Apple CEO 'Hell Bent' on Launching True AR Glasses Before Meta

[leonremi]

Hellbent on winning a race that no single client cares about?

I know the whole thing about the client not knowing what he wants and all that.

But it’s not like any VR/MR/AR helmet has taken the world by storm.

Many failed, some are selling all right…. But mass market adoption and killer features are just not there. And it’s debatable if they ever will be.

 

[doelcm82]

Gestures in the air with eye-tracking is rather imprecise and tiring though. It’s something to use in a pinch (haha), but it doesn’t come close to the accuracy and convenience of a touch screen, not to mention keyboard and mouse.

So if gestures in the air were more precise that might allay your concerns. They don't have to be tiring. You can rest your hand on a desk or on your lap, as you would if using a touch screen or a keyboard and mouse.

AVP's onscreen keyboard is a pain to use (some might be better at it than I am). But you could type on a virtual keyboard on your desk, and drag a finger on any surface to emulate a touchscreen or even a mouse. And of course you could pair an actual keyboard and mouse to use with your Apple Glasses.

My assumption is that your current experiences with current products are inferior to the future experiences with future products.

 

[doelcm82]

Hellbent on winning a race that no single client cares about?

I know the whole thing about the client not knowing what he wants and all that.

But it’s not like any VR/MR/AR helmet has taken the world by storm.

Many failed, some are selling all right…. But mass market adoption and killer features are just not there. And it’s debatable if they ever will be.

So you're telling me there's a chance.

 

[klasma]

So if gestures in the air were more precise that might allay your concerns. They don't have to be tiring.

What’s tiring is having to “point” with your eyes. If you could accurately point with just the fingers, that would be different. But there’s the problem: you can’t accurately point with your finger while at the same time also “pinching” to indicate an action. Unless you’re pointing with one hand and pinching with the other; which then again is hard to coordinate. I don’t see how this can become a convenient and efficient interface, without a brain implant.

 

[Mr_Ed]

When you don't want the information, you can, gasp, take them off. Seriously. Put it in your pocket with your phone.

Exactly! They devolve into an "all or nothing" proposition in actual use unless you are toggling functionality on a regular basis. Thank you for making my point. (BTW, I would advise against putting any kind of eyeglasses in your pocket with a phone or anything else)

You don't customize your phone or computers?! wow. I know I have mine customized for all sorts of things including focus, sleep time, what info it does or does not accept from strangers (hint, not not not for me), etc. It's not a big deal at all. You do it slowly over time.

Sure. I have my phone customized as well. I get very few interruptions, which is how I like it.

You can assume AR glasses are customized once and you are done, in which case you may see all the enabled visual notifications/recognition functions in your field of view whether you want them or not at that time, just like I said. Or, you only turn on the things you want, when you actually need them so you are not bombarded with information you are not interested in at that moment, which means you are toggling settings all the time, also just like I said. Or I can take them off when they get annoying, as you suggest. So in my situation, I am carrying a phone, a pair of prescription glasses, AND a pair of prescription AR glasses.

I think I'll go with just not dealing with any of that and just stick with the phone. There is nothing about the AR glasses that make them useful enough for the hassle. YMMV, so go for it!

 

[HiRez]

Not surprising. Tim lost face with the Apple Vision Pro. In my opinion, Mark was totally living in his head. AR glasses, are amazing and appeal to the masses, so let's hope we see some momentum from Apple, here.

I don't know if I'm sold on the concept, but it does seem like they could have a much larger appeal than the humongous Vision Pro, and they can certainly leverage a lot of work they did there to this. Still need to figure out how to do it without a tether though, that's a non-starter for a lot of (most?) people. Glasses could have lighter power requirements (less sensors and cameras, maybe dial back the resolution, etc.) but there's also a lot less space to work with.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

"Tim cares about nothing else," Gurman quotes a person with knowledge of the matter as saying. "It's the only thing he's really spending his time on from a product development standpoint."

Uh oh

 

[applefella]

I wonder what will happen to the Apple Watch if they release Apple Glasses.

I guess Apple Watch wouldn't be obsolete for the physical health fans.

But I wonder what Apple Glasses would be able to accomplish.

... Texts, maps or walking directions... How would it work while driving? Can you play games like Pokémon Go with them? Can you read your Pages or Notes documents? Can you watch videos?

Lots of unknowns. If it's done right, it could become quite cool.

 

[G5isAlive]

You can assume AR glasses are customized once and you are done, in which case you may see all the enabled visual notifications/recognition functions in your field of view whether you want them or not at that time, just like I said. Or, you only turn on the things you want, when you actually need them so you are not bombarded with information you are not interested in at that moment, which means you are toggling settings all the time, also just like I said. Or I can take them off when they get annoying, as you suggest. So in my situation, I am carrying a phone, a pair of prescription glasses, AND a pair of prescription AR glasses.

well..just like I said..customize to your need. I don't continuously change my settings on my phone, no clue why you insist you would have to with glasses. except you keep saying it without even ever trying it lol

speaking of how much time have you spent with an AVP? It's great at eye tracking, just like I have said, so it doesnt take much imagination, just like I said, to think the glasses can track where you are focusing your attention, and then and only then supply context appropriate information.

I did not say take them off when they get annoying. take them off when you don't need them, just like I said.

In my situation, my phone fits in my pants pocket, my prescription sunglasses fit in case (to spell things out) in my jacket or shirt pocket ( I swap them with my prescription glasses ), and nothing changes. instead of sunglasses carry ar glasses. NO NET CHANGE. didnt take much imagination at all.

 

[russell_314]

Depends on how you use it, I guess. My iPhone is not my most used, nor primary device. I still talk more than text.

I find many older people do this because they’re still used to the older technology. There’s nothing wrong with that if it works for you, but I don’t think that’s the future.

It's not an improvement, because I can't use my fingers to interact with it. At best, I have to talk to it, which is annoying and doesn't work in crowded places, quiet places, offices, the public, etc. No company, Apple or otherwise, had made a voice assistant that is even 80% as capable as a keyboard, on-screen or otherwise. You trust that Apple can make Siri work well enough to negate the need for physical input? What do you do when you're somewhere where talking to your glasses isn't appropriate, allowed, or private?

I don’t think it’s about interacting with it rather than getting information from it. Think of it like a computer monitor rather than a keyboard. With AI, it should be intuitive to know what information to give you without requesting it. I don’t see people talking to their glasses. In an extreme future version of this, it will read your thoughts. Don’t expect that to come out within 20 years.

I can't completely remove it, because I can slow it down. I routinely leave my phone at home, and often pay with cash.

This is something most people of the newer generations would never do. I suspect cash will go away within 20 years.

My phone can do every one those things right now, I just have to aim said camera.

I just don't want every jackass walking down the sidewalk or hallway to know my name.

I don’t know of any app or your phone will automatically identify things and give you feedback, but maybe there is. You would look awful goofy pointing your phone camera at things while looking at the screen. Of course everyone else is walking with their phone facing down so maybe not that goofy.

So, nothing I can’t already manage, except more overbearing and distracting since it will bombard me with details whether I need/want them at that time or not.

I don’t think it’s going to be for everyone. I think some people will want it and others won’t.

Also note that your “people” scenario probably assumes they have opted into having “public” data about them collected in the first place and since you don’t want to rely on the likes of Meta for that, your data pool is inherently limited.

It’s not going to be just public data but rather it will remember your previous interactions with people. Not everyone has a perfect memory so it will remember the client you met two years ago and would give you a brief refresher of your past interactions. Perhaps you would be able to remember this so it wouldn’t be useful for you.

Of course this is the future and right now what we’re getting is early beta prototypes. Often the first versions of a new technology are not very good.

 

[Mr_Ed]

well..just like I said..customize to your need. I don't continuously change my settings on my phone, no clue why you insist you would have to with glasses. except you keep saying it without even ever trying it lol

You would have a clue if you bothered to read what I was responding to before jumping in.

speaking of how much time have you spent with an AVP? It's great at eye tracking, just like I have said, so it doesnt take much imagination, just like I said, to think the glasses can track where you are focusing your attention, and then and only then supply context appropriate information.

We know how eye tracking works. Unless your idea of AR glasses means they only do a couple of things (which would bring their value into question), you will have plenty of "hits" from things you just happen to look at, whether you want that or not. And unlike your phone, the AR glasses will flash it all in you field of view. That's why you might want to turn some off depending on what you are doing. It's really not that difficult to understand.

I did not say take them off when they get annoying. take them off when you don't need them, just like I said.

Seriously? Whatever the reason, you take them off. If I'm annoyed because I'm getting too many hits and I don't feel like dealing with settings, take them off. If you just want a break from visual stimuli, take them off. If they are no longer doing anything useful, take them off. You want to go to the bathroom and want some privacy, take them off. If you enter a building or establishment that prohibits cameras, take them off. If you are meeting people who would rather not be recorded, take them off. If I'm driving, take them off. If the battery is low, take them off.

I'm simply choosing to not put them on in the first place because it's not worth the hassle to me. As I said before, if you like them, by all means, go for it.

In my situation, my phone fits in my pants pocket, my prescription sunglasses fit in case (to spell things out) in my jacket or shirt pocket ( I swap them with my prescription glasses ), and nothing changes. instead of sunglasses carry ar glasses. NO NET CHANGE. didnt take much imagination at all.

Good call on the case. In my situation, AR glasses are an extra item. I only ever have one pair of glasses (transition in sunlight) and my phone. No case.

 

[thebart]

Remember the Pokemon live thing or whatever that was called that got people briefly going outdoors to hunt virtual critters? Maybe this will get people to look up from their phones and It's a Good Thing(tm)

Of course they better have voice command nailed down. No easy task for Apple

 

[richinaus]

Exactly! They devolve into an "all or nothing" proposition in actual use unless you are toggling functionality on a regular basis. Thank you for making my point. (BTW, I would advise against putting any kind of eyeglasses in your pocket with a phone or anything else)


Sure. I have my phone customized as well. I get very few interruptions, which is how I like it.

You can assume AR glasses are customized once and you are done, in which case you may see all the enabled visual notifications/recognition functions in your field of view whether you want them or not at that time, just like I said. Or, you only turn on the things you want, when you actually need them so you are not bombarded with information you are not interested in at that moment, which means you are toggling settings all the time, also just like I said. Or I can take them off when they get annoying, as you suggest. So in my situation, I am carrying a phone, a pair of prescription glasses, AND a pair of prescription AR glasses.

I think I'll go with just not dealing with any of that and just stick with the phone. There is nothing about the AR glasses that make them useful enough for the hassle. YMMV, so go for it!

I find it amusing how most people instantly just assume what their needs and uses are, are everyone else's.

I assume these same people are not creative people or work in design, otherwise we would be totally ****** in the world and be lucky if we had flintstone cars.

 

[G5isAlive]

You would have a clue if you bothered to read what I was responding to before jumping in.

Just because I am not buying what you are selling, does not mean I didn't read what you wrote. Repeating yourself is not going to change my mind. Nor is being insulting.

But you do you. Doesnt matter, Apple is going to do what Apple does regardless of both or us. Just one of us will be complaining more

 

[richinaus]

Remember the Pokemon live thing or whatever that was called that got people briefly going outdoors to hunt virtual critters? Maybe this will get people to look up from their phones and It's a Good Thing(tm)

Of course they better have voice command nailed down. No easy task for Apple

Ninantic who made it, are fully focused on location based AR.

AR glasses are going to change the day to day lives of many people once they are mainstream, effective etc. Those who think otherwise will either miss out or join in quietly [as they did with the iPhone]. The AVP is just a stepping stone and first iteration.

 

[jimbobb24]

So all it needs are technologies like 10 industries have been desperately working on with slow progress for decades...like next gen batteries. Yes....EV patiently waiting for same.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

And you are choosing to gloss over the additional management of the myriad of behaviors I’m sure you see the AR glasses being able to do. At some point, you are either leaving most of them on and trying to “tune them out”, or you are constantly turning individual ones on and off. That is part of the distraction to me. My phone is simply in my pocket until I decide I need it. Nothing to manage in the meantime because it is not interrupting me in any way

Aside from just taking them off when you don't need to use them, I'm pretty sure that AR glasses will have a touch/capacitance button to turn them off if you don't want them to distract you, so that they sit on your face doing nothing except maybe acting as sunglasses if you have the type that has electrochromic lenses.

I'm simply choosing to not put them on in the first place because it's not worth the hassle to me.

But taking a pair of these glasses out of your pocket and putting them on your face when you want to use them isn't much different from taking your smartphone out of your pocket and holding it in front of your face. Which usually occupies one of your hands, while wearing glasses doesn't.

I could be wrong.

 

[garranhado]

Wrong focus, wrong priorities.

 

[n8mac]

They can have built in wiper blades for when it rains

 

[Itinj24]

I really want one of these. Didn’t care much about the AVP but these would be much more useful, in my job.

 

[doelcm82]

They can have built in wiper blades for when it rains

"Lasers"

 

[CarlJ]

..., but I’m not sure how they would handle something like a progressive lens for projection of AR overlay.

I would presume it'd be a transparent LCD overlay on the inner (face-facing) side of the lenses (vs any sort of projection), with the lenses being constant-thickness glass for those not needing correction, or more traditional prescription lenses for those who do.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

I would presume it'd be a transparent LCD overlay on the inner (face-facing) side of the lenses (vs any sort of projection), with the lenses being constant-thickness glass for those not needing correction, or more traditional prescription lenses for those who do.

I don't think the LCD/OLED light-emitting surfaces in AR glasses can be located on the face-facing side of the lenses, since one of the main purposes of the lenses is to bend the light from the light-emitting panels so that it appears to be further away from you than it really is, to allow you to focus on it, which most people can't do with a surface that's only about an inch from their eyes, if that.

The current approach to adding prescription lenses to these AR glasses is to install a pince-nez style pair of mini-glasses between the glass's lenses and the user's eyes. With larger headset-style AR devices, often the space between the user's face and the device's lenses is roomy enough to allow the user to wear their own eyeglasses, though this runs the risk of scratching the lenses, but there's a fix for that--snap firm rubber bumpers into place around the perimeter of the lenses. This is how I use my Quest 3. This whole "stack" of lenses often requires some work right after you put on the headset to get them all aligned properly, but once you do that, unless you're jumping around in an exercise or game experience, it requires only occasional readjustment to keep things in focus. The better solution for headsets is to buy prescription lenses that snap into place over the headset's lenses, instead of the rubber bumpers.

 

[CarlJ]

Maybe i'm out of touch, but is there actually a market for these kinds of things? I try to stay OFF my phone as much as possible, so at least for me, wearing a device on my face definitely doesn't have an appeal.

I already wear glasses, and if money weren't an issue (I'd expect the first ones will be very spendy) and they weren't substantially heavier/bigger than my current glasses, and they worked really well, I'd love something like this. Not as a replacement for a phone screen, not something to have lit up all the time, but as something that can overlay data on top of reality when I want it to. So, yeah, I'd be looking through clear glass most of the time. But I can imagine hundreds of scenarios where it'd be helpful. Beyond obvious things like walking directions that appear to be drawn on the ground in front of you.

Random scenario off the top of my head: you're anxiously awaiting the delivery of a package at home (and maybe you're not home right now). Your front door camera detects motion and evaluates it to be person-sized/shaped, The information gets passed along and a small unobtrusive "door" icon appears in one of the corners of your otherwise clear lenses (of glasses you'd be wearing anyway). If you notice the icon in your periphery and ignore it, it soon fades away. If, however, you stare intently at it for a second or two, one lens of your glasses overlays a half translucent feed from your front door camera - you can still see the world around you, but you can also see your front porch. You see the delivery person walking walking away, and the package on the porch. You blink, and the overlaid image goes away. And now you know that the anticipated package is on your porch, and what it looks like, in real time, and you never had to touch anything - no taking out and waking up your iPhone, no raising your wrist to look at your Watch, etc. If you were walking around with things in your hands, you didn't have to juggle things around.

People seem to expect smart glasses to give you a super obtrusive all-singing all-dancing video game HUD all the time as you walk around. It doesn't have to be like that. It can be much more subtle, and be enormously useful. It's not that it's doing things that you cannot do, to some extent, with your iPhone, but then that was true for the Watch as well, and that has turned out to be quite popular (I love mine).

 

[zenmacx]

If Cook wants to reward and impress his loyal customers, improving SIRI would be brilliant. It would restore faith in Apple’s commitment to excellence. In turn more people would be interested in continuing to buy new products.