Apple to expand wearable range with Smart Glasses

According to Bloomberg, Apple are planning to expand further into wearable devices by releasing a pair of Smart Glasses which will connect wirelessly to your iPhone, just like the Apple Watch and will display notifications, images and other information directly to the lens.

Currently, it is believed that Apple is in the prototype phrase of the development process, which if true could mean the Apple Smart Glasses could be released as soon as 2018.

This could be Apple’s very first device targeted towards augmented reality, which we know Apple is interested in. They have dropped several hints about their interest in augmented and virtual reality since the beginning of 2016 and Tim Cook (Apple’s CEO) has previously said that he is much more interested in augmented reality than virtual reality.

They also acquired several businesses dating back to 2013, and have a team dedicated to AR and VR research so it is clear that Apple is serious about it.

This device may sound similar to Google Glass which was first introduced in 2013, and used augmented reality and voice commands to allow users to make phone calls, take pictures and check the weather. However the device was highly criticised due to privacy concerns and never really took off, which led to Google stopping developing Google Glass in 2015.

At this time, it isn’t clear how Apple would overcome this but as Tim Cook has expressed Apple’s interest in AR multiple times; it suggests that something big is in the works. In July, he said “AR can be really great” and that they “have been and continue to invest a lot in this. We're high on AR in the long run.” 

Apple have proved that they can take devices mainstream such as the iPhone and Apple Watch, due to their great hardware, beautiful design and brilliance with usability so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they could do the same for smart glasses!