Apple’s interest in augmented reality (AR) is pretty obvious, what with the company launching ARKit for iOS devices at WWDC 2017 earlier this year. However we’re sure that the company has bigger plans besides just phones, and we have also heard rumors that Apple could have a pair of AR smartglasses in the works as well.Now thanks to a report from the Financial Times (paywall; via BGR), additional details about the rumored device has surfaced. According to the report, Apple is working on a pair of AR powered smartglasses, which is in line with what we’ve been hearing so far. The report also goes on to add that Apple is exploring various designs, one of which is said to sport just a set of 3D cameras without a dedicated display, which means that this headset will have to be paired with another device like an iPhone or iPad.
However the report claims that Apple is still in the early stages as they have yet to find a proper use for such a headset. “A particular area of experimentation, people familiar with the matter say, is a pair of AR glasses that might move cameras, sensors and screens from the smartphone to the face. Yet despite the excitement surrounding ARKit, internally the company is still not sure what the most compelling application for such a headset might be.”
We have seen companies such as Google attempt AR smartglasses like with the Google Glass, but unfortunately it never got to the commercialization stage before the project was shut down. We’re not sure how Apple might distinguish themselves from what’s been tried in the past, and for all we know, Apple could decide to shelve it if they can’t find anything, but either way take it with a grain of salt for now.
Filed in . Read more about Augmented Reality (AR) and Wearable Tech.