Multiple Apple Teams Are Competing To Create AR Headset Prototypes
But inside Apple, engineers and designers are contemplating different ways of going about this, each defined by the level of independence of the headset from the paired iPhone.
Apple is big on thinking hard about real-life use cases, and only then thinking about the technology that might enable them. That’s a very good thing. Apple is now thinking seriously about possible killer apps for augmented reality. The internal disagreement comes down to how, exactly, people might want to use a headset or glasses.
A “BASE HIT”
“One group of engineers is said to be advocating for a pair of glasses that have 3D cameras but no screens, leaving the iPhone as the hub and main display,” Bradshaw writes, citing unnamed sources within Apple.
There’s a third option, and likely one we’ll see. Apple is likely to give the AR glasses projects time to develop internally, let the components market mature, and wait until consumers are warmed up to the idea of AR glasses, before finally trotting out a new piece of hardware.
In the meantime, it will very likely build additional sensors into new iPhones that support Pokémon-style phone-based AR experiences.
See the full story here: https://www.fastcompany.com/40453400/several-teams-at-apple-are-working-on-varying-approaches-to-augmented-reality