technologies
Apple is expected to introduce computer glasses
Will Apple Computer Glasses Be Coming Soon? photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
On Twitter, Apple announces nothing less than a “new era” for its WWDC developer conference. This is likely to be the iPhone group’s entry into the “Mixed Reality” sector.
The fans of Apple have been waiting for the proverbial “One More Thing” for almost ten years. If the rumors are confirmed, it will be so far this Monday evening. “A new era is beginning,” announced Apple on Twitter, and this should mean computer glasses with which Apple wants to redefine the area of so-called “mixed reality”.
On the one hand, the device in the form of a kind of high-tech ski goggles should enable virtual overlays into the real world (Augmented Reality, AR). At the same time, you should also be able to immerse yourself completely in virtual worlds (Virtual Reality, VR). The mixture of AR and VR is called “Mixed Reality” (XR). With the Apple glasses, you should be able to switch between AR and AR with a rotary knob.
According to media reports, the environment is captured by cameras on the housing and displayed on displays in front of the eyes – as is the case with devices from the competition. For years, there has been speculation about Apple’s plans for glasses with transparent lenses, in which digital objects are displayed directly in the user’s field of vision. However, according to media reports, the necessary technological breakthroughs are still missing.
The new data glasses are intended to be part of the major product innovations that have made Apple from a small computer pioneer in the 1970s to one of the most valuable corporations in the world: Macintosh Computer (1984), iMac (1999), iPod (2001), iPhone (2007), iPad (2010) and most recently the Apple Watch (2014).
Entrepreneurial Risks
For Apple, however, entering the new segment is associated with considerable entrepreneurial risks. For one thing, the market for VR and AR sources has not been particularly large so far. Market researchers at IDC assume that only ten million VR and AR headsets will be sold in 2023. For comparison: Last year, more than 1.2 billion smartphones were sold worldwide.
In addition, Apple has to compete against competitors who have had many years of experience with data glasses and the applications required for them. The Facebook group even took the planned virtual population of the digital “Metaverse” as an opportunity to rename itself Meta.
Meta is also reporting
On Thursday last week, Meta tried to take the wind out of the sails of potential competitor Apple with its own announcement. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced a new model of his Quest glasses for the fall that will be thinner and more powerful than previous generations. And while the first Apple glasses are said to cost around 3,000 dollars, according to media reports, “Quest 3” will be available in Germany next fall for 570 euros.
At the same time, with the Quest Pro, Meta also has a more expensive device on the market for 1200 euros – and competitor HTC is also positioning its Vive XR Elite model for 1400 euros as a mixed reality headset.
Sony already on the market
For VR games, Apple will also face competition from Japanese electronics giant Sony. The PSVR 2 VR glasses presented by Sony in February 2023 cost around 600 euros and have to be connected to the Playstation 5 game console with a cable, which costs another 650 euros.
At Apple’s WWDC developer conference, however, it shouldn’t just be about data glasses, but also about Macintosh computers. Like all other PC manufacturers, the group recently had to accept losses in the computer division because the market was saturated after the home office boom during the corona pandemic. Now new Mac models are supposed to boost business. New MacBooks are expected, but also new models of professional Mac Pro devices.