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Yes, just like the hinted/rumored medical tracking features on the watch, features that never saw the light of day. And then we have the rumors about the "we cracked it" revolutionary new TV product, the car project, etc., etc. All nothingburgers.

Hey really smart investors, how does it feel getting played repeatedly by Apple PR? (It's not a profit until you sell)
I'm not just looking at Apple here.

I see a world of possibilities.

AR will be massive.
 
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The way I view things, AR has been with us for a very long time. A good example is military aircraft heads-up displays.

This AR is attached to the aircraft. (yeah there is a move to attach it to the helmet in some cases ). A aircraft HUD isn't necessarily a car HUD. The questions is why is there one device that is a being used as a HUD in multiple different contexts.

Distracted driving is enough of a problem. More stuff in the driver's vision that is 100% on the task of driving is actually a more backward, not forward. If the task is fixed then where does the generic device plug in?


Another is the integration of exposure controls/information with a camera's LCD display,

DSLR camera show settings in view finder for a long time at this point.

I can imagine a number of very good uses for real-time facial/object recognition (view person/object, see information about that person/object superimposed on the scene or delivered by voice to an earpiece).

Old MIT Media lab demo from several years back did this ( been done and not rushed into a product). Don't know if virtual name tags and universal facial reg is go over well with folks.
 
Glasses won't take off. Imagine everyone wearing the same glasses. And it will be banned everywhere. Smart lenses are the future, but it will take a long time to get there.
 
Wow, people in charge of successful companies really enjoy wasting money. In a world where our phones can't use GPS for too long w/o the battery immediately draining, yeah, this sounds like a reasonable thing to want. Lets spend millions on a useless DOA novelty. Smart.
 
From the past experience, the rumors are always right while the mockups are always wrong.
 
In this I would agree with you. It's a lot like the smartwatch thing. They have some purpose but they are still a solution in search of a real problem and they haven't taken over the world in storm as was predicted. Overall industry sales of them are on the decline as they retool for being more fitness-centric.
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There's a lot to your post but I'll reply to parts. What problem does snapchat solve? I wondered that myself but after seeing enough people use it (I don't use it myself) I figured out it's basically the gradeschool "notes" being passed back and forth. It solves the immediacy need for people to be goofy or share immediate info. I personally didn't think it would have any staying power but apparently it does. Of course there's a big difference. Snap is here and now and people have voted with usage. Most of the AR stuff is theoretical and conjecture. The market hasn't spoken on it yet.

I can sit here and come up with a lot of "interesting" uses for AR and VR but how much of what I come up with will be practical and people would actually buy into it. People have been saying VR was the next big thing since the late 1980s. Still waiting. AR is just VR re-tooled.

That's a poor thing to say though. The fundamental technologies required for good AR and VR have just not existed until now, and even now, they are still in their infancy and provide questionable quality.

If Apple had released iPhone in 1985 and were doing their 10th anniversary iPhone in 1995, it would still be a terrible phone compared to the very first iPhone in 2005.

I don't see how something as, lets face it, crappy has Snapchat can succeed and be popular - but you don't see that AR is likely to do the same. AR can basically do everything a smartphone can but much better (atleast it will be able to some day), plus a lot of unique things as well.
 
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Does anyone think that AR will be that sanctity of possibilites run by the user? I'm not so sure. Someone posted this dystopical video before and I'm starting to believe this is a more likely future for AR...
 
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Think about how many people even know how to use 3D touch now. One way to kill a feature is to make it overwhelming to use at launch. More than just contextual menus is coming to 3D touch.

The real reason behind people not using Siri or 3D Touch is that is not that useful for most of the people. It was hyped as the next big thing and yet it is going down the same way as 3D TVs, curves screen monitors and stuff like that. Lets see what happens with AR and VR.
 
You know that iPad Mini that was just updated? That would be a great AR device! [short of glasses] AR is one case where you actually DO want to hold up a big screen in front of your face.
 
That isn't really a user problem. That's more of a parlor trick of convenience. There are some limited applications of AR that are genuinely useful that solves specific user problems but, for the most part, it's a parlor trick with limited practical use.

Well I disagree and think you're wrong, so we will see in a few years.

Totally agree with nwcs. It simply can't be good for brain function, particularly brain development in children, to constantly rely on electronics and a screen to tell you to "walk 65 meters and then walk down the stairs." Like most tech, AR can probably enhance productivity in certain aspects of life (e.g., heads up displays for fighter pilots), but IS, and always will be, just a parlor trick with others. Not that parlor tricks are always bad. For example, gaming might be good application for most consumer level AR, but as a productivity tool there's a good chance it'll most often be as harmful as it is helpful.

The other problem with the demo pic is that while it may be augmented, it isn't true reality. If it were, it would have advertisements plastered all over it, which (without sounding too cynical) is the true purpose of most consumer level applications of such sophisticated technology.
 
Not really. It speaks to experience and realism. On the one side are the wide-eyed dreamers who see, with their hammer, nails everywhere. On the other side are those realists who say "show me something meaningful, practical, that really solves a problem for me."

In my 30+ years on this earth, and seeing technology go from giant computers and floor sized mainframes to what we have today, Realism and experience have nothing to do with it. Realism and experience have taught me that never, ever, under-estimate humankind ingenuity to take advantage of new technologies in creative and interesting ways.

just because you and I aren't creative. Doesn't mean that there aren't others who are. There are almost 7 billion humans on this earth. i'm sure even a few hundred could surprise us.
 
The other problem with the demo pic is that while it may be augmented, it isn't true reality. If it were, it would have advertisements plastered all over it, which (without sounding too cynical) is the true purpose of most consumer level applications of such sophisticated technology.
I cut out the rest of the post because I agree, and it's boring to just state that.

However, on this side you gave me a great idea for AR Adblocks once AR glasses are an actual thing. Try to imagine America without seeing the thousands of unsolicited ads we have thrown in our faces every day, bet you can't. Imagine in a Twighlight Zone-esque world where the masses have to turn to AR to actually drill back down to the natural world without Pepsi slogans and sickly looking models plastered as far as the eye can see! :eek:
 
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I cut out the rest of the post because I agree, and it's boring to just state that.

However, on this side you gave me a great idea for AR Adblocks once AR glasses are an actual thing. Try to imagine America without seeing the thousands of unsolicited ads we have thrown in our faces every day, bet you can't. Imagine in a Twighlight Zone-esque world where the masses have to turn to AR to actually drill back down to the natural world without Pepsi slogans and sickly looking models plastered as far as the eye can see! :eek:

Well, in keeping with that time-honored business model of creating the problem to sell the solution, I think you have something there! Maybe we'll need AR just to see past all the crap!
 
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Well, in keeping with that time-honored business model of creating the problem to sell the solution, I think you have something there! Maybe we'll need AR just to see past all the crap!
What a world, what a wooooooooorld.
 
Totally agree with nwcs. It simply can't be good for brain function, particularly brain development in children, to constantly rely on electronics and a screen to tell you to "walk 65 meters and then walk down the stairs." Like most tech, AR can probably enhance productivity in certain aspects of life (e.g., heads up displays for fighter pilots), but IS, and always will be, just a parlor trick with others. Not that parlor tricks are always bad. For example, gaming might be good application for most consumer level AR, but as a productivity tool there's a good chance it'll most often be as harmful as it is helpful.

The other problem with the demo pic is that while it may be augmented, it isn't true reality. If it were, it would have advertisements plastered all over it, which (without sounding too cynical) is the true purpose of most consumer level applications of such sophisticated technology.

Gaming is probably the least imaginative use for AR that one could think of.

The rest of your post is pure conjecture, and to which I reply: nah.
 



It's been known that Apple has people working on augmented reality initiatives for future devices, which range from the technology's inclusion in a future version of the iPhone to separate "mixed reality" glasses. Today, a Bloomberg report has gathered all of the speculation surrounding Apple and AR together, while also providing some insight into a few lesser-known areas of Apple's AR project.

Apple's augmented reality team is said to combine "the strengths of its hardware and software veterans," along with new additions within the company, according to people familiar with Apple's plans. The team is run by Mike Rockwell, who came from Dolby, and also consists of Yury Petrov (formerly of Oculus), Avi Barzeev (formerly of HoloLens), Cody White (formerly of Amazon's VR project "Lumberyard"), Tomlinson Holman (formerly of Lucasfilm), and more.

iphone-augmented-reality-800x800.jpg

A concept image of what AR on future iPhones could look like.


The total scope of Apple's AR team is rounded out by many camera and optical lens engineers, as well as "people with experience in sourcing the raw materials for the glasses." Apple has even included talent from 3D animation company Weta Digital, which worked on films like Avatar and The Lord of the Rings. This team of individuals, along with AR advocate Tim Cook, see the new technology as a way for Apple "to dominate the next generation of gadgetry and keep people wedded to its ecosystem."
The separate glasses are said to still be "a ways off," but AR integrated iPhone devices could show up much sooner, said the inside sources. Bloomberg compared the AR glasses to the Apple Watch, mentioning that the technology would come with its own OS and likely be tethered to an iPhone to send images and content to the user while consuming a lot of power, forcing Apple to find a battery life solution that would fit in the wearable's small frame. In addition to battery problems, Apple will have to find a way to convince users to wear the glasses in the first place.

Explanations regarding the usefulness of AR on an iPhone remain scarce, but some feature details were also provided by Bloomberg today. The camera-specific abilities include ways for users to change the depth of an entire photo, or the depth of a specific object in the photo. In the past, Apple has cited interest in such technology, filing a patent for a digital camera with a refocusable imaging mode adapter that could be included in an iPhone. Former CEO Steve Jobs even met with a company, Lytro, who created the first light field camera.
Apple is believed to be working on virtual reality technology, in addition to its interest in augmented reality, but with the success of apps like Pokémon Go the rumor cycle has taken to suggest that the company is betting more on AR. It's still unclear when a product including either piece of technology might launch. Recent concept images of the "iPhone 8" have taken a crack at visualizing AR features on an Apple smartphone, baking in "enhanced Siri" abilities and augmented reality directly into the user interface.

Although many companies continue to invest time and money into both AR and VR, data collected by a number of market research firms late last year suggested that sales for such devices were weakening amid consumer apathy, grown out of a lack of interesting content and expensive prices.

Article Link: Apple's AR Team Includes Talent From Lucasfilm and Weta Digital, Smart Glasses Still 'A Ways Off'
[doublepost=1491177870][/doublepost]Maybe Apple will call their new HMD the iVR?

We've been building AR / VR 360 cloud servers since 2010. It's been an exciting ride for 7 years. In 2014, I developed an attractive HUD UI interface for iPhones, but the OS at that time was not capable of doing what I had envisioned. It's ready today.

The last two years have been pretty incredible with what we've been able to do with AR, VR and now MR (Mixed Reality). We're especially excited about our OEM relationship with HP.

HP hired us last year to help develop a few new apps to use 360 AR/VR on the new Sprout Pro (G2) black model -- coming out in April/May 2017).

Right now, I'm putting the final touches on a Sprout Pro kiosk UI for a 3D flooring kiosk simulator.

Here's the flooring VR tour that works on Apple iPhones and Safari.

Just load the URL and turn iPhone side ways, press the ENTER VR button and pop your iPhone into a Google Daydream VR or any pne of the Google compatible, or plastic headsets and just look at the tiles to change the floor instantly.

I would like any kind of feedback on your thoughts, usability, etc. Thanks.

VPiX-4-Shopping-Mall-APPs-2.png
 
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