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Science fiction has been the cradle of multiple ideas that today are reality, while others seem much more possible than before. Until relatively recently, a decent VR experience was impossible or very cumbersome to enjoy. Another advanced technology that seems more viable today is AR glasses that replace your phone, and Apple would be looking for it.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is restarting a project to develop advanced AR glasses. These would be much lighter than the Apple Vision Pro, whose ergonomics are not its best virtue. However, the company would like you to be able to use the glasses all day, so they would have fairly contained dimensions. Its format would be similar to that of the Google Glass project from years ago.
Apple’s AR glasses could fully replace your iPhone
Apple already boasts of having a lot of experience in AR-based UX thanks to the development of the Vision Pro. According to the report, some of the Vision Pro technologies would be implemented in the lightweight AR glasses. Internally, a release date of 2027 has even been discussed. However, the source adds that even the development team sees that deadline as unlikely.
Apple has yet to decide whether to invest in everything that a project of this magnitude requires. The company must study the profitability that AR glasses capable of replacing iPhones would bring. So, they must consider key items such as development cost, public interest, and price for the user, among others. The company will surely be quite cautious after the failure in sales of its Vision Pro.
Apple has yet to decide on the viability of the project
Vision Products Group is the team in charge of all the company’s “Vision” projects. Recent reports suggest that they are focusing on a more affordable Vision headset. Bloomberg claims that the team will decide on the viability of AR glasses as they work on other things.
In its day, the Google Glass project had many factors that influenced its failure. Probably the most important factor was the starting price of $1,500. However, there were also serious regulatory challenges due to its video recording capabilities. It will be interesting to see if potential Apple AR glasses manage to overcome these challenges in the future.