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Apple Hardware

'Apple Glass' Rumored To Start at $499, Support Prescription Lenses (macrumors.com) 109

Posted by msmash from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.
Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser this week shared several details about Apple's rumored augmented reality glasses, including an "Apple Glass" marketing name, $499 starting price, prescription lens option, and more.The marketing name will be "Apple Glass" According to Prosser, who has established a reliable track record for Apple's product roadmap in recent months, here are some other key details about the Apple Glass: The glasses will start at $499 with the option for prescription lenses at an extra cost.
There will be displays in both lenses that can be interacted with using gestures.
The glasses will rely on a paired iPhone, similar to the original Apple Watch.
An early prototype featured LiDAR and wireless charging.
Apple originally planned to unveil the glasses as a "One More Thing" surprise at its iPhone event in the fall, but restrictions on in-person gatherings could push back the announcement to a March 2021 event.
Apple is targeting a late 2021 or early 2022 release.
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'Apple Glass' Rumored To Start at $499, Support Prescription Lenses More

'Apple Glass' Rumored To Start at $499, Support Prescription Lenses

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  • ...we can't go outside because of COVID-19 until at least 2022-23 anyway, so I might as well get some augmented reality instead of the real thing.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      ...we can't go outside because of COVID-19 until at least 2022-23 anyway, so I might as well get some augmented reality instead of the real thing.

      All you need to do to get some messed up augmented reality is binge watch Trump's collective rallies. They are all available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playli... [youtube.com]

    • You can get quite a bit of reality augmenting mushrooms or LSD for a lot less than $400.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by cusco ( 717999 )

        A package of Heavenly Blue or Pearly Gates morning glory seeds is equal to a medium hit of acid, for a lot less and you know you won't get ripped off. Soak them, grind them up, and then mix the meal with some fruit juice to cover the taste.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rlwinm ( 6158720 )
      Why can't we go outside? I've been going outside all the while of this COVID stuff. Everything seems back to normal in most places. I've been eating at restaurants for two weeks now.
  • I mean, pretty much all large gatherings are verboten for awhile, but I have a heard time believing that Apple will not be announcing any new phones or gadgets this year if they can't do it with a physical audience....

    I mean, whenever they were going to take about new iPhones....now it will be virtual announcement and they could show off the "Glass" then too, no?

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday May 21, 2020 @03:19PM (#60087930)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Thud457 ( 234763 )

      ... blah blah blah Google Glass blah blah...

      That's one way to ensure social distancing! &rimshot;

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Quirkz ( 1206400 )

      I was wondering about that. Did they license the term? Has "Glass" been Kleenexed already as the only thing to call augmented reality? Was the nickname "glasshole" just too strong an attractor? I don't get it.

      Also, iGlass? With a pun on eyeglass, even? How is that not the winner?

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Instead of GlassHoles we will have Aholes now. The question is will Apple make the same moronic mistakes that google made that ensured they would never be socially accepted. Glasshole users were particularly obnoxious and self righteous which compounded googles mistakes, Apple certainly has the same class of problem users, it will all come down to their implementation.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tsa ( 15680 )

          It will still have the same privacy issues no matter which company makes it. I don't get why when Apple makes it it will be somehow 'better.'

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rtb61 ( 674572 )

        Apples focus will be on keeping their phone in your pocket and not needing to take it out to answer it, or read an email or watch some video (they will have to be very careful about not cooking those phones, when they stay in people's pockets running at full load, sans graphics, the glasses will do that). Security will also be an issue, making a wire a desirable option, far more secure than a wireless connection and be far more reliable in close proximity to others, as well a electro magnetic interference f

      • Google Glass was necessary for Apple Glass to exist. Someone's got to botch it first before Apple can do the big "no, do it like THIS, stupid" reveal.

        -jcr

        At least they consistently can do that.

        Google and Microsoft just throw away yet another Project/Protocol/Initiative before they can sand-off the sharp edges, and move onto the next thing. Corporate ADHD.

    • Even better.

    • Surely Apple was aware of the term glassholes that doomed googles glassses. They should have called them Spectacles.

      • Surely Apple was aware of the term glassholes that doomed googles glassses. They should have called them Spectacles.

        They haven't even been officially announced, and yet you are critiquing the product name, which also hasn't been announced?

        Riiiiiight.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tsa ( 15680 )

        Spectacholes.

  • Wonderful (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MikeKD ( 549924 ) on Thursday May 21, 2020 @03:26PM (#60087966) Homepage
    Great: Glassholes...but with the smugness of Apple fanbois.

    • AppleGlassholes is too long and cumbersome to say though. We can just call them assholes

      • iHoles?

        • aHoles

        • iHoles?

          You do realize, of course, that Apple hasn't named a product with the iconic "i" prefix for quite a while now. I'm pretty sure the last product to carry that moniker was the iPad, which debuted a decade ago.

          Apple moved on from that tired meme long ago. Why can't Slashdot?

          • Although you may be right that it was a while ago since they released any new iThingamajig , they still market and release new versions of at least 5 products with an i* moniker.
            • iMac
            • iPad
            • iPhone
            • iPod(touch)
            • iWork

            Why so sensitive? As I see it any cult deserves a bit of funpokery, and yes , that includes slashdot and its sub-cult of iProduct detractors.

    • If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Walk through the streets of any modern city, and chances are some gadget or device has already imaged you. What difference does it make if some pedestrian wears the imaging (or at least scanning, assuming reports are true the Apple googles don't come with a visible light camera) device on his face?
      • The difference is not so much when you are walking around, that is mildly invasive but tolerable, it is when you are talking directly to someone and have them on, not knowing whether you are recording or not is punch in the face invasive.
        • And the google glass users who could not understand those difference are what caused the glasshole term to be phrased. People don't like a camera and/or microphone pointed in their face when you are socially interacting with them or they behave very differently when it is occurring. Respecting peoples personal space and boundaries, especially around recording is critical if you want to be successful.

    • Personally I judge everyone on what they own and declare them to be arseholes regardless of what or how they use that think. Because that's just the kind of dick I am.

    • Come to the EU then.

      Thst crap is just flat out illegal here.

      Unless you plan to personally ask every single person in you audible and visible radius for written permission first.
      Yeah, you could try having people escort you with signs daying "Beware, iGlasshole remote-controlled pseudo-humanoid drone ahead." And a full list of who gets the data and for what on the sign.
      But it only takes one person to say no, for you to not be able to enter that street. Aaand in my street, that will be me.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Total and utter drivel. It's perfectly legal to photo or video random people passing in the street.

        It's only a problem if you start posting the results online in a non-private context (e.g. your private cloud storage is fine; allowing others to access it is potentially not).

        There's even a thread on /. that covers a court decision about this:
        https://tech.slashdot.org/stor... [slashdot.org]

        Quoting from the summary:
        The GDPR does not apply to the "purely personal" or "household" processing of data. However, that exemption did

  • 1. Google already called a product 'Glass' and it failed
    2. The neologism 'Glasshole' applies whether it's the Apple or Google variant
    3. Of all the departments at Apple, you'd think Marketing would have the least reason to rip anyone else off.
    4. There is no such object that you wear on your face that aides in vision called (a) 'glass'. You can buy 'glasses'. If they want to fit the pattern of naming objects after the simple noun, (e.g., Apple Watch, iPhone), they're going to need to use 'glasses'.

  • Not iGlasses (Score:5, Funny)

    by BeerFartMoron ( 624900 ) on Thursday May 21, 2020 @03:30PM (#60087980)
    Seriously Apple, call them iGlasses. Everyone else will.

  • And what will the Prescription Lenses bill rate be vs the rate they will really take?

    • Apple pricing is easy - every +/-1 dioptre is +299$

      • Apple pricing is easy - every +/-1 dioptre is +299$

        Apple has absolutely no desire to get into the Dispensing Optician's market. IMHO, they will do one of a couple things (maybe more than one, actually):

        1. Apple will (also) sell them through Optical dispensers, just like they sell iPads and Apple Watches through Walmart, et al. Then they will be marked-up 250,000% by those DOs, just like they do with every POS frame they sell. I have been wearing glasses since 3rd grade; so I am well-aware of the barely-legal profiteering that goes on in that industry!

        2. App

  • Camera? (Score:3)

    by bhcompy ( 1877290 ) on Thursday May 21, 2020 @03:57PM (#60088050)
    No Camera? What a waste

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by N1AK ( 864906 )
      It's probably a pretty wise choice given the huge negative response to "glassholes" when there were just a few people walking around with the Google glasses with cameras. Personally I don't mind the idea of glasses with a camera or microphone, but I definitely would if it wasn't obvious the camera or microphone was on; if I can't tell then I have to assume it is which means I would avoid interacting with people wearing them; if enough people feel similarly then that could really limit their appeal.

      • It's probably a pretty wise choice given the huge negative response to "glassholes" when there were just a few people walking around with the Google glasses with cameras. Personally I don't mind the idea of glasses with a camera or microphone, but I definitely would if it wasn't obvious the camera or microphone was on; if I can't tell then I have to assume it is which means I would avoid interacting with people wearing them; if enough people feel similarly then that could really limit their appeal.

        Don't AR glasses pretty much have to have an embedded camera? I can see it not having a "Record" capability (to eliminate hassles in the EU, and to avoid the negative publicity that killed-off Google Glass). But just being a Predator-style Heads-Up Display isn't going to be a compelling product from the company that has poured tons of software and hardware R&D into Augmented Reality!

    • Well, if you don't want to be an outcast, you better not go around recoding everyone.

  • People despise these things, so expect lots of stories of wearers getting punched in the face. Just like what happened with Google Glass.

    • From what we have heard so far, they use LIDAR to map the real world, not cameras. It may be impossible to record videos or even take photos with them.

      We'll have to wait and see, otherwise punching someone who wears those may be as stupid as those people destroying 5G towers. And if they do record video, you just made a big fucking mistake since that video will be used to sue your ass.

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • From what we have heard so far, they use LIDAR to map the real world, not cameras.

        You make it sound like constant 3d scanning is not a form of constant recording.

        • From what we have heard so far, they use LIDAR to map the real world, not cameras.

          You make it sound like constant 3d scanning is not a form of constant recording.

          Maybe when the grid is much more detailed. But I don't think it will allow recording, even if it has regular cameras in addition to LIDAR (which I think it will). That's what (understandably) got Google into trouble.

      • We'll have to wait and see, otherwise punching someone who wears those may be as stupid as those people destroying 5G towers. And if they do record video, you just made a big fucking mistake since that video will be used to sue your ass.

        Congratulations, you just successfully demonstrated the very reason google glass failed and why the term glasshole was coined.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cusco ( 717999 )

      There were lots of stories, but I never actually heard of it happening IRL.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DrXym ( 126579 )
        There were reports in the press of it happening, as well as non-violent incidents such as glass wearers being denied access to cinemas and gyms. Considering the small user base, it's indicative of what would happen if the tech were more widespread. The reality is people really don't like have a camera recording them while they're trying to have a normal conversation and some people will make their feelings known with their fists.

        The funniest story I heard was not about Glass but something similar. An augm

  • With Google, you were only a glass hole, With Apple you can now be a full blown A$$hole.

  • These will be huge (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Scott Tracy ( 317419 ) on Thursday May 21, 2020 @04:23PM (#60088108)
    They are next iPod or iPhone. Looks like there's no camera, which is smart, since that seemed to be what everyone objected to the most about Google Glasses. I'm sure they'll be a choice of frames, and the electronics will be hidden in the frame or behind the ear so that the casual observer wouldn't know you are wearing them. Sure, the software will probably suck for a generation or two, as developers figure out what exactly they want to show on the screen (much as iOS apps had to figure out what to show on Apple Watch screens). But they will sell tens of millions of these a quarter, as fast as they can make them (whenever that's going to get underway, what with a pandemic and all).

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Quirkz ( 1206400 )

      Curious how it's possible to have an AR tool that doesn't have some sort of camera associated with it? How does it know what YOU are seeing unless it also sees it? Or is it simply locked down so that it won't record anything?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Toonol ( 1057698 )
        It'll have a camera, probably multiple cameras. It just won't be obvious.

        Like it or not, this is the future, and I can't see any way that these sorts of devices won't be completely ubiquitous ten-twenty years from now. Not Apple ones, of course, but always-on AR glasses of some kind.
        • Then it will have the same social acceptance problems as google glass. Aholes instead of glassholes.

      • Yeah, that part of OP’s comment bugged me too, and I expect he’s wrong, but even so, it is possible. After all, it could just rely on something like LIDAR to “see” what you’re seeing without capturing typical camera images. And even if it does have a camera, if it doesn’t allow for surreptitious image or video capture, you remove the key issue that made Glassholes a thing.

      • It will have a lidar so it can 3D map the room and identify surfaces. Camera isn't needed.

      • Curious how it's possible to have an AR tool that doesn't have some sort of camera associated with it? How does it know what YOU are seeing unless it also sees it? Or is it simply locked down so that it won't record anything?

        I think it will have both LIDAR and cameras; but neither will allow recording. Too many privacy issues in too many countries; and too much bad press regarding Google Glass.

        Google was stupid. Apple is not.

    • They are next iPod or iPhone. Looks like there's no camera, which is smart, since that seemed to be what everyone objected to the most about Google Glasses. I'm sure they'll be a choice of frames, and the electronics will be hidden in the frame or behind the ear so that the casual observer wouldn't know you are wearing them. Sure, the software will probably suck for a generation or two, as developers figure out what exactly they want to show on the screen (much as iOS apps had to figure out what to show on Apple Watch screens). But they will sell tens of millions of these a quarter, as fast as they can make them (whenever that's going to get underway, what with a pandemic and all).

      Well it will certainly make it easier to tell who is completely ignoring you to your face.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      They have cut down the functionality compared to Google Glass so they will hopefully be sleeker, but I'm betting the battery life is less than a day and the screens are fairly basic.

      Having screens in both lenses is an interesting safety issue. A fault could block a lot of your vision.

  • Black Mirror Dating Consultant comes to life (Score:3)

    by aberglas ( 991072 ) on Thursday May 21, 2020 @08:10PM (#60088680)

    They had a session (White Christmas) in which a consultant would help the incompetent on dates by seeing everything they did and offering constant advice. "Tell her the story about ...".

    It occurs to me that this could now be a real service. For dating, sales, politics. You think you are talking to one person but you are actually talking to a team behind the scenes that is offering advice to the other party. This would be particularly good for remembering names of people.

    Sadly, Netflix has pulled Black Mirror from Australia, and I only saw a few. Is it still available elsewhere? One of the few decent things on Netflix.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by WallyL ( 4154209 )
      I think it's a common trope in spy fiction. Like in the Mission: Impossible movies: Tom Cruise will wear an earpiece through which Benji is telling him the technical mumbo jumbo to say to blend in with the crowd and accomplish the mission. I guess for the most part though the agents didn't wear cameras.

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