In recent days there have been numerous rumors about future Apple Glass. But if we look back we will find even more. Rumors that are scattered here and there. As soon as augmented reality is spoken of as virtual. With cameras or without cameras. A helmet or light glasses like traditional ones.
At first glance, it may seem that Apple Glass is a project in chaos. But let us not forget that this is the outward appearance. Reality could hide up to three different models of Apple glasses. Let’s see why.
The pieces of a puzzle called Apple Glass
First of all, to know what Apple is up to with its Glass, we need to focus on solid evidence. That which is perfectly testable and that is an undeniable fact. In this context, we should look at the acquisitions made by the company in recent years:
- NextVR in May 2020: focused on streaming sports and entertainment events in virtual reality.
- IKinema in December 2019: specialized in capturing movements.
- Akonia Holographics in August 2018: technology for augmented reality glasses, similar to others that use Microsoft or Magic Leap.
This regarding the acquisitions that have been made public. Possibly there are others that have gone unnoticed by the radar because they are smaller and there is no obligation to make them known. The next step is to look at the patents :
- Eye-tracking in April 2020.
- Reduction in size and weight of virtual reality glasses in December 2019.
- Gloves to control a virtual reality device.
- Viewers adapted for people with myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism in November 2018.
And now, the most difficult. The rumors. Here we see a little of everything, among which stand out:
- New date for augmented reality glasses, estimated in 2022, in this same month of May 2020.
- The Apple Glass would arrive in 2021 according to DigiTimes, also in May 2020.
- A similar driver to that of HTC in March 2020.
- An augmented reality helmet planned for 2022 and smart glasses in 2023, according to Gurman in November 2019.
- Some augmented reality glasses 2020 according to Gurman, back in November 2017.
At the end we find a whole mess of information, gossip and things in apparent nonsense. We should organize all this to try to understand what is happening.
“It is not a single device but three of them, and we call them Apple Glass”
A phone, an iPod with touch controls and a revolutionary internet browsing device. These are not three separate devices; it is one. And we call it iPhone.
Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in this way in January 2007. Surprising those who, based on rumors, thought Apple was going to announce a new phone and iPod. It is possible that when talking about Apple Glass we are in a similar situation, only in reverse: we are not facing a single all-in-one model of augmented reality glasses. Quite possibly we are before several of them. Just organize the rumors a little and see that:
- After postponing the dates, the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 sound like launch times.
- There are very advanced technologies such as eye-tracking and others that seem more affordable, such as weight and volume reduction.
- User interactions would occur with gestures, taps, and controllers.
- There are several levels of visualization for the user: small blocks superimposed on the glass and large virtual simulations.
There is a certain contradiction between them. As for example, you cannot be light and have virtual reality capabilities. Nor do they consume little energy or need it in large quantities due to the power of its functions. For all these reasons, I think we are dealing with several devices, because it is not possible to put it all together in one. We must be in front of a completely new authentic platform, beyond what we have known so far.