Apple reported to have killed the project to create Mac-connected AR glasses

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in Apple Vision Pro

According to a new leak, Apple has pulled the plug on a project that allegedly hoped to produce lower-cost augmented reality glasses after the project seemingly couldn't meet executive expectations.


"Apple Glass" render by iPhone_lov_er on Instagram



The device in question would have looked like a standard pair of glasses, but would feature built-in displays. It also would have required a persistent tether to a Mac.

This device, which was code-named N107, would have been seen as a more affordable alternative to the Apple Vision Pro. After all, one of the biggest complaints about the Apple Vision Pro is its nearly $3,500 price tag -- before taxes.

The glasses featured projectors that could display content in the wearer's field of view for each eye. It likely would have been pitched as a way to allow users to work in a digitally augmented space.

The Apple Vision Pro already has this feature, ultra-wide Mac display mirroring, and it's often cited as the most compelling reason to own one.

N107 would have addressed some of the problems that consumers had with the Apple Vision Pro. Notably, it would have been light enough to not require a head strap.

According to Bloomberg, developers had hoped N107 could be used with an iPhone. However, the device seemingly required too much processing power and had a penchant for draining iPhone batteries.

By connecting it to a Mac, the glasses would have access to faster processors and a significantly larger battery. However, the change was not embraced by executives during reviews.

Those who were a part of the Apple Vision Products Group complained about the project's lack of focus. Without a clear direction, developers feared the project would be destined for the chopping block.

The group had their fears confirmed when Apple pulled the plug on the project in late January. Meta Platforms is said to continue working on its augmented reality Ray-Ban smart glasses, which it hopes to have ready by 2027.

However, Apple is allegedly still working on a direct successor to the Apple Vision Pro.

N107 is the most recent of Apple's canceled projects. In February 2024, Apple killed off its secretive Apple Car project, code-named Project Titan, which Apple employees referred to as a "Titanic disaster."

Apple also allegedly canceled plans to offer a discrete iPhone hardware subscription service. However, that may have been because the iPhone Upgrade Program already achieved what the service would have done.



Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    If this really existed - not an assured thing in this rumor driven world - then it's the dumbest idea ever.  Thanks god it was canceled!  I could understand AR glasses tethered than iPhone - at least you could still experience AR's promise of augmenting the world with useful information as you moved through it.  But what's the use of augmenting anything while you're sitting somewhere with your MacBook???  Add a virtual calculator or calendar to your office walls?  Who'd walk around with a laptop in hand?  Makes no sense at all.
    watto_cobradanoxForumPosttiredskills
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  • Reply 2 of 18
    twolf2919 said:
    If this really existed - not an assured thing in this rumor driven world - then it's the dumbest idea ever.  Thanks god it was canceled!  I could understand AR glasses tethered than iPhone - at least you could still experience AR's promise of augmenting the world with useful information as you moved through it.  But what's the use of augmenting anything while you're sitting somewhere with your MacBook???  Add a virtual calculator or calendar to your office walls?  Who'd walk around with a laptop in hand?  Makes no sense at all.
    Are you kidding me? As the article rightly notes, Mac Virtual Display is considered by many to be the most compelling feature of the Vision Pro. This would be like that, but with normal glasses that are comfortable and not too weird looking (well, one hopes). The very large number of VIsion Pro customers who use it primarily for Virtual Display would ditch their clunky, heavy goggles in a second if something like this was available. I don't own a VP, but glasses with that feature would be a day one purchase for me.

    To be clear, it's not so you can have a floating calculator. It's so you can extend your Mac's display without needing an external monitor - extremely useful while traveling or in confined spaces, when the tiny laptop display just isn't enough for your workflow. I currently use the XReal Air USB-C glasses for this purpose, and they're... ok. But it's a 1080p display with no spatial awareness (it moves as your head moves). Apple could make something much, much slicker. 

    Anyway, very disappointed to hear they cancelled it. I tend to agree it would require iPhone tethering for mass appeal, so I get that if they couldn't make that work, it wasn't worth it to make something just for Mac users. Still, huge bummer.


    shrave10canukstormwatto_cobratiredskills
     3Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 3 of 18
    thttht Posts: 5,808member
    twolf2919 said:
    If this really existed - not an assured thing in this rumor driven world - then it's the dumbest idea ever.  Thanks god it was canceled!  I could understand AR glasses tethered than iPhone - at least you could still experience AR's promise of augmenting the world with useful information as you moved through it.  But what's the use of augmenting anything while you're sitting somewhere with your MacBook???  Add a virtual calculator or calendar to your office walls?  Who'd walk around with a laptop in hand?  Makes no sense at all.
    The current darlings of the mediarati are the Meta Ray Bans camera glasses and the Xreal AR glasses. Various people want Apple to develop one or both of those form factors.

    The Meta Ray Bans are shades with camera, microphone, and speakers, plus the chips needed for them, and battery, USB, wireless. Theoretically, something like visual intelligence can be used to help the wearer identify things they see, audio chatbot interface to the cloud service for things.

    I assume audio-only interfaces will fail as mass market devices unless proven otherwise. 

    The Xreal AR glasses are see-through AR glasses with about 50 to 57° FOV. Includes camera, microphone, speakers, wireless, chips and batteries. A lot of people use this as an external monitor. Connect through DP/HDMI through USBC something to the other. So, they use it with portable game consoles, laptops, desktops etc. Mostly for games and video. They are not good enough for text work yet.

    The renders that AI shows are just glasses. Unrealistic. See-through AR glasses will have a display with a prism/wave guide layer to show AR objects. They will make the glasses look fat and cumbersome compared to the made up renders. For people that need prescriptions, that would be another layer in front of the prisms. The prism can just look like the lens as seen in the Meta prototype, but I’m not what happens in bright lighting situations with it. 

    Can this be mass market successful? Not so sure.

    For Vision Pro, if it can sell 1m units a quarter, I think that means huge success. Apple needs to rev it. It won’t reach 4m to 5m units unless ASPs are like $1200 to $1500. Apple knows it, they just don’t have the component costs yet. 
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 18
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,765member
    tht said:
    twolf2919 said:
    If this really existed - not an assured thing in this rumor driven world - then it's the dumbest idea ever.  Thanks god it was canceled!  I could understand AR glasses tethered than iPhone - at least you could still experience AR's promise of augmenting the world with useful information as you moved through it.  But what's the use of augmenting anything while you're sitting somewhere with your MacBook???  Add a virtual calculator or calendar to your office walls?  Who'd walk around with a laptop in hand?  Makes no sense at all.
    The current darlings of the mediarati are the Meta Ray Bans camera glasses and the Xreal AR glasses. Various people want Apple to develop one or both of those form factors.

    The Meta Ray Bans are shades with camera, microphone, and speakers, plus the chips needed for them, and battery, USB, wireless. Theoretically, something like visual intelligence can be used to help the wearer identify things they see, audio chatbot interface to the cloud service for things.

    I assume audio-only interfaces will fail as mass market devices unless proven otherwise. 

    The Xreal AR glasses are see-through AR glasses with about 50 to 57° FOV. Includes camera, microphone, speakers, wireless, chips and batteries. A lot of people use this as an external monitor. Connect through DP/HDMI through USBC something to the other. So, they use it with portable game consoles, laptops, desktops etc. Mostly for games and video. They are not good enough for text work yet.

    The renders that AI shows are just glasses. Unrealistic. See-through AR glasses will have a display with a prism/wave guide layer to show AR objects. They will make the glasses look fat and cumbersome compared to the made up renders. For people that need prescriptions, that would be another layer in front of the prisms. The prism can just look like the lens as seen in the Meta prototype, but I’m not what happens in bright lighting situations with it. 

    Can this be mass market successful? Not so sure.

    For Vision Pro, if it can sell 1m units a quarter, I think that means huge success. Apple needs to rev it. It won’t reach 4m to 5m units unless ASPs are like $1200 to $1500. Apple knows it, they just don’t have the component costs yet. 
    "It won’t reach 4m to 5m units unless ASPs are like $1200 to $1500. Apple knows it, they just don’t have the component costs yet. "

    Question is, does Apple have the patience, perseverance and commitment to continue with VP until component costs come down? 

    Also, what' s the potential market like for head-worn "goggles"?  The closest competitor is Meta and they've only been able to get a user base of around 10 million after 4 to 4 years, and that's for a device that costs a few hundred dollars, not $3,500.
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 18
    thttht Posts: 5,808member
    tht said:
    twolf2919 said:
    If this really existed - not an assured thing in this rumor driven world - then it's the dumbest idea ever.  Thanks god it was canceled!  I could understand AR glasses tethered than iPhone - at least you could still experience AR's promise of augmenting the world with useful information as you moved through it.  But what's the use of augmenting anything while you're sitting somewhere with your MacBook???  Add a virtual calculator or calendar to your office walls?  Who'd walk around with a laptop in hand?  Makes no sense at all.
    The current darlings of the mediarati are the Meta Ray Bans camera glasses and the Xreal AR glasses. Various people want Apple to develop one or both of those form factors.

    The Meta Ray Bans are shades with camera, microphone, and speakers, plus the chips needed for them, and battery, USB, wireless. Theoretically, something like visual intelligence can be used to help the wearer identify things they see, audio chatbot interface to the cloud service for things.

    I assume audio-only interfaces will fail as mass market devices unless proven otherwise. 

    The Xreal AR glasses are see-through AR glasses with about 50 to 57° FOV. Includes camera, microphone, speakers, wireless, chips and batteries. A lot of people use this as an external monitor. Connect through DP/HDMI through USBC something to the other. So, they use it with portable game consoles, laptops, desktops etc. Mostly for games and video. They are not good enough for text work yet.

    The renders that AI shows are just glasses. Unrealistic. See-through AR glasses will have a display with a prism/wave guide layer to show AR objects. They will make the glasses look fat and cumbersome compared to the made up renders. For people that need prescriptions, that would be another layer in front of the prisms. The prism can just look like the lens as seen in the Meta prototype, but I’m not what happens in bright lighting situations with it. 

    Can this be mass market successful? Not so sure.

    For Vision Pro, if it can sell 1m units a quarter, I think that means huge success. Apple needs to rev it. It won’t reach 4m to 5m units unless ASPs are like $1200 to $1500. Apple knows it, they just don’t have the component costs yet. 
    "It won’t reach 4m to 5m units unless ASPs are like $1200 to $1500. Apple knows it, they just don’t have the component costs yet. "

    Question is, does Apple have the patience, perseverance and commitment to continue with VP until component costs come down? 

    Also, what' s the potential market like for head-worn "goggles"?  The closest competitor is Meta and they've only been able to get a user base of around 10 million after 4 to 4 years, and that's for a device that costs a few hundred dollars, not $3,500.
    I think there are niches out there for Apple to sell 1m units per quarter. Specialty applications in medical, architectural, etc. Then, as a specialty productivity machine for people who need a lot of screen space, but it needs to be revved, especially the OS. 

    So, 6K microOLEDs (50% more pixels), 12MP cameras with better low light performance, specialty sensors, lower lag on the hand and eye tracking, M4 SoC, 32 GB, and half the weight. 

    Really wish they updated it with M4, 32 GB RAM, and 12MP cameras this year.

    I don’t think the is much to talk about for consumer usage (games and media) until their is a $1500 product. The virtual presence features has potential, but the cost and weight have to come down.

    The teardown of the AVP really screams 1st gen product to me. It’s not designed to be manufactured easily. The location of components could be improved. 
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 6 of 18
    Connected glasses would be very affordable. 

    But apple doesn’t want to do the connected thing. 

    They want an independent full featured device. 

    So while they may not be developing connected glasses, they most likely will forge ahead with independent glasses. 
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 7 of 18
    I think these AR glasses and a new Mac Mini would have made a really nice desktop experience.
    darbus69watto_cobra
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  • Reply 8 of 18
    Pemapema Posts: 206member
    Soon to share a grave with its bigger brother the Vision Pro.  :'( 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 18
    Pemapema Posts: 206member
    twolf2919 said:
    If this really existed - not an assured thing in this rumor driven world - then it's the dumbest idea ever.  Thanks god it was canceled!  I could understand AR glasses tethered than iPhone - at least you could still experience AR's promise of augmenting the world with useful information as you moved through it.  But what's the use of augmenting anything while you're sitting somewhere with your MacBook???  Add a virtual calculator or calendar to your office walls?  Who'd walk around with a laptop in hand?  Makes no sense at all.

    As much sense as the Vision Pro for the consumer market. Apple is rustling the bushes looking for a new visionary product and all they are coming up with in an endless evolutionary products - iPhone, iPad, Watch etc. - but nothing new to spark a revolution. Sad.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 18
    From a branding POV, I gotta say the Meta/Ray Ban collab is a stroke of genius. For a second there, I was considering getting a pair of AR Wayfarers for giggles, and then I remembered who was the company behind the tech -> hard pass.

    No idea if Meta's technical implementation is any good. My guess is prob not, this is the same company which released Horizon Worlds or whatever it's called with legless avatars after all... HAHAHAHAHAHA
    edited February 1
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 18
    brianus said:
    twolf2919 said:
    If this really existed - not an assured thing in this rumor driven world - then it's the dumbest idea ever.  Thanks god it was canceled!  I could understand AR glasses tethered than iPhone - at least you could still experience AR's promise of augmenting the world with useful information as you moved through it.  But what's the use of augmenting anything while you're sitting somewhere with your MacBook???  Add a virtual calculator or calendar to your office walls?  Who'd walk around with a laptop in hand?  Makes no sense at all.
    Are you kidding me? As the article rightly notes, Mac Virtual Display is considered by many to be the most compelling feature of the Vision Pro. This would be like that, but with normal glasses that are comfortable and not too weird looking (well, one hopes). The very large number of VIsion Pro customers who use it primarily for Virtual Display would ditch their clunky, heavy goggles in a second if something like this was available. I don't own a VP, but glasses with that feature would be a day one purchase for me.

    To be clear, it's not so you can have a floating calculator. It's so you can extend your Mac's display without needing an external monitor - extremely useful while traveling or in confined spaces, when the tiny laptop display just isn't enough for your workflow. I currently use the XReal Air USB-C glasses for this purpose, and they're... ok. But it's a 1080p display with no spatial awareness (it moves as your head moves). Apple could make something much, much slicker. 

    Anyway, very disappointed to hear they cancelled it. I tend to agree it would require iPhone tethering for mass appeal, so I get that if they couldn't make that work, it wasn't worth it to make something just for Mac users. Still, huge bummer.
    Think about this for a moment. Vision Pro obstructs your vision with an opaque internal display that contains a mix of the world around you (obtained by cameras) and virtual content obtained from elsewhere. As such it can create the illusion of solid, opaque objects in your field of view. Glasses can NOT work like that. Glasses are necessarily transparent so you can see and could only project translucent content into your field of view. The brighter the environment, the more difficult that is to do. There would be no need for this if you're sitting in front of your Mac's display, which is already nicely opaque. Very few people have need for a ghostly translucent virtual desktop monitor through which they can see their actual monitor and/or cluttered desk.

    To me, canceling this project seems the right thing to do.
    tiredskillswatto_cobra
     1Like 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 18
    DAalsethdaalseth Posts: 3,131member
    I keep up with Apple news pretty well. I’ve heard of the work on the AVP mk2, a less expensive model, and some speculation about having a version that uses an iPhone to do the computational heavy lifting. I have not heard of one that was to run off a Mac. As the only rumour of this is that the project was cancelled, I’m skeptical that it ever existed. 
    muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 13 of 18
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,510member
    brianus said:
    twolf2919 said:
    If this really existed - not an assured thing in this rumor driven world - then it's the dumbest idea ever.  Thanks god it was canceled!  I could understand AR glasses tethered than iPhone - at least you could still experience AR's promise of augmenting the world with useful information as you moved through it.  But what's the use of augmenting anything while you're sitting somewhere with your MacBook???  Add a virtual calculator or calendar to your office walls?  Who'd walk around with a laptop in hand?  Makes no sense at all.
    Are you kidding me? As the article rightly notes, Mac Virtual Display is considered by many to be the most compelling feature of the Vision Pro. This would be like that, but with normal glasses that are comfortable and not too weird looking (well, one hopes). The very large number of VIsion Pro customers who use it primarily for Virtual Display would ditch their clunky, heavy goggles in a second if something like this was available. I don't own a VP, but glasses with that feature would be a day one purchase for me.

    To be clear, it's not so you can have a floating calculator. It's so you can extend your Mac's display without needing an external monitor - extremely useful while traveling or in confined spaces, when the tiny laptop display just isn't enough for your workflow. I currently use the XReal Air USB-C glasses for this purpose, and they're... ok. But it's a 1080p display with no spatial awareness (it moves as your head moves). Apple could make something much, much slicker. 

    Anyway, very disappointed to hear they cancelled it. I tend to agree it would require iPhone tethering for mass appeal, so I get that if they couldn't make that work, it wasn't worth it to make something just for Mac users. Still, huge bummer.



    It probably didn’t exist in any serious way except as a ongoing research and development study prototype which is normal for a company that iterates like Apple, with the Vision Pro around making a half ass less powerful less capable device what would be the point, the next version of the Vision Pro will be smaller (cheaper, but not under $2000) and have more a powerful M4, M5 SOC and a R2 SOC which will take time and iteration similar to on going development of Apple Silicon, Apple Watch or the AirPods.


    edited February 1
    neoncatwatto_cobraDAalseth
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  • Reply 14 of 18
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,765member
    tiredskills
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  • Reply 15 of 18
    DAalsethdaalseth Posts: 3,131member
    O/T but I want to state for the record that I do not follow links to X , (Xitter). It’s a bad neighbourhood and nothing and no one of value at all is there. You want people to follow your link to whatever you want to say? Put it somewhere else. 
    Stabitha_Christiewatto_cobradewme
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  • Reply 16 of 18
    Gurman dictating the news cycle yet again - tragic. Somebody should track his misses for fs.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 17 of 18
    Unfortunate, but I guess if the iPhone can’t provide the performance, then shelf it until a full standalone glasses unit in the early to mid-2030s.
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