Unlikely rumor claims development of Steve Jobs-inspired 'Apple Glass' edition
Serial leaker Jon Prosser claims Apple is prototyping a special "Steve Jobs Heritage Edition" of its hotly rumored "Apple Glass" augmented reality headset, supposedly styled after the late tech guru's trademark frameless spectacles.
Prosser aired the latest "Apple Glass" gossip on the Cult of Mac podcast on Thursday.
"They are also working on a prototype, a Steve Jobs Heritage Edition," Prosser said, saying the device is "similar to how we had an Apple Watch Edition, like that ridiculous $10,000 gold one when it first came out."
He went on to say the design will borrow from the round, rimless spectacles Jobs was keen to wear. Towards the end of his life, Jobs purchased those glasses from German company Lunor.
"Some like tribute to Steve Jobs, obviously just a pure marketing ploy at this point," Prosser said.
When asked how Apple intends to cram the electronics necessary for AR functionality into such a slim design, the leaker was less than succinct.
"So the transparent lenses. So, I have no idea how it actually works, but I know traditionally -- I say traditionally -- with current versions of AR glasses or anything like that, there's like a little thing projected into the corner of a lens," he said. "This is both lenses have displays, they're integrated displays that show you information."
Though he doesn't know it, Prosser could be describing waveguide technology, which routes graphics from an output source to one or more transparent display planes positioned in front of a user's eyes. Magic Leap uses similar hardware in its mixed reality headset. Apple holds dozens of patents covering waveguide tech (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and in fact filed a piece of related IP with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today. Representatives from Cupertino have in the past two years met with AR suppliers that market working waveguide solutions, signaling intent to acquire technical know-how that would result in a consumer product.
Alternatively, Apple's "transparent lens technology," as Prosser calls it, could be based on assets gleaned from the company's purchase of Akonia Holographics. An AR lens specialist, Akonia was developing a technology called HoloMirror prior to its acquisition, touting the hardware as better than waveguides because it utilizes a single layer of "volume holographic media" instead multiple planes.
Whether a waveguide system or one based on Akonia's inventions can fit into a Jobs-style rimless frame is unknown. What is known, however, is the physics of modern batteries, communications equipment, interconnects and other parts necessary to realize a working AR headset. Short of revolutionary breakthroughs in multiple sciences, Apple will be unable to manufacture components small enough to fit with Prosser's claims, and almost certainly not at commodity pricing.
Moving beyond design specs, it is highly unlikely that Apple would leverage the name of its founder -- an idolized figure -- to move product. Turning Jobs into a marketing ploy would undoubtedly rile the company's fan base (and unnecessarily besmirch his name if "Apple Glass" flops) for no material gain.
In response to this week's deluge of "Apple Glass" rumors, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in a series of tweets on Thursday called Prosser's claims "fiction."
According to Gurman, Apple plans to announce a "mixed AR and VR" headset, dubbed "N301," as early as 2021 ahead of a release in 2022. A subsequent and presumably more advanced "pure AR" device referred to internally as "N421" will launch in 2022 or 2023, Gurman said. Word of Apple's head-mounted hardware strategy -- the launch of a basic model followed by a more advanced specification -- first surfaced in a report from The Information last year.
Prosser in a recent video posted to his YouTube channel Front Page Tech warned viewers to mute their Apple Glass expectations, suggesting current concepts of what Apple plans to bring to the table are far-fetched.
Recent rumors relayed by Prosser regarding Apple's AR project include the "Apple Glass" name, integration of LiDAR technology, gesture input, prescription support and a $499 price tag.
Prosser aired the latest "Apple Glass" gossip on the Cult of Mac podcast on Thursday.
"They are also working on a prototype, a Steve Jobs Heritage Edition," Prosser said, saying the device is "similar to how we had an Apple Watch Edition, like that ridiculous $10,000 gold one when it first came out."
He went on to say the design will borrow from the round, rimless spectacles Jobs was keen to wear. Towards the end of his life, Jobs purchased those glasses from German company Lunor.
"Some like tribute to Steve Jobs, obviously just a pure marketing ploy at this point," Prosser said.
When asked how Apple intends to cram the electronics necessary for AR functionality into such a slim design, the leaker was less than succinct.
"So the transparent lenses. So, I have no idea how it actually works, but I know traditionally -- I say traditionally -- with current versions of AR glasses or anything like that, there's like a little thing projected into the corner of a lens," he said. "This is both lenses have displays, they're integrated displays that show you information."
Though he doesn't know it, Prosser could be describing waveguide technology, which routes graphics from an output source to one or more transparent display planes positioned in front of a user's eyes. Magic Leap uses similar hardware in its mixed reality headset. Apple holds dozens of patents covering waveguide tech (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and in fact filed a piece of related IP with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today. Representatives from Cupertino have in the past two years met with AR suppliers that market working waveguide solutions, signaling intent to acquire technical know-how that would result in a consumer product.
Alternatively, Apple's "transparent lens technology," as Prosser calls it, could be based on assets gleaned from the company's purchase of Akonia Holographics. An AR lens specialist, Akonia was developing a technology called HoloMirror prior to its acquisition, touting the hardware as better than waveguides because it utilizes a single layer of "volume holographic media" instead multiple planes.
Whether a waveguide system or one based on Akonia's inventions can fit into a Jobs-style rimless frame is unknown. What is known, however, is the physics of modern batteries, communications equipment, interconnects and other parts necessary to realize a working AR headset. Short of revolutionary breakthroughs in multiple sciences, Apple will be unable to manufacture components small enough to fit with Prosser's claims, and almost certainly not at commodity pricing.
Moving beyond design specs, it is highly unlikely that Apple would leverage the name of its founder -- an idolized figure -- to move product. Turning Jobs into a marketing ploy would undoubtedly rile the company's fan base (and unnecessarily besmirch his name if "Apple Glass" flops) for no material gain.
In response to this week's deluge of "Apple Glass" rumors, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in a series of tweets on Thursday called Prosser's claims "fiction."
According to Gurman, Apple plans to announce a "mixed AR and VR" headset, dubbed "N301," as early as 2021 ahead of a release in 2022. A subsequent and presumably more advanced "pure AR" device referred to internally as "N421" will launch in 2022 or 2023, Gurman said. Word of Apple's head-mounted hardware strategy -- the launch of a basic model followed by a more advanced specification -- first surfaced in a report from The Information last year.
Prosser in a recent video posted to his YouTube channel Front Page Tech warned viewers to mute their Apple Glass expectations, suggesting current concepts of what Apple plans to bring to the table are far-fetched.
Recent rumors relayed by Prosser regarding Apple's AR project include the "Apple Glass" name, integration of LiDAR technology, gesture input, prescription support and a $499 price tag.
Comments
Would Apple really release something like this? Is it going to come with a bonus black turtle neck?
Steve Jobs was cool, but that doesn't mean that I would want to walk around with the same kind of glasses that he was known for.
And it doesn't sound very Apple-like to do something like this, but I could be wrong of course.
I remember some years ago, when some company (I think it was a Hong Kong company) was going to release an extremely realistic and cool looking Steve Jobs doll/minifigure that cost over $100. I don't remember the exact cost. I actually pre-ordered one and paid for it, because I was going to display it next to my small collection of vintage Macs. Apple's lawyers ended up sending a cease and desist order to the company I believe, and the whole release ended up being cancelled. I eventually got my pre-order money back.
And now Apple is going to have a Steve Jobs edition round glasses? Hmmmm.
I fully expect these to be available in different finishes similar to the Apple Watch with $499 being the starting price. But there is no way they will exploit Jobs by naming a product after him.
Lets be generous any arm less then 6mm round is pure magic for a first generation product.
But any bigger can't be even remotely similar to that design.
There's no way that they can manage to cram tech into something as thin as the arms on those glasses that SJ is wearing in the pic.
And I'm assuming that these glasses will also have to be charged? Are they going to have a battery life of 5 minutes with that frame?
Will they come with their own charging case, like Airpods?
The trend these days seems to be towards thicker, plastic glasses anyway, so I am assuming that Apple will be going that route, but we shall see soon enough.
Weird that someone would ask "is less still more?" in a post that uses the phrase "aesthetically/geometrically pure, and optically/historically efficacious"
In terms of privacy this may be a new public realm and consumer access threshold... Do the risks outweigh the benefits ?
A loose yet perhaps concerning portrait of the future: https://www.netflix.com/ca/Title/80195964
Did the use of big data and social media (Cambridge Analytica?) arguably and to many presumably unknowingly affect and effect the current political landscape, and while there are pros and cons to most outcomes, are there some stats that would seem to raise legitimate 'great' questions:
...and once the data horse has left the building or the genie has escaped the bottle so to speak, can it ever be recalled...?
And how is anything relating to this data any different than a smartphone screen or your watch which is an extension of that just as these would be? How does it affect privacy any differently than anything else — what risks exactly are you even talking about? Not sure how this has anything to do with that Netflix movie or Cambridge Analytica which is wholly unrelated to this subject, or mass shootings (WTF?).
We get it. You clearly fear data and technology and advancements in these areas prompt you to make seemingly endless slippery slope fallacies and allegories of dystopian doom. So, again, why do you use these things?
The rest ... well, yeah we get it — you're very skeptical of data and privacy and technology, hence my question as to why you use it or are even here when most of your comments are speculative fear mongering. I use technology because I enjoy it and it improves my quality of life, and I'm not particularly paranoid about these issues. If you have a state-sponsored actor interested in you, you have far bigger problems to worry about.
But Apple could not stop anyone from making black turtlenecks and they can't stop anyone from making eyeglasses similar to Jobs' because those things have nothing to do with Jobs' image rights. Aren't Jobs' glasses very similar to what John Lennon wore much of the time? They're "granny glasses" - quite common actually. Personally, I love the look of granny glasses, but they don't look good on my face.
In any case, I can't even stand the interruptions that appear on my iPhone, even though I've asked for most of them. When people, even family members, send me messages and the phone beeps, I instinctively think, "leave me alone!" I certainly wouldn't want to see those things in my field of vision. On the other hand, having glasses that could do instantaneous translation of signs, etc., would be great when doing international traveling. I also think there could be some safety issues if people use such glasses while driving. I also have to wonder how well they work for people who wear progressive lenses, bi-focals or trifocals.