Apple Glass: everything you need to know about Apple’s rumoured AR glasses

New leaks have dropped some major information about Apple's AR glasses 
Front Page Tech
Amelia Heathman20 May 2020

There have been rumours for years that Apple was working on a pair of AR glasses and, quite frankly, we’re here for it.

The tech giant has made big pushes into augmented reality with its ARKit and always trumpets its benefits at its big conference. And some new leaks point to some concrete information that its own glasses could be a real product in the future.

According to the YouTuber John Prosser, a reputable tech leaker who runs the Front Page Tech show on the platform, the glasses will be called Apple Glass, a nod to Google Glass which unfortunately crashed and burned in the consumer space a few years ago.

Will Apple be able to succeed where Google couldn’t? Here’s what we know so far.

Apple Glass: price and release date

According to the leaks, the Apple Glass frames will retail for $499, which is roughly £410 but will probably end up being £499, when they go on sale. Prescription lenses will cost extra.

Prosser thinks they could be revealed later this year along with the next iPhone, thought to be the iPhone 12. However, given the issues of social distancing, this could be pushed back to March 2021 or even September next year. It’s also thought the glasses won’t be available to buy until the end of 2021 anyway.

A report by Bloomberg last year said that a lightweight pair of AR glasses would be rolled at “as early as 2023” so we could still be a few years away from the tech.

Apple Glass: tech and design

The prototype glasses Prosser tried have a plastic frame, but this material may change before launch, to something more Apple-appropriate.

But what we really care about is the tech inside. The glasses will use LiDAR (light detection and ranging) scanner to be able to judge distances and power the AR experiences. At the moment, this scanner will be on the right edge of the glasses, so there won’t be any need for cameras like there were in the early Google versions.

All the data will be processed on a connected iPhone which will help to keep costs down and the frames lighter than if it was done on the glasses.

There will be a ‘Starboard’ interface where you can control with gestures on and in front of the glasses.

In order to see something in AR, you will be able to scan proprietary Apple QR codes with the Apple Glass and then you’ll be able to see the AR experience.

If you wanted them to be sunglasses then you’re out of luck: allegedly, the company is struggling to get the glasses to work with tinted lenses. Until then, you can try out Snap’s Spectacles which whilst aren’t fully AR, they do demonstrate the possibility of how AR sunglasses could work in the future.

People are really looking forward to what the next big product from Apple will be after the success of things like the iPhone, Watch, iPad and AirPods. Will the AR glasses be it? We’ll have to wait a little bit longer to find out.

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