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Apple's augmented reality glasses device is still at least four years away from launch, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.

Apple-Glasses-Purple-Feature.jpg

In an extensive report detailing some of the challenges involved in developing Apple's mixed-reality headset, Gurman explained that the company's separate AR glasses product has been mired by similar issues. AR glasses were the product that CEO Tim Cook and former design chief Jony Ive originally wanted to build before technical limitations reduced expectations to the current "ski-goggle" headset form factor with video pass-through.

Apple apparently realized early in the headset's development that the long-term goal of building AR glasses with sufficient power was unfeasible. Engineers calculated that the glasses would have to provide the full performance of an iPhone with only a tenth of its power consumption to prevent them from getting too hot.

Mike Rockwell, a former Dolby executive hired to spearhead the development of experimental head-worn devices at Apple, has continued to describe the headset as laying the foundations for a future AR glasses device to secure resources. Apple's work on the device now receives only limited resources.

An employee working on the project told Bloomberg that there is a running joke on the team that the company continues work on the "hopeless" device simply to keep Tim Cook happy. Despite making no meaningful progress on the AR glasses by 2019, Rockwell told over 100 employees at an an all-hands meeting later that year that Apple could introduce the glasses just one year after it introduced the first headset – a time frame that now seems impossible.

Apple eventually postponed any serious development on a standalone glasses product for a period of years, "all but killing the idea." The company is now said to be at least four years away from introducing any such product.

Article Link: Apple AR Glasses Reportedly Still at Least Four Years Away From Launch
 
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  • Haha
Reactions: prefuse07
XR / VR / AR... I dunno...
I'd love VR for X-Plane 12... But the Mac is not ready for that... need more grfx horsepower.
I'd love AR glasses... if they work perfectly with prescription lenses...

So, what are we expecting at WWDC precisely?
 
Glasses would be amazing, the AR headset must be getting introduced as some sort of trickle down to full glasses. Developing revenue, a market and technology. I definitely think the headset will be an AppleTV type ‘hobby’ product to help them to get to glasses.
 
Gurman's really hedging his bets now. Hasn't he previously said they would be released last year, this year, next month, next year, two years ago, three years time and now four years away.

He predicts everything and nothing. Occasionally he gets it nearly right.
 
Four years seems unrealistic. The tech simply is not there with lenses, semis or even other components.

End of the decade is maybe more realistic, but let’s see.
Just batteries will be an issue, unless they keep the separate wired battery pack idea. People wore iPod corded headphones for a long time...
 
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Gurman's really hedging his bets now. Hasn't he previously said they would be released last year, this year, next month, next year, two years ago, three years time and now four years away.

He predicts everything and nothing. Occasionally he gets it nearly right.
This is about hypothetical AR glasses, not the upcoming VR headset.
 
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Inb4 people visiting this thread confuse the glasses for the goggles and complain that leakers can't get their story straight about whether its coming in 2 weeks or 4 years… and start insulting them over said confusion.

EDIT: Oh dear… it appears I'm too late. :(

Gurman's really hedging his bets now. Hasn't he previously said they would be released last year, this year, next month, next year, two years ago, three years time and now four years away.

He predicts everything and nothing. Occasionally he gets it nearly right.
 
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Reactions: valleian and klasma
Now this will be a game changer! You will see so many people who never wore glasses with one of these.

These glasses will be capable of identifying people from your contacts and social media in a crowded room or on the street and instantly remind you of the last interaction you had with them. With the help of neural processors, they will be able to read lips and translate for those who may be hearing impaired. It'll even connect with Maps to give you a visual display of your travel route. Not to mention real-time photos and 1st person video of anything you experience as it happens.

Yes, it'll be at least 4 years out, but WOW. This will become the new hands-free iPhone, and Apple knows it.
 
So basically Mark Gurman is saying they will launch at WWDC but it’s still four years away… ah ha.

This guy has the journalistic abilities of the National Enquirer. Nice one Mark…

Man I wish MacRumors would stop reporting the nonsense this guy spouts. Mark, the tarot card reader.
He’s saying the ski goggle-like HEADSET will launch at WWDC next month but that the much less conspicuous AR glasses are four years away.
 
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Don’t bother launching it, please. Google tried and they failed.


Well to be fair just because Google did something and canceled it doesn’t mean anything. They’ve canceled 90% of everything they’ve ever done. And usually didn’t even give it a proper try.
 
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