At the beginning of 2022, according to rumors, Apple is supposed to turn the market upside down with a new product. Apple is said to have reached another milestone in the development of Smart Glasses. With semi-transparent lenses, which work similar to 3D glasses in the cinema by means of a polarized system, the illusions of augmented reality and mixed reality should reach even more depth. Particularly in the production of the augmented reality lenses, a great deal of precision work is required because the extremely thin layers of various synthetic materials can quickly lead to scratches, bubbles or other inclusions in the lens. [1]

Figure 1. Apple’s AR Glasses

Figure 1 shows According to a Bloomberg report, the Apple AR Glasses will bring information from your phone to your face. Specifically, the eyewear "are expected to synchronize with a wearer’s iPhone to display things such as texts, emails, maps, and games over the user’s field of vision."[2]

Apple Glass features

According to a Bloomberg report, the Apple AR Glasses will bring information from your phone to your face. Specifically, the eyewear "are expected to synchronize with a wearer’s iPhone to display things such as texts, emails, maps, and games over the user’s field of vision."

• Furthermore, a patent granted to Apple has further fuelled the rumor that Apple Glass won’t need prescription lenses as the smart glasses will automatically adjust for people with poor eyesight using an “optical subassembly”. However, this patent could be for a standalone smartphone-powered VR headset or a second-generation pair of Apple smart glasses.
• A more recent patent also suggests that Apple may employ a projection-based system that beams images directly into the user's eye. This way Apple would skip the need for any sort of transparent display.
• The patent also claims that this avoids a lot of the pitfalls people may suffer in VR and AR. Apple explains that some issues, including headaches, nausea, and eye strain occur because the brain it trying to focus on objects in the distance, when the reality is they're on a display less than an inch in front of the eyes. Because retinal projection better mimics how the eyes take in light anyway, these problems can be avoided.
• Apple Glasses may also be able to track your finger and hand movements more accurately thanks to some smart rings Apple has patented. Not only will that negate the need for many (if any) external sensors, the system may be more accurate this way.
• Another recent Apple patent makes mention of “privacy eyewear,” which would hint at a form of smart glasses, possibly the Apple Glasses, and how they could be used to keep what's on an iPhone's display private.
• Another Apple glass patent describes how you might be able to change out your backgrounds on the fly, similar to zoom. The patent describes how a headset could perform chroma keying, which is replacing a solid color background with something else. The headset would “format camera images, detect the selected color range and make a composite with the virtual content.

The idea here is that an iPhone's display would be blurred and only clearly visible through the pair of Apple smart glasses; see the patent image above.

Apple AR glasses cost

As there’s no real precedent for this sort of thing yet. The only rumor on that subject so far claims $499 (roughly £410 / AU$765) - not including any prescription charges.

And yet, another rumor based on an alleged JPMorgan Chase analyst note suggests that the cost of materials (COM) alone could amount to $499 – and given Apple's infamy for pricey devices, we could see a much higher pricetag for the Apple Glasses. A separate rumor suggests the price could be closer to premium devices like the $5,999 (about £5,499, AU$9,999) iMac Pro. [3]

References:

1. https://medialist.info/en/2020/07/12/product-launch-2022-apples-ar-glasses-reach-another-milestone/
2. https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-glasses
3. https://www.techradar.com/in/news/apple-glasses

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2021), Apple’s AR Glasses, Anatechmaz, pp. 1