A report unveiled from MacRumors tells us about Apple entering its “second phase of development” of augmented reality (AR) glasses prototype and expect the full report to come out this week.
Mysterious Apple AR product launching in 2021 https://t.co/Gn3YZ3k9k8 pic.twitter.com/txHCxvIyXZ
— AppleTrack (@appltrack) January 4, 2021
So far, Apple has been doing well in their M1 chip lineup of Macs and now with this recent news we’ll be expecting something special from the tech giant once again.
Additionally, another augmented reality device called AirTags is coming out this 2021 according to a research note from Ming-Chi Kuo.
Here’s What We Know About The Glasses So Far
The first AR report from Apple goes way back 2017 according to a Bloomberg report where they are planning to release an AR headset in 2019.
Other news reports dated June 2020 also suggested that there were conflicts within Apple when it comes to the AR headset design and the initial drafts came out to be smaller than the existing Oculus VR headsets.
However, Apple design chief Jony Ive had an internal debate that they would prefer to release the AR glasses (codenamed N421) to the public because it would keep users grounded in reality while beaming maps and messages into their field of vision.
Other Competitors Are Already Beating AirTags
The concept of AirTags has been around since 2019 as reported by 9To5Mac through an app codenamed “GreenTorch” that was reportedly going to replace Find My Friends and Find My iPhone apps. Front Page Tech also showed their 3D render last September 2020 on what the AirTags would look like.
What AirTags does is that it helps the user track lost items and it may be essential while travelling. Another report from 9To5Mac also revealed last year that there was already hidden support for AirTags in the last iOS 14.3 update.
However, its official release is taking longer than expected and some companies like Tile, is already setting the pace to launch a new tracker product that would include AR finding. We shall see if Apple plans to unveil these two gadgets this year once more reports come out.