Could Apple be working on more than one type of augmented reality (AR) glasses? The tech giant is almost certainly working on a head-mounted display (HMD). However, reliable leaker Jon Prosser said on the tech podcast Gadget Cast that Apple is working on AR glasses that support 5G networks and are more akin design-wise to regular glasses than an HMD.
Prosser says he saw two prototypes at the company’s premises, both of which were “clean” and “slick” in appearances. He expects the Apple Glasses to be announced next year with these likely features:
° They’ll be normal prescription glasses that display an interface on the inside of the lens.
° Anyone facing an Apple Glasses-wearing user won’t be able to see the AR display, which will overlay digital images over the user’s real-life surroundings.
° The Apple Glasses wold work in tandem with a 5G iPhone.
° They’ll have their own operating system that’s codenamed “Starboard.”
° Users will need an iPhone or Apple Watch to set up a pair of Apple Glasses and help extract sensor data.
° They’ll be able to take advantage of sensors in the smartwatch or smartphone, but will work without either nearby., either as a style accessory or, more vitally, to be able to see.
Know what I’d love to see from Apple? smart glasses for folks like me with mild vision problems that would automatically adjust to what your eyes are focusing on? In other words, they’d automatically adjust for near vision when reading, intermediate vision when working on a computer, and distance vision when looking at things, well, in the distance. Such technology already exists in its infancy. Imagine this and AR combined in “iGlasses.”
