Kuo: Apple's AR Glasses to Launch in 2020 as iPhone Accessory

[subjonas]

AR has incredible potential value, but it has big challenges coming to the general consumer market. Even more than technological aspects are the social aspects. Don’t put it past society to reject something simply because of the image it presents, despite the advantages. But that is surmountable. The even bigger issue is the prospect of people walking around with cameras on their faces and the concerns of privacy that will arise. There are already laws and rules that prohibit cameras in many circumstances. If one is unexpectedly told to remove their AR prescription glasses, are they to always carry around a second pair of regular glasses so that they can see?

The enterprise world, however, is a different story. At work, anything goes. Good quality AR glasses would significantly improve efficiency in my work, and is something I would adopt without thinking twice. Would love if Apple can even come out with something large like the HoloLens, but that works better and is tethered to a Mac since I don’t expect a headset to have the processing power I need.

 

[Abazigal]

If they do this with eyewear, they might have something. The mainstream is still not ready for the potential kaos. People can’t even walk down the street without their heads buried in their phones. And even heads up displays are distracting.

Won’t that solve the issue of people always having their heads down to their phones? No need to look down at your phone if all the relevant data is right there in front of your face.

 

[Jcxa]

Ha, Ha, Ha you are killing me; They can't even get the Mac Pro out and you think Apple has enough brain power to do this?

 

[cmaier]

Ha, Ha, Ha you are killing me; They can't even get the Mac Pro out and you think Apple has enough brain power to do this?

Despite the vocal whining, if the Mac Pro cured cancer they would still only sell enough of them to barely justify the engineering effort.

Believe it or not, apple focuses their energies on stuff that has the potential to make them money, not the wet dreams of a bunch of whiny astroturfing rumors forums nerds.

 

[falainber]

If Apple does release AR glasses they will be taking a risk. Right now AR devices found a purpose with industrial/training applications. But Apple is a consumer electronics company. Them releasing AR glasses would be a big event but if consumers don't embrace it this would be equally big failure.

 

[cmaier]

If Apple does release AR glasses they will be taking a risk. Right now AR devices found a purpose with industrial/training applications. But Apple is a consumer electronics company. Them releasing AR glasses would be a big event but if consumers don't embrace it this would be equally big failure.

Same with Apple Watch.

Same with smartphone with no keyboard.

 

[falainber]

Same with Apple Watch.

Same with smartphone with no keyboard.

Sure. Similar scenario (although smart watch is a stretch) we'll see if the outcome is the same. There is a difference though. Smart phones and watches had an established use case before Apple entered the market. Not so with AR glasses. Has Apple ever created a new category of products? I can't think of a single thing.

 

[cmaier]

Sure. Similar scenario (although smart watch is a stretch) we'll see if the outcome is the same. There is a difference though. Smart phones and watches had an established use case before Apple entered the market. Not so with AR glasses. Has Apple ever created a new category of products? I can't think of a single thing.

The smart watch market was barely there. The GUI market was a few guys in labs and a few 25k workstations (back when that was real money). AR glasses already exist too. They just aren’t any good. Just like pre Apple Watch smartwatches and pre iPhone smartphones and pre Mac pc’s.

 

[davester]

20/20 vision in 2020. Can’t wait!

 

[Imdougurnot]

Apple's first rumored head-mounted augmented reality device could be ready by the middle of next year, according to a new report out today from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via Economic Daily News [Google Translate]).

A fanciful mockup of digital glasses via TechAcute​

According to Kuo, Apple's AR glasses will be marketed as an iPhone accessory and primarily take a display role while wirelessly offloading computing, networking, and positioning to the iPhone.

Designing the AR glasses to work as an iPhone accessory is also expected to allow Apple to keep the glasses slim and lightweight, rather than trying to pack in all the processing hardware into the one device.

Kuo believes Apple is aiming to begin mass-producing the glasses as early as the fourth quarter of this year, although he admits the timeframe could be pushed back to the second quarter of 2020.

Back in November 2017, Bloomberg reported that Apple was developing an AR headset and aimed to have it ready by 2019, although the company could ship a product in 2020. The report said the headset would run on a new custom operating system, based on iOS, and dubbed "rOS" for "reality operating system."

Apple has been exploring virtual reality and augmented reality technologies for more than 10 years based on patent filings. The company is also rumored to have a secret research unit comprising hundreds of employees working on AR and VR, exploring ways the emerging technologies could be used in future Apple products.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has talked up the prospect of augmented reality several times, saying he views AR as "profound" because the technology "amplifies human performance instead of isolating humans."

Article Link: Kuo: Apple's AR Glasses to Launch in 2020 as iPhone Accessory

I guess notches on phones just aren’t enough. Apple here trying to put their notches on peoples faces. SMH.

 

[radiologyman]

AR glasses for consumers are inevitable and nascent market is huge when technologies are mature

 

[jjudson]

You misunderstand my point. I doubt the user will be able to extract photographs or videos.

...it has to be socially accepted.

cmaier, the augmented reality hardware we tested was a released product from a major well-known software company, and yes, it does allow taking of video and images and the saving of the same.

twolf2919, social acceptance stops when someone is watching you uninvited with a live camera.

 

[cmaier]

cmaier, the augmented reality hardware we tested was a released product from a major well-known software company, and yes, it does allow taking of video and images and the saving of the same.

twolf2919, social acceptance stops when someone is watching you uninvited with a live camera.

Again you are missing my point. I am talking about Apple”s glasses. Obviously existing glasses allow doing it - go back and look at the context. I was saying that unlike google glasses which failed in part because people shunned wearers because of privacy concerns, I don’t believe apple glasses will allow offloading images.

I’ve now said this three different ways and you keep talking about completely different issues.

 

[jjudson]

I’ve now said this three different ways and you keep talking about completely different issues.

You may have said this three different ways, but you've basically expressed your opinion three different ways. You know nothing about the actual product Apple is planning, and it's more likely it will be similar to other offerings than not -- but that's my opinion, too.

 

[cmaier]

You may have said this three different ways, but you've basically expressed your opinion three different ways. You know nothing about the actual product Apple is planning, and it's more likely it will be similar to other offerings than not -- but that's my opinion, too.

Yes. I expressly said it was my opinion. And you have repeatedly said my opinion is wrong because existing products work differently.

And I have repeatedly explained that I know how existing products work and that I am offering an opinion on what apple will do differently so their product actually succeeds.

Yet you feel the need to continue to argue that my opinion about a product that doesn’t exist has to be wrong because of your experience with products that are not the product we are talking about. You do this by simply stating what existing products do, as if I didn’t know that, despite the fact I started the conversation by stating that apple will be doing it differently than how those very products behave.

You seem to feel the need to be “right,” so here you go: yes, existing failed products allow offloading images.

And apple will not. Come back in a couple years and we will see who is right. Until then, there is no point in continuing this thread.

 

[radiologyman]

I like this concept alot better...

1. People want to their glasses to fit; that they can easily wear. Something bulky won't get rapid adoption.
2. People don't like cameras; others don't like to be near you if they feel like they are constantly being recorded.
3. People generally want their devices to add value - taking away a current problem that exists to make life easier for them or enriching their lives.

I would like something inconspicuous like this, possibly with clip on option so peeps can use it right away with existing prescription glasses. Apple likes to integrate their offerings, so Iphone can offload processing and connectivity, Airpods will provide microphone and sound, etc. Rumored 2019 Iphone may be able to do reversed wireless charging so can potentially charge both glasses and AirPods, some day at a distance. Possibilities are endless, for example this can help create essentially a heads on display in any vehicle you drive or even ride as a passenger, as hinted in a recent Apple patent for those with motion sickness.

 

[Unami]

Presumably the glasses won't have a cable running from the phone, so what high-bandwidth low-latency video transmission technology would be used?

Bluetooth, like on the notoriously high-bandwidth and lag-free apple-watch, obviously.

 

[rpat701]

Ah yes, augmented reality...a really sexy technology that's looking for a problem to solve.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Won’t that solve the issue of people always having their heads down to their phones? No need to look down at your phone if all the relevant data is right there in front of your face.

The relevant data is right in front of you without a phone or glasses.

 

[cyberlocke]

One day, actual reality will be cool again.

My heart actually breathed a little sigh of relief when I envisioned some soul in the future removing these long overused glasses and experiencing the visual clutter and noise fade away to reveal, as if for the first time, a quiet and simple, yet stunning . . . reality.

 

[nwcs]

My heart actually breathed a little sigh of relief when I envisioned some soul in the future removing these long overused glasses and experiencing the visual clutter and noise fade away to reveal, as if for the first time, a quiet and simple, yet stunning . . . reality.

And now reality is in UltraHD with all the colors and tones humans can perceive. No lag time, no screen burnout, no dimming.

 

[zuiram]

Ah yes, augmented reality...a really sexy technology that's looking for a problem to solve.

Erotica (including long distance relations) and games seem like two areas that can really benefit from a useful AR implementation.

I mean, my generation played AD&D, so imagine kids running around hurling lots of fireballs at each other and exploring a virtual environment looking for loot. You might even get them to do real exercise outdoors to grind for XPs and coins, if a suitable game comes along.

And having spent long periods of time in different locations than the SO, I could certainly see some appeal in “bridging” the distance by sticking the phone on a table or stand and slipping on glasses. It doesn’t even have to involve anything of a venal nature. Just that “almost there” element would be a major improvement over a static image, just as FaceTime was a major boost over just hearing their voice.

There will be applications we can’t yet imagine, too, and if you’re a tech, you can imagine a lot of things that *might* prove interesting but which are simply idle speculation until you have the tech on hand and can test those ideas.

Just consider something as simple as the Ikea AR demo, except interactable in a more immediate way, with no need to move around with your phone as a hand held window to the illusion, instead just stepping into that illusion and checking to see what works and doesn’t, without taking detailed measurements, going to the physical store to evaluate the real products and then coming back home to find they don’t look as good in your own home as they did on display.

I can live just fine without my Watch or my AirPods, but I’d rather not, and the sales figures bear out that I’m hardly an outlier in that regard. I imagine AR will be much the same, at first. Then, when it has become commonplace, it’ll change life in ways we can’t predict.

When I got my first Ericsson GSM phone back in the day, nobody saw a real use for text messages, and now practically all communication is text, which has impacted social interactions, planning, coordination and more.

This’ll be a Thing. Whether it’s going to be the Next Big Thing remains to be seen. Touch screens and video calls were a niche once, too.

 

[chrisbru]

I bet you wear shirts with big logos too.

Occasionally, yeah. With the name of my college, my favorite sports team, the company I work for, or bands I like. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make?

 

[BipolarAnt]

I hope Apple gives us the option to use prescription lenses in these things. Sense I already have to wear glasses, wearing these constantly would be no big deal. I would love to have a pair of these!

 

[PickUrPoison]

I hope Apple gives us the option to use prescription lenses in these things. Sense I already have to wear glasses, wearing these constantly would be no big deal. I would love to have a pair of these!

I can’t imagine they wouldn’t