While all the attention has been on Apple Reality One, the premium mixed reality headset, it seems the upcoming Apple AR smart glass, Apple Glass, will be postponed until 2025/2026.
Despite Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, calling augmented reality ‘a profound technology‘, tech analyst Jeff Pu has stated we will have to wait until 2025/2026 before we see the Apple Glass. The reason, Jeff informs, is “due to design issues” he told MarketWatch.
Interestingly, this mirrors one of the causes for the delay in Apple’s mixed reality headset, Apple Reality One, codenamed N301. With Apple’s industrial designer Jony Ivy was concerned a virtual reality headset had limited usability for consumers, transforming the headset into a mixed reality.
This delay comes when Apple is dominant in augmented reality consumer software, featuring over 14,000 AR-related applications from the App Store. While other western tech legacy companies, Google and Meta, with eastern players already having released smart glasses in Asian markets.
The question then becomes what the ‘design issues’ entail for Apple Glass. One can only speculate, but it seems Apple is following its product strategy of letting other tech companies innovate, with Apple releasing later in the life cycle to perfect.
You can read more about the exciting features and specifications of the Apple Glass here.
Jakob Pii is the Head Writer at VR Expert and currently lives in the UK. He started his career in VR gaming in 2015 and has stayed in XR since, from exposure therapy in VR to 360-degree video documentaries. He is fascinated by how emerging technologies change how we live, play and work.