Apple VR and AR headset coming in 2022 and 2025, AR contact lenses later
In addition to future iPhones and its own car, Apple is working hard on its own augmented and virtual reality headset. A new rumor states that Apple is even considering smart contact lenses.
Read on after the ad.
The rumor comes from Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5mac), usually one of the most reliable sources of Apple rumors. In an extensive report that he bases on anonymous sources at Apple, he paints a clear picture.
Contents
2022: Apple’s first VR / AR headset
For years, stories about AR glasses or VR headset from Apple have regularly surfaced, but these have been increasing considerably in recent months. Kuo has a logical explanation for this: the virtual reality headset is said to be in an advanced stage and scheduled to be launched in 2022. This headset is also said to have augmented reality capabilities.
Current prototypes weigh between 200 and 300 grams, but Apple would work to reduce this weight significantly. The headset does not need an iPhone to work and is said to be equipped with Sony micro-OLED screens. The price will be around a thousand dollars, which is cheaper than previous rumors suggested.
2025: Apple Glass AR glasses
Apple’s AR glasses (or Apple Glass) will follow later, which would not see the light of day until around 2025. These will be the futuristic glasses that we have been writing about for so long: a subtle frame with lenses that ‘superimpose’ the digital world on the real one. Apple would still be busy making prototypes, which sometimes do and sometimes do not depend on the computing power of an iPhone to work properly.
Apple clearly addresses a different market with these glasses than the headset that would be released next year. Kuo expects the company to continue to sell them both, just as there are several Mac models to choose from.
2030 or later: Smart contact lenses
Kuo’s most futuristic-sounding rumor is also set furthest in the future. The analyst says Apple is exploring the possibilities of smart contact lenses. The company calls it ‘invisible computers’ that can display digital information in the real world, just like AR glasses.
Since lenses are tiny, they will most likely require an iPhone or other device to work and connect to. Apple sees the era of “invisible computers” as the logical next step after the era of visible computers that we now live in. For the time being purely future music, but certainly interesting to keep an eye on in the coming years.
