Apple continues to take its sweet time with the first AR headset, so it is likely that the technology giant’s AR glasses are years away from materializing. In fact, one reporter states that the company does not need to rush with the launch, and it could be a while before we see these.
AR glasses are years away because of a boatload of technological limitations
In the free version of Mark Gurman’s ‘Power On’ newsletter, the Bloomberg reporter talks about Apple’s AR glasses, saying that this wearable is far from launching in a few years because of the following reasons.
“The reason for the shift is clear: True AR glasses are still many years away. The necessary component miniaturization, battery technology, lenses, software support and manufacturing capability is nowhere close to ready for prime time.”
The first AR headset’s mass production phase is expected to happen in March 2023, after which Apple has two additional headset models in the pipeline. Only after those releases can we get hyped for the AR glasses. Also, we are bound to see multiple improvements on successive headsets before Apple ever intends to launch a pair of AR-powered spectacles for the masses. Due to this reason, Gurman believes that the company will proceed to launch a ‘stopgap’ product.
“Rather than hold off until 2025 or so — when true AR glasses may be feasible — Apple will take the practical route and release a stopgap product that offers the very best mixed-reality technology available today. And this seems to be the right decision for Apple, especially given it doesn’t want to cede a promising hardware market to Meta.”
We also do not have an idea on the kind of software slated to run on these rumored AR glasses. With the AR headset expected to run on xrOS, the glasses could run on a variant of this operating system or the same thing. So far, very little information is known about this product, likely because it is still in the prototype development stage.
Do you think Apple should wait to launch its first pair of smart glasses? Tell us in the comments.
