VR evangelist doubles down on rumor that Apple AR headset is inbound, moves date up to 201...

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited March 2017
Augmented and virtual reality herald Robert Scoble has amplified his predictions about an Apple partnership with Carl Zeiss on a pair of smart glasses, and is predicting an announcement of the technology possibly as early as the middle of 2017.




Citing "many sources" situated "at the highest levels," Scoble reiterated his previous speculation that Apple would release an augmented reality headset soon. During the Feb. 5 "This Week in Tech" show with Leo Laporte, Georgia Dow, and Peter Cohen, Scoble presented little additional information than he had before, but moved up his prediction to an announcement as soon as the summer of 2017, but left open the possibility of the date slipping until 2018.

Scoble suspects that an announcement may be in conjunction with an Apple headquarters announcement, or possibly the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. Scoble expects a very lightweight pair of glasses, with the electronics on other places on your body, such as in an iPhone or other wearable.

"This is Tim Cook's legacy," Scoble said regarding a possible announcement. "In fact, it's Steve Jobs's legacy too."

Currently, Zeiss sells the VR One Plus, a headset that contains a user's smart phone, converting it into a VR or AR system, similar to the Samsung Gear VR or Google Daydream.

Zeiss made an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show in January in the augmented reality pavilion, but had nothing new to demonstrate. Scoble previously explained the absence of optics at the show by saying that Apple muzzled the company until there is something to announce, and reiterated that claim in the show.

Apple has in the past shown interest in AR, with CEO Tim Cook trumpeting the technology on more than one occasion, but how or when the company plans to enter the sector is unclear.

"We are high on AR for the long run," Cook said during an earnings conference call in July 2016. "We think there's great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity. So we're investing,"

In November, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted Apple would ultimately exhibit an AR solution, but predicted that a standalone system is unlikely to debut for at least one to two years.

Apple is said to use AR and VR technology, reportedly utilizing it in to test a heads-up display with Siri integration in a migration from a full car with self-driving hardware towards supporting software systems.

Beyond Cook's affirmations that AR is an interest to Apple, there is ample evidence that the company is quickly growing out an internal AR team through strategic hires and segment purchases including motion capture specialist Faceshift, machine learning and computer vision startup Perceptio, German AR firm Metaio and Flyby Media, among others. Those acquisitions, some of which are considered "acqui-hires," go along with in-house development of transparent displays, iPhone-powered VR rigs, AR maps and other related technologies.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20

    They will release this right after the Apple TV. 

    cali
  • Reply 2 of 20
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    This thread has been closed. Go to Political Outsider.

    ... 

    High level sources in high places say it's coming. I predict this headset will come in 2017, if not it will be pushed back to 2018 and so on.
    /s

    Not gonna lie the "Steve Jobs' legacy too" part got me excited so I hope it is true. I imagine it will not require an iPhone be strapped to your face. That solution is nerdy and not practical. I know a lot of people had a hard time imagining it but it's certainly possible. 
    edited February 2017 robin huberStrangeDayspscooter63mobius
  • Reply 3 of 20
    This guy is taking the piss, right?
  • Reply 4 of 20
    I'm sorry, but Robert Scoble has somehow made a career out of being wrong. By all counts he should be begging for money on freeway on ramps.

    Scoble is the shmuck who swore Google Glass was the next big thing... Scoble is a perennial pariah in the tech field. Somehow he keeps finding new suckers to pay his bills while he butters them up.
    edited February 2017 TomSawyer
  • Reply 5 of 20
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    I think we can all agree that Apple has the track record of delivering a new product to market "when it is ready" - which is usually a year or two after the pundits say it is too later for Apple and that company XYZ is leading...
    SpamSandwichwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 20
    It will be announced at WWDC. Then it will slip to January of next year and will take 6 weeks to ship, like everything else.
  • Reply 7 of 20
    This guy's quotes sound like Trumpspeak. Filled with superlatives and adjectives, signifying nothing. 
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 8 of 20
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member

    Yesterday the wife and I were in the Mall and we walked by the Microsoft Store, and they had a demo of someone playing a game with a VR headset. I looked over to my wife to get her reaction to what she saw, before I could ask I saw the look on her face. She was completely shocked as well as many others walking by. They looking at this guy swinging his head and arms around making funny gestures with his face and mouth and they were completely confused at what they were seeing. I finally asked the wife what was wrong and she said he look like an idiot doing what he was doing. My wife has been around technology a long time since I play with it all time so it not like she did not realize what it was.

    There were a few people there who thought it was neat, I would stay I would be interesting in playing with it, but not in the mall where people could watch me, it is a privacy of your own home type of thing. My wife and most people staring at the guy, you could see they felt  they would not be caught dead in them.

    Just like google glass users got the nick name of glassholes, someone will come up with a equally offensive social term for people wearing VR goggles. I personally think Apple knows this and know the majority of consumers are not going to buy something like goggles.

    Geek and tech people think it is great but the balance of the world think it is stupid.

    edited February 2017 caliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 20
    Apple could talk about their future AR technology at WWDC this year. They have nothing to lose by talking about their future plans and much to be gained by it. Right now, Apple is seen as a laggard in AR/VR. Microsoft have been showing off their AR system for the past two years and currently have a commercial version on the market. Normally Apple stays quiet about future technology plans but in a case like this when they are clearly behind everyone else and developers are looking to buy Windows computers to start development, Apple needs to speak up. I would not expect to see a product from Apple for the next year or two but it makes sense to start talking to developers and customers about their plans.
  • Reply 10 of 20
    The solution is simple: Don't have dinner with Robert Scoble lol In this case though, I'm afraid he is right. Do you have any idea how many Samsung phones and VR headsets will be sold just to watch the prequel to "24:Legacy" (that began last night)? Scoble is leaking that Apple's AR products will also be capable of VR (e.g., the lenses go black), just like Samsung's shipping product.
  • Reply 11 of 20
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    maestro64 said:

    Yesterday the wife and I were in the Mall and we walked by the Microsoft Store, and they had a demo of someone playing a game with a VR headset. I looked over to my wife to get her reaction to what she saw, before I could ask I saw the look on her face. She was completely shocked as well as many others walking by. They looking at this guy swinging his head and arms around making funny gestures with his face and mouth and we completely confused at what they were seeing. I finally asked the wife what was wrong and she said he look like an idiot doing what he was doing. My wife has been around technology a long time since I play with it all time so it not like she did not realize what it was.

    There were a few people there who thought it was neat, I would stay I would be interesting in playing with it, but not in the mall where people could watch me, it is a privacy of your own home type of thing. My wife and most people staring at the guy, you could see they felt  they would not be caught dead in them.

    Just like google glass users got the nick name of glassholes, someone will come up with a equally offensive social term for people wearing VR goggles. I personally think Apple knows this and know the majority of consumers are not going to buy something like goggles.

    Geek and tech people think it is great but the balance of the world think it is stupid.

    I don't get why people make a big deal out of someone using a VR headset. Are you expecting someone just to sit there like a sign post? 
    suddenly newton
  • Reply 12 of 20
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    grangerfx said:
    Apple could talk about their future AR technology at WWDC this year. They have nothing to lose by talking about their future plans and much to be gained by it. Right now, Apple is seen as a laggard in AR/VR. Microsoft have been showing off their AR system for the past two years and currently have a commercial version on the market. Normally Apple stays quiet about future technology plans but in a case like this when they are clearly behind everyone else and developers are looking to buy Windows computers to start development, Apple needs to speak up. I would not expect to see a product from Apple for the next year or two but it makes sense to start talking to developers and customers about their plans.
    I can't think of any other time Apple announces two years before releasing. I don't really see any value in that for them. 

    As for being a "laggard" and late to the market, I have to laugh at this. What market? Who is buying VR/AR hardware in any significant way? 
    caliwatto_cobrabrucemc
  • Reply 13 of 20
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    grangerfx said:
    Apple could talk about their future AR technology at WWDC this year. They have nothing to lose by talking about their future plans and much to be gained by it. Right now, Apple is seen as a laggard in AR/VR. Microsoft have been showing off their AR system for the past two years and currently have a commercial version on the market. Normally Apple stays quiet about future technology plans but in a case like this when they are clearly behind everyone else and developers are looking to buy Windows computers to start development, Apple needs to speak up. I would not expect to see a product from Apple for the next year or two but it makes sense to start talking to developers and customers about their plans.
    Apple isn't "clearly behind everyone else." You, we, don't know what they are working on. 

    What everyone else is releasing is half-baked, ugly stuff that's very unlike what Apple would ever produce.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 20
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    maestro64 said:

    Yesterday the wife and I were in the Mall and we walked by the Microsoft Store, and they had a demo of someone playing a game with a VR headset. I looked over to my wife to get her reaction to what she saw, before I could ask I saw the look on her face. She was completely shocked as well as many others walking by. They looking at this guy swinging his head and arms around making funny gestures with his face and mouth and we completely confused at what they were seeing. I finally asked the wife what was wrong and she said he look like an idiot doing what he was doing. My wife has been around technology a long time since I play with it all time so it not like she did not realize what it was.

    There were a few people there who thought it was neat, I would stay I would be interesting in playing with it, but not in the mall where people could watch me, it is a privacy of your own home type of thing. My wife and most people staring at the guy, you could see they felt  they would not be caught dead in them.

    Just like google glass users got the nick name of glassholes, someone will come up with a equally offensive social term for people wearing VR goggles. I personally think Apple knows this and know the majority of consumers are not going to buy something like goggles.

    Geek and tech people think it is great but the balance of the world think it is stupid.

    I don't get why people make a big deal out of someone using a VR headset. Are you expecting someone just to sit there like a sign post? 

    No, it is seen as antisocial behavior. I am not one to follow social normal or cares what people think. But that is me. However, most people worry about social norms and behave accordingly. It is like body mods & piercing and tattoos. Yeah there are people out there who do it but no one is making Billions off these activity. Yes most people can deal or look past it, and some are accepting but at the end of the day most people like people who are like them. It is social behavior and when people are not same then they get labeled. Google glasses did not fail because the technology did not work, it failed because those who used them were seen as socially unacceptable thus the label glassholes. This is coming from the same people who say we all should be nicer to one another and treat people like they are different, but as soon as you do not act like them they quick to label you.

    Here is something interesting to look at, if you wear ear buds with wires and listen to your music and maybe you get into a bit, no one seems to care, lots of people wear ear buds. However, someone walking around with a single blue tooth ear piece talking to someone people think they are weird or something. Because of this less and less Bluetooth ear pieces are sold. One months is socially acceptable to talk and listen on and another is not. The reason being most people see the wire and know exactly what is going on. with a blue tooth ear piece most do not see and when the person talks people respond and then realize the person is not talking to them so people get embarrassed.

    Face it social norms dictate what everyone does especially in the presents of other people and most people in sprite of what they say are not accepting of people differences. 

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 20
    rezwitsrezwits Posts: 878member
    All I know is if Apple comes in and dominates this space, it's over, gravy for LIFE!  I could seriously see them dominating and then no turning back.  I mean we all know google had a run at this (just glasses in general) but...the piles of cash in this space just waiting to be grabbed.  That's what has me excited! phone-wrist-ears-eyes!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 20
    maestro64 said:

    Yesterday the wife and I were in the Mall and we walked by the Microsoft Store, and they had a demo of someone playing a game with a VR headset. I looked over to my wife to get her reaction to what she saw, before I could ask I saw the look on her face. She was completely shocked as well as many others walking by. They looking at this guy swinging his head and arms around making funny gestures with his face and mouth and they were completely confused at what they were seeing. I finally asked the wife what was wrong and she said he look like an idiot doing what he was doing. My wife has been around technology a long time since I play with it all time so it not like she did not realize what it was.

    There were a few people there who thought it was neat, I would stay I would be interesting in playing with it, but not in the mall where people could watch me, it is a privacy of your own home type of thing. My wife and most people staring at the guy, you could see they felt  they would not be caught dead in them.

    Just like google glass users got the nick name of glassholes, someone will come up with a equally offensive social term for people wearing VR goggles. I personally think Apple knows this and know the majority of consumers are not going to buy something like goggles.

    Geek and tech people think it is great but the balance of the world think it is stupid.

    Looks like Bieber dancing. 
  • Reply 17 of 20
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,301member
    VR will wait until next year. This year belongs to the iPhone 8.
  • Reply 18 of 20
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    grangerfx said:
    Apple could talk about their future AR technology at WWDC this year. They have nothing to lose by talking about their future plans and much to be gained by it. Right now, Apple is seen as a laggard in AR/VR. Microsoft have been showing off their AR system for the past two years and currently have a commercial version on the market. Normally Apple stays quiet about future technology plans but in a case like this when they are clearly behind everyone else and developers are looking to buy Windows computers to start development, Apple needs to speak up. I would not expect to see a product from Apple for the next year or two but it makes sense to start talking to developers and customers about their plans.

    Wrong on so many levels I hardly know where to begin.

    As you haven't been paying attention for the past decade then let's start with the basics. Apple does not talk about future products because it distracts people from the stuff the company is trying to sell now. Outfits that spend all their time talking about the future are usually looking at a fall in sales for their current product line.
  • Reply 19 of 20
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    This guy is taking the piss, right?

    but moved up his prediction to an announcement as soon as the summer of 2017, but left open the possibility of the date slipping until 2018

    A prediction without a firm date is not a prediction; it's a guess.

    When this thing doesn't show up by the end of 2018, then Scoble will simply say that a design fault discovered on the day the first device was due to roll off the production line meant that Apple cancelled the whole project. No prototypes will ever show up on eBay.
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 20 of 20
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    grangerfx said:
    Apple could talk about their future AR technology at WWDC this year. They have nothing to lose by talking about their future plans and much to be gained by it. Right now, Apple is seen as a laggard in AR/VR. Microsoft have been showing off their AR system for the past two years and currently have a commercial version on the market. Normally Apple stays quiet about future technology plans but in a case like this when they are clearly behind everyone else and developers are looking to buy Windows computers to start development, Apple needs to speak up. I would not expect to see a product from Apple for the next year or two but it makes sense to start talking to developers and customers about their plans.
    There have been many rebuttals to you here, so I will simply add this: You clearly haven't paid much attention to how Apple does things, because they never go into detail on future products.  Ever.  They have announced products before sales available a few times, because of circumstances where the product details were sure to leak out through other agencies.  

    Apple does not care if the tech community of media-blog-o-sphere think they are a laggard.  Apple does their investigations behind the scenes, not out in public.  They don't talk vapourware simply to be seen as a thought leader.  Never have, and I am sure never will.  

    I would say, based on results, that Apple's approach works for them.
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