Patent application reveals a sketch of what Apple's AR glasses could look like

How important are Apple's rumored AR glasses to the future of the company? According to former Wall Street analyst Gene Munster, Apple Glasses will be bigger than the iPhone. Right now, with the iPhone about to take command of the tech world with its tenth anniversary model dubbed iPhone 8, that seems hard to believe. Munster forecasts a peak in iPhone sales by 2019 with Apple Glasses launching the following year.

Today, a patent application filed by Apple was published and it shows how AR features on glasses could label certain buildings. If it looks familiar, that's because Google Glass was supposed to offer similar features for consumers before it became a device for enterprise use. Apple's acquisition of  Metaio a couple of years ago gave the tech titan an Augmented Reality UI for wearables. The patent application that we are referring to today is based on a patent filed by Metaio in 2013, and presented to it earlier this year.

To navigate images, you might have to capture your finger on camera and use it as a pointing device. You won't be able to place your finger on the lenses like a touchscreen. That might seem a little tricky to accomplish, but just remember that these are early days for this device and a lot can change between now and Munster's anticipated 2020 launch.


source: USPTO via PatentlyApple, TheVerge