Could Apple’s next big innovation be in the world of smart glasses?
According to some tech experts, that could be the case, with rumours suggesting the iPhone maker is working with glasses makers on a pair of mixed reality – or augmented reality – glasses that could be unveiled this year.
Reports have been circulating for some time that the tech giant has been looking into the idea of creating an augmented reality product, and now US-based tech writer Robert Scoble added some fuel to that fire with a reported encounter with lens maker Carl Zeiss, who Scoble suggests is working with Apple on the product.
For those unsure of the difference between augmented and virtual reality, augmented reality overlays digital images on to the real world, in contrast to
VR, which fully immerses the user inside a virtual world via a headset.
The ill-fated Google Glass was the first modern example of AR, while Microsoft’s HoloLens also uses the technology and is steadily growing as a platform under careful supervision by the firm.
Apple boss Tim Cook has expressed his admiration for AR in the past too,
suggesting he sees it as a more viable platform than virtual reality, suggesting
it was the “larger” of the two and calling it a “core technology” during a TV
interview in September.
This is already expected to be a landmark year for Apple, with the firm marking the 10th anniversary of the iPhone launch – said to involve a major redesign of the phone coming in September – while there have also been rumours of an extensive refresh of the iPad line-up to come too.