Tag: AR Glasses

Apple has decided to put on hold its project for AR glasses that needed to be connected to a Mac, but don’t worry, they haven’t given up on the idea of standalone AR glasses. According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Apple is still very much committed to creating these futuristic glasses; they’re just taking a bit more time to perfect them.

Last month, it was reported that Apple had canceled its plan for AR glasses that would have looked like regular glasses but needed a Mac to work. This news was initially alarming, but it’s not the end of the AR dream. The glasses in question were akin to the RayNeo Air 2S, which I had the chance to review, but with a higher price tag and quality.

Apple’s hardware leader, John Ternus, is cautious about launching another product that doesn’t meet expectations. Therefore, the focus is now shifting towards developing a standalone version of these glasses, similar to the expensive prototypes Meta showcased last year.

The team at Apple, particularly the Vision Products Group, is busy working on all the essential technologies needed for these glasses. They’re focusing on improving screens and chips to make this vision a reality. However, we’re looking at a wait of at least three to five years before these glasses might hit the market.

The groundwork laid by visionOS suggests Apple is on the right track. Here’s hoping that when the time comes, Apple will bring something truly innovative to the world of AR.

Apple has decided to stop working on augmented reality (AR) glasses that were meant to work with the Mac, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The idea was to make glasses that look normal but could show AR images.

Apple wanted these AR glasses to be powered by the Mac because the glasses themselves couldn’t hold the big chip needed for AR without getting too hot or heavy. The goal was to have the glasses perform like an iPhone but use much less power. But, they found out that connecting the glasses to an iPhone wasn’t practical due to battery life issues, so they tried using the Mac instead. However, Apple’s leaders didn’t think this was a good long-term plan, so they ended the project.

These AR glasses were lighter than Apple’s Vision Pro headset, didn’t need a head strap, and didn’t show the wearer’s eyes on the front. They also had lenses that could change color depending on what the user was doing, like signaling to others whether they were busy.

Apple has been talking about AR glasses for nearly ten years, but the technology isn’t there yet for the kind of glasses they want. Back in 2023, Gurman mentioned that the AR glasses were somewhat of a running gag among the team, working on it just to keep CEO Tim Cook satisfied. In 2017, Cook admitted that the tech for good-quality AR glasses didn’t exist, and it seems that’s still true.

Even though they’ve stopped the glasses project, Apple is still working on new versions of the Vision Pro, hoping to return to the AR glasses idea when the tech catches up. The glasses were supposed to use tiny projectors to show images and videos to the wearer, and Apple continues to develop special microLED screens that could be used in future AR glasses.

Meanwhile, Apple’s competitor, Meta, is making its own AR glasses called “Orion,” which are still in the early stages and very expensive to produce. They’re planning to launch them by 2027, the same year Apple had originally aimed for its now-canceled glasses.