Apple’s often-rumoured AR glasses could launch in 2020: report

It looks like Apple’s often-rumoured augmented reality glasses (AR) are still in the works and could launch in 2020, according to noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and the Economic Daily Times.

Kuo predicts that rather than a standalone device like Microsoft’s recently announced HoloLens 2, Apple’s AR glasses will operate as an iPhone accessory. That said, the AR glasses will feature its own display, network card and built-in position tracking. It seems the glasses will utilize the processing power of Apple’s smartphone, similar to the LG 360 VR that released alongside the G5 smartphone back in 2016.

Apple’s AR efforts so far have been confined to ARKit and its successor ARKit 2.0, the tech giant’s development framework for augmented reality experiences on the iPhone and iPad.

Rumours that Apple is working on some sort of AR headset have been swirling since a Bloomberg report that surfaced way back in 2017.

At the time, the publication also wrote that the headset would run on a new operating system based on iOS called ‘rOS,’ which reportedly stands for ‘reality operating system.’ Apple’s AR headset was supposed to be ready for 2019 according to Bloomberg’s initial report, though that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

With iPhone sales softening, it makes sense for Apple to be getting more creative with its hardware offerings as it ramps up the services side of the company. That said, given AR has yet to really become mainstream, it remains to be seen if Apple’s augmented reality headset will be able to accomplish what other AR headsets haven’t.

Source: The Economic Daily News Via: MacRumors