Apple Indefinitely Postpones Launch of AR Glasses

Apple has postponed the launch of its lightweight augmented-reality glasses indefinitely due to technical challenges, but is still planning to unveil its first mixed-reality headset this year, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. Reuters reports: The iPhone maker's mixed-reality headset - which combines both augmented and virtual reality -- is set to launch in this year's spring event, Bloomberg said, adding that the device will cost around $3,000. Apple's mixed-reality device would compete with the likes of Meta Platforms' Quest Pro virtual and mixed-reality headset, which it launched late last year for $1,500, half of the Apple device's reported price.

The Cupertino, California-based company now plans to focus on lowering the price of the follow-up version of its mixed-reality device, expected as soon as 2024 or early 2025, instead of working on the AR glasses, according to the report. Apple will aim to do so by using chips on par with those in the iPhone rather than components found in higher-end Mac computers.

Re:

[93 Escort Wagon]

So you're saying Apple will eventually release them, but in the 2035-2040 timeframe?

That's a pity

[DrXym]

I was looking forward to stories about users getting punched in the face for using them.

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[cayenne8]

I was looking forward to stories about users getting punched in the face for using them.

You wouldn't hit a man with glasses on, would ya?

...as the old saying goes.

:)

Too bad, while I have no interest whatsoever in wearing a large VR headset...I was pretty curious about AR with something that appeared to be normal glasses.

I'd likely have bought a pair to play with....

I called it (on the pricetag)

[thegarbz]

There were so many proponents of Apple saying that only Apple understands consumers and they will join the market with an amazingly affordable device that the general consumer will be clamouring for. Well there's your affordable device. $3000.

I honestly wonder what they hope to achieve here. The Quest Pro has been a flop. The Microsoft Hololens has been a flop. The Corporate world has largely rejected high-end mixed reality devices and is asking for cheaper smaller ones that can break if needed (e.g. the ki

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[grumbel]

QuestPro being a flop comes to nobodies surprise, that thing is just an overpriced Quest2 with face tracking and better optics (but not better resolution), for 5x the the Quest2's $300 launch price. Even calling that "Mixed Reality" is a stretch. The resolution and clarity of the passthrough cameras are garbage and the depth sensor, which is fundamental to any kind of AR that interacts with the real world, got removed a couple of months before launch. That thing was designed by a committee that didn't know

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[thegarbz]

As for Apple headsets, all the problems the QuestPro has are fixable.

Of course it is, knock a zero off the price tag. The reality is for corporate purposes you don't need any of the fancy things we're talking about. These high end devices are literally the opposite of what users are asking for.

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[grumbel]

The problem isn't the price. If QuestPro cost $50 it would still be a crap AR headset and incapable of replacing a monitor or TV, it's just not a good enough device for that task. Meanwhile if it cost $1500 and would actually be good, plenty of people would by it, there are lots of high end monitors, TVs and phones that cost just as much and they sell just fine. $1500 is very much in the realm of any other high end tech gadget and a good AR/VR headset would be capable of replacing a lot of those.

The problem

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[cayenne8]

Hololens is a flop? They have been massively successful. They are not a consumer device though

Hmm....you might want to ask the military about how "successful" the HoloLens has been....

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[serviscope_minor]

The Corporate world has largely rejected high-end mixed reality devices and is asking for cheaper smaller ones that can break if needed (e.g. the kind that gives you a HUD in a warehouse that tells you where the box goes).

I don't think this is quite right. I don't think it's the expense per-se: a few grand per year per worker for a productivity increase of, say, 10% is very much worthwhile.

Everyone wants smaller ones, since weight is a real problem. However, consumer ones are aimed at prettier graphics whic

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[larwe]

those industrial cases

Which industrial cases? I mean, you could argue about what constitutes MR/AR/acronymofchoice but not every industrial case requires a high FoV. Microprojectors that display "you are carrying box #1234, take to shelving location #6789, you are currently facing northeast" directly into the operator's eye have been very useful. Not every head-mounted display application needs a high FoV or a close registration between external view and overlay - sometimes you just want to see some gauges, messages or other dat

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[monkeyxpress]

I doubt Apple is setting the sales bar that high on this thing. When it comes out they will say it can be used for everything but there will be a few key use cases where they will have invested the effort to make sure it works. It's hard to imagine what these are, but they will probably be things along the lines of what Hololens is being used for. My guess would be a strong focus on education and certain sports - you can imagine things like in a medical college lab, being able to see a 3D model of a human b

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[supremebob]

Don't forget that Microsoft released some really shitty Windows CE "smartphones" years before Apple released the iPhone.

Apple occasionally has a knack for releasing improved versions of tech devices that other companies invented... and then taking credit for inventing them.

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[clickclickdrone]

Apple occasionally has a knack for releasing improved versions of tech devices that other companies invented

Occasionally? It's their modus operandi. Mac, iPod, Newton etc.

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[Holi]

No they didn't. In the CE days Microsoft created an OS (albeit kind of shitty) and many companies made phones using it. It was not until much later that Microsoft would work with Nokia to create and launch a phone.

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[Austerity Empowers]

Build one and sell it for $100, let us know how that works out for you.

remember glassholes.

[e**(i pi)-1]

the problem with glasses has been shown to be social in the case of google glasses. It was scraped because of mockery like the sketch in Saturday night live and by labeling the owners glassholes. Also with VR glasses, like when flying FPV (the only situation where I have worn googles myself), the problem is that being absorbed in the other world feels just strange for others nearby. I myself can not wear it too long also because I start to feel uncomfortable. A virtual reality glass where one also has still can have contact with the real world might be a better experience for the person who carries it but again somehow could feel for others like being photographed or recorded. The difficulty of adaption might be social again. Eventually, there is no doubt that if the technology allows for example to link output from a cellphone directly and unnoticed, that this could become the new normal.

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[AmiMoJo]

I think it was scrapped because there were just no killer applications for it. Battery life was poor for doing anything remotly interesting like recording video (people use a GoPro for that, with a much better battery and optics), and things like having a navigation HUD proved to be uncompelling.

They guessed wrong about notifications too. The thing about notifications is that they are async, you can choose when you want to check them. Most people don't want every random one popping up in their field of view

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[DrXym]

Definitely no killer use for regular people. I expect they would be very useful for order fulfillment, service industry and such like although I could see how they could become very tiring to use if they interfere with people's eyesight or cause headaches, not to mention their general intrusiveness.

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[ayesnymous]

Killer app - substitute nude bodies underneath all heads - good for making public speakers feel at ease.

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[UpnAtom]

I remember a lot of anger about being video'd without one's permission.

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[Junta]

People got mocked for having bluetooth earbuds and yet today, it's common to see earbuds hanging out random places. It's not that it is merely embarassing.

Google Glass had a very simple problem, it just sucked at what it was trying to do. There was an element of "Hmm, is that person recording me right now?" but mostly it just didn't offer value to make it worthwhile (monocular, tiny low quality display covering a tiny tiny fraction of your field of view, with negligible application support and inadequate se

fusion powered

[backslashdot]

Good news, it'll be fusion powered and compatible with their flying car.

How Can Vaporware be Postponed?

[MrRuffles]

I don’t understand how something that was never announced with no release date can be postponed. Tech journalists were just speculating about when Apple might release their VR glasses and now labels them “postponed” because their prognostications were wrong.

Probably the wrong approach

[TomGreenhaw]

Augmented reality glasses will have many killer applications. A nurse that can see infrared superimposed on visible light will easily find a vein for injections and blood draw. Mechanics that have failing parts highlighted with part numbers and other information will be vastly more productive. Salespeople who have their customer names and other attributes highlighted in their field of vision will be far more effective. There are a huge number of killer applications for AR done right.

Unfortunately all of t