Apple Execs Say Spatial Computing Is 'Inevitable' and AI Is a 'Marathon, Not a Sprint'

[Lounge vibes 05]

I understand their standpoint and it is frustrating because it’s been since 2015 that I am waiting for proper smart glasses to replace at least my screens and that are operational … I tried so many in the market but … nothing is ready and we can all call those products gadgets for now … Yes even the Quest …

Smart glasses that can completely replace all of your screens are likely still 30 years away, if that ever actually becomes a thing which I highly doubt.
I think there will always be a place for actual physical screens, just like how, despite the fact that headphones are so good at this point that they can completely re-create your environment with transparency mode and do cool things like Spatial Audio, people still have speaker set ups. They still have stereos, they still have surround sound set ups, they still have little Bluetooth speakers.

 

[urnotl33t]

You left out:

iPhone 5C
Hockey Puck mouse (iMac)
TouchBar (2019 MacBook Pro)

iPhone 5C was hugely popular for the market it meant to serve. It likely only got canceled because a few individuals couldn’t get it past their tiny brains to accept it as it was. (Reviewers, commentators, etc; essentially today’s YouTube click-baiters)
I’d argue the MacBook Neo is today’s iPhone 5C. You see the same twisting-oneself-into-knots over it that they did with the 5C. It’d be hilarious if it weren’t so pathetic.

Edit: the others on your list are valid points, tho.

 

[MichaelAdam]

Smart glasses that can completely replace all of your screens are likely still 30 years away, if that ever actually becomes a thing which I highly doubt.
I think there will always be a place for actual physical screens, just like how, despite the fact that headphones are so good at this point that they can completely re-create your environment with transparency mode and do cool things like Spatial Audio, people still have speaker set ups. They still have stereos, they still have surround sound set ups, they still have little Bluetooth speakers

Not 30 years away … 3 to 5 years from now in 30 years there won’t be any physical devices of any kind but neuralink system that will communicate all we need directly to the brain including audio and video …

 

[Happy_John]

Not 30 years away … 3 to 5 years from now in 30 years there won’t be any physical devices of any kind but neuralink system that will communicate all we need directly to the brain including audio and video …

No. The technology might exist in 30 years. but outside of techie fever dreams, the vast majority of people are NOT going to choose elective surgery to have a tech company to implant something in their head.

Bands that track muscle movement in your arm are one thing, but anything more invasive is a terribly bad idea. Even if it is not physically invasive, allowing data mining from and profiled advertising directly into a users brain is just too dystopian but , more importantly, a non-runner legally.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Not 30 years away … 3 to 5 years from now in 30 years there won’t be any physical devices of any kind but neuralink system that will communicate all we need directly to the brain including audio and video …

That is nowhere close to reality.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Not 30 years away … 3 to 5 years from now

completely see-through augmented reality glasses have been “three to five years away” perpetually since the Google Glass prototypes were first shown off. That was…checks notes…15 years ago..
We’ve still got decades to go, especially considering the fact that Micro LED is a steppingstone on the way to get to augmented reality glasses, and Apple has been trying to put that in the Apple Watch for 10 years now to no success. No other company has managed it either.
And that’s just putting it into an Apple Watch or a phone, not glasses.
You are unlikely to see fully augmented reality glasses, basically the Vision Pro Display without the headset, in an easily mass produced consumer electronics product until the 2040s. And that’s best case scenario.

 

[gaximus]

I feel like there might have been some classic fable about that. But probably not.

The fable was about a cocky rabbit that sprinted out the gate, and kept stopping because it was so far ahead. In this case the turtle keeps stopping, while the rabbit just keeps running and getting faster.

 

[Starfia]

The fable was about a cocky rabbit that sprinted out the gate, and kept stopping because it was so far ahead. In this case the turtle keeps stopping, while the rabbit just keeps running and getting faster.

Running and getting faster from a sprint is a good way to lose a marathon, is it not? If you already know how it's going to be in 30 or 40 years, I'm sure John and Joz would appreciate a memo.

 

[Hildy]

I’m hoping they are slow playing AI in an effort to solve the challenge of privacy related AI assistants. I would love to loose AI on all of my personal details, and help me with a daily assistant. I wish I could effectively search my device, email and calendar using basic search which still seems weak. Let alone conversationally, intelligently discus my data.

Eidetic memory of AI makes embracing any specific brand tenuous. Apple is the only company I would trust with that responsibility.

 

[MichaelAdam]

That is nowhere close to reality.

Please elaborate

 

[Skwoodge]

AI is a marathon for Apple. It's a sprint for everyone else. Except Apple died of a heart attack on the track halfway through the race. Hearing Apple discuss anything about the future of AI is a bit weird considering they still haven't implemented "new" Siri two years after announcing it.

 

[mlayer]

The original article and Tom's Guide interview quickly entered the archives after the big executive announcement this week. It serves as a preview of the post-Cook direction under Ternus.