Back in the day, long before the iPhone and iPad, Apple was known as a company that shipped personal computers. Sales of the Mac were were once the company’s bread and butter, whereas now, they pale in comparison to smartphones and tablets. Now there could be a new product to push the stubborn Mac back even further, and that’s the Apple Glasses.
Apple Glasses said to be coming, but when?
If you’ve never heard of this Apple product, it’s because like all the products that are unreleased, it’s probably a concept. However, Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster said in a recent report that he believes the Apple Glasses will become a reality.
According to him, they will be Apple’s foray into the world of augmented reality wearables. Akin to the now-defunct Google Glass, they would be placed on your face and provide a HUD without blocking your vision. According to Munster, AR has a fantastic future, as unlike VR, it can’t be locked in a room. Munster thinks we may have to wait until 2020 for the Apple Glasses to launch. However, Apple is active in the AR space now.
Apple purchases point to AR future
If you have been following the story of iOS 11, you may know that in some respects, Apple is laying the AR groundwork now. Earlier this month at WWDC, it showed off some AR capabilities and introduced ARKit to help developers create AR apps.
Additionally, Apple has reportedly purchased the German company SensoMotoric, which manufactures eye-tracking tech, including glasses. How this could relate to the Apple Glasses is open to conjecture, but it is certainly an interesting coincidence.
Possible future sales
So the Apple Glasses may not be coming soon, but that hasn’t prevented Munster from predicting their impact. In his report, he suggested that in five years’ time, the Apple Glasses will account for 10% of the company’s revenue. In fact, he’s also been so bold as to predict a price for the device. He thinks $1,300 is likely to start with, and they could continue to become Apple’s next big earner.
Final thoughts
If the Apple Glasses become a reality by 2020, how will the company have overcome the hurdles that faced Google? In 2013, the company was routinely mocked for coming up with what many thought was a hideous piece of technology. Google Glass has since been shelved with no plans on a rethink it, as far as we know.
That said, Apple is a different beast, one that’s known for design as much as innovation. Maybe that’s why it has turned to SenoMotoric’s suite of products. It could be that while the German company continues to innovate and reduce the size of a future set of Apple Glasses, Apple itself will create a compelling design.
What are your thoughts on AR glasses? Should they be avoided like the plague or looked into again? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
