing you what is right in front of you but overlaid with computer-generated images. A good example of this is Google Maps' Live View feature which allows you to hold your phone and get walking directions via AR. Arrows superimposed on the display show you which way to walk while the phone's camera give you a real-world view of what is directly in front of you.
Example of Google Maps' Live View AR walking directions. | Image credit-YouTube
While Apple was busy developing its Vision Pro spatial computer which we can probably call a flop, other companies moved ahead. Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses do not sport a display but can still record videos and take voice and video calls. The glasses allow you to send out streaming videos hands-free. Meta is also working on AI glasses and Google has teamed up with Samsung to develop its next-gen glasses.
Meanwhile, if one good thing came out of Vision Pro's failure, it is that Cook's feelings about AR trumping VR have been proven by Vision Pro sales to be true. Additionally, having to develop the VisionOS operating system for Vision Pro has started Apple on the path toward creating an OS for Apple Glass. The tech giant, according to Gurman, is already working on a version of VisionOS that will drive Apple's AR spectacles.
Gurman also notes that Apple executives involved in the development of Apple Glass say that the device is at least three years away. Before any AR glasses are released, Apple plans on releasing cheaper and possibly less capable versions of the Vision Pro. Other possibilities include AirPods with miniature cameras and perhaps glasses that would compete with Meta's Ray-Ban glasses.
The Bloomberg correspondent says that without releasing some type of smart glasses soon, Apple risks falling too far behind Meta, Google, and Samsung. Meta hopes to have AI-powered glasses ready by 2027 and Google's Android XR operating system has been developed to run glasses and headsets. Gurman says that eventually, we could see Apple drop a bombshell on an already established AR glasses market by releasing a product with an improved design and superior hardware-software integration. It seems that Apple already pulled off such a bold maneuver on the established smartphone market back in 2007 when the late Steve Jobs introduced iPhone.
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