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Kuo: Apple May Release Augmented Reality Contact Lenses in 2030s

If anybody is interested in how the full AR contact lens cyber reality might play out, I highly recommend Vernor Vinge's wonderful near-future science fiction novel Rainbows End.
en.wikipedia.org

<i>Rainbows End</i>

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
neilw said:
A prediction about what Apple might release in the 30s is so absurdly pointless. I mean, really.
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I disagree.

If Apple wants to be have a competitive product, they need to be working on the software now, and they clearly have been for at least a decade.

Software doesn't always move faster than hardware. Designing a good user interface for a completely new interaction model takes decades, and contact lenses with a built in display already exist today. The only thing holding them back is battery technology and Apple needs to be ready when that improves.
 
No thank you. Maybe I am too old, but I really can't see why AR/VR is needed or wanted by anyone beyond entertainment. I wear my contact lenses just to see and any lens going on your eye that isn't prescribed is trouble in the making regardless of what year it is.

I'd imagine in areas such as sports or quizzes or examinations or anything that gives one any kind of edge would not be allowed. I already pay enough on lenses, and the lenses get tossed out every fortnight so why would anyone want to pay significant sums that get thrown out?

Again perhaps I am too old to understand these agains. I guess I've become Grandpa Simpson.
 
Maconplasma said:
Another stupid rumor. Apple would never do this. One of the reasons the entire idea is stupid is because you have to stick this in your eye
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That sounds a lot more convenient than wearing a watch on my wrist, which I do every day.

Maconplasma said:
there are a great deal of people who can't even wear contacts due to having astigmatism.
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Certain types of contact lenses don't work with astigmatism. Other types do work. Presumably these will be the latter type and most likely they'll also correct your astigmatism at the same time.

Maconplasma said:
This would be a niche product that only a few people who want to brag on social media for having until the honeymoon is over and they'll be thrown in someone's desk. It's easier, faster and safer to wear goggles.
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Nobody wants to wear goggles every day all day long. Goggles are a niche product, contact lenses can be comfortable enough you'll forget you're wearing them and invisible to both other people around you and also invisible to the wearer when they're not using them. I don't see why it'd be a niche product.
 
jweinraub said:
No thank you. Maybe I am too old, but I really can't see why AR/VR is needed or wanted by anyone beyond entertainment.
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It'd be great for notifications and reminders, which everyone could benefit from.

jweinraub said:
I already pay enough on lenses, and the lenses get tossed out every fortnight so why would anyone want to pay significant sums that get thrown out?
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Contact lenses have come along way. Some last years and can be safely worn while sleeping.
 
Just a gentle reminder: contact lens displays are physically impossible.

The only way you can shoot a focused pixel from the front of a lens is to use light that is traveling in a single direction with a single wavelength. In other words, a single-color laser per pixel.
 
abhibeckert said:
That sounds a lot more convenient than wearing a watch on my wrist, which I do every day.
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LMAO yeah right. Sticking something in one's eye is more convenient than wearing a watch? That's a laugh. 🙄
abhibeckert said:
Certain types of contact lenses don't work with astigmatism. Other types do work. Presumably these will be the latter type and most likely they'll also correct your astigmatism at the same time.
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Why you even think this is going to be reality with Apple is a joke. This is not a product Apple will be making. It's hardly an Apple-like product.
abhibeckert said:
Nobody wants to wear goggles every day all day long.
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And since the subject is about Augmented Reality let's understand that you are exaggerating to the max because no one will be using Augmented Reality everyday all day long either.
abhibeckert said:
Goggles are a niche product, contact lenses can be comfortable enough you'll forget you're wearing them and invisible to both other people around you and also invisible to the wearer when they're not using them. I don't see why it'd be a niche product.
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You will not see Apple offering this product.
 
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Reactions: Maconplasma
It will transform your partners smile from this...
1615157598377.png


to this...

1615157653471.png


...and Apple will get sued once the battery goes empty.
 
To me, this is a massive (And yet a very audacious) prediction. I don’t think Kuo has ever predicted anything in nine years out in terms of where we will be with technology from Apple, but it’s totally believable given where AR is leading.

There’s quite a few tech articles written on this site, but this piece is really intriguing and if there’s one company that would be behind this type of technology, it would be Apple.
 
Too many puns. Will it be called iEye? This will be the only device I wouldn't want to unlock with Touch ID or passcode ("ow, my eye!). Will it have Retina Display? Can it only be cleaned with a $50 solution (called "iDrops") sold exclusively by Apple?
 
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Reactions: Mendoza_559 and kazmac
We are no where close to this kind of tech. Maybe in 2130. Even then direct neural interface sounds more feasible than a transparent lens. Which somehow has computer processing, wireless radio, power storage and a HUD.

The problem with fantastical tech predictions. They usually don't come true. Then other stuff takes us by surprise.
 
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How does one charge these contact lenses from AD 2130?
Are they powered by UV light exposure?
 
On a serious note, this is the end of Kuo. Such discussion would probably done with a few people so early in its ideation process which means there were 5 people in the room and one of them is Kuo’s informant. He/she will be caught and Kuo will only be making guesses after that. Oh wait.
 
never say never but I can't see how this would ever be able to be not only see through but also thin enough that you could actually wear it and also completely cleanable on a daily basis
 
“You can only see what Apple approves from this point on” huh, as if big tech giants ain’t controlling us enough. How about Apple Brain Implants? Turn everyone into an avid Apple hardcore fan?

This article reminds me Tom Scott’s video talking about a virtual reality thing that in the future, you are revived, but because you are not wealthy before your death, you could not enjoy a “real” world, but rather a heavily altered one with ads and censored information. Not only that, your previous memory and thoughts are permanently erased. What’s worse, because this “reality” is backed by mega tech corps, lawyers have determined you are not entitled to sue them over under any circumstances.

Sounds bleak? Well, if Apple contactless lenses does become a thing, this Tom Scott’s imagination will not be that far off. I can’t imagine how the communication would go if our senses are altered to such extent.

Granted, this Apple lenses may not happen in the near future, but I just can’t stop to think about such possibility, even though contactless lenses alone might be ok.
 
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