Earlier today we reported that Apple Glasses won't arrive for a while, but someone who has seen the company's rumored augmented reality lenses says they're coming sooner than we thought.
Long-time Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo provided product updates for investors yesterday. In the note Kuo said that while new iPads are just on the horizon, Apple Glasses won't be ready to ship until 2022 "at the earliest." Jon Prosser believes otherwise, sharing on Twitter that he has seen the glasses and the launch is "aimed for March-June 2021."
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I can’t believe I’m going against Kuo on this one... but I believe he’s wrong. Apple Glasses are aimed for March-June 2021. Also. I’ve seen them. They’re sleek as hell. 👀Will be showing you soon 🤫 https://t.co/0GaOYDA5N8May 15, 2020
Prosser, who has developed accurate track record in recents month, said he "can't believe" his Apple Glasses intel goes against Kuo's.
While the two analysts have shared some conflicting reports in recent past, namely around upcoming AirPods launches, we might be more interested in the tidbit about the Apple Glasses looking ‘sleek as hell.' Prosser said he has video that he'll show off soon.
In November, The Information reported on an internal presentation given to employees at the company’s headquarters, where people who attended said Apple Vice President Mike Rockwell divulged details about the design and features of the Apple Glasses.
It's possible Prosser obtained material from this meeting, although he could also possess video of a newer prototype. Needless to say, we're interested in finding out.
Due to conspicuous design and unrefined functionality, for the most part so-called 'smart' glasses haven't piqued more than passing interest among consumers. But if Apple has plans for a pair that look great and benefit from the company's spree of AR start-up acquisitions, more people might be convinced. Apple did manage to make wearing mini white hairdryers in our ears cool, after all.
At least for the first generation of Apple Glasses, they would deliver AR apps and info to our eyes wirelessly and use the iPhone for processing power. But over time they could evolve to become a standalone wearable device.
We'll learn more about Apple's vision for AR long before we see Apple Glasses in the wild. At WWDC 2020 the company is likely to present new AR apps, while the iPhone 12 Pro models are suspected to feature a LiDAR scanner. How well the apps and scanner are received could certainly influence the Apple Glasses release date.
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