Augmented reality, along with the autonomous car, has become the big topic and buzz regarding Apple in recent years. Big names in the industry with impeccable track records like Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo have been talking about it for years. Now the time seems to be getting closer and closer, the first product will arrive this coming year and it will be mixed reality glasses. But there’s more to come.
Analyst Ming-chi Kuo has managed over the years to carve out an impeccable track record of leaks about Apple. This has been possible thanks to the access he has to suppliers on Apple’s assembly line in Asia, which allows him to find out what the mid-term products are based on components and assembly line assembly. For the next few years? Apart from iPhones as we saw, virtual and augmented reality.
It would be nothing surprising, these last few years the company has prepared the ground with the introduction of augmented reality in its iPhones through ARKit. We have also seen the arrival of the LiDAR sensor on the iPad and iPhone. Now it’s a matter of putting it all into a new device like a helmet or glasses.
Augmented reality in the medium term at Apple
In a new note published by Ming-Chi Kuo and accessed by MacRumors, he explains how he sees Apple’s future in this sector. He predicts that Apple will release a helmet-like mixed reality device next year, augmented reality glasses by mid-2025, and augmented reality contact lenses by 2030.
Starting from the most plausible to the least plausible, we find the mixed reality helmet. It would be a helmet similar to Microsoft HoloLens or those of Oculus with which to view content in virtual reality thanks to its screen and augmented reality with the use of cameras and transparent lenses. The Information recently revealed more details about them.
Ming-Chi Kuo guesses that they will weigh just a few hundred grams. They will incorporate a Sony Micro-OLED display and various optical modules for augmented reality. Although he believes that it will be an independent device with its storage, it will need an external one to synchronize. As for the date and price, they will be ready in 2022 and will cost around $1,000. It coincides with previous rumors.
After that would come to a device focused only on augmented reality, this would not arrive until 2025 at least. He believes that “there is still no prototype” ready for these augmented reality glasses. Here we would be talking about a much lighter and more discreet device, which would practically go unnoticed the fact that it carries technology inside. They say the analyst that it will be a more mobile and independent device than the mixed reality helmet.
Finally, Ming-Chi Kuo has launched one of the riskiest and far-out rumors of all to date. Pointing to more than a decade away, he believes that Apple they are preparing a contact lens for some time in 2030 or later. He didn’t offer many details about this, although we’ve already seen smart contact lenses from Google and the possibility of integrating half-millimeter displays into them.
