Apple’s AR future
Tim Cook says augmented reality is “a big idea, like the smartphone”
Plus, the end of Lightning on the iPhone?
As if tim cook hadn’t dropped enough hints already, further evidence has emerged that Apple will be heavily pushing augmented reality technology with the iPhone. Steven Milunovich of research group UBS claims that “According to some industry sources, the company may have over 1,000 engineers working on a project in Israel that could be related to AR.”
Given Cook’s recent comments, and that Apple has purchased multiple AR firms including Tel Aviv’s PrimeSense (focused on 3D sensing tech) and RealFace (facial recognition cybersecurity experts), there’s gallons of fuel now ready to add to the fire.
Tim Cook has long sung the praises of AR tech. Last year, he declared during a US tech conference his belief that “A significant portion of the population of developed countries, and eventually all countries,
will have AR experiences every day, almost like eating three meals a day. It will become that much a part of you,” he added.
He continued to promote this benefit of AR in an interview with the Independent online newspaper in February, in which he stated his preference of AR to VR because it “allows individuals to be present in the world but hopefully allows an improvement on what’s happening presently. Most people don’t want to lock themselves out from the world for a long period of time and today you can’t do that because you get sick from it.” Cook continued: “With AR you can, not be engrossed in something, but have it be a part of your world, of your conversation. That has resonance.”
All this is certainly possible, and a recent report from VR/AR evangelist Robert Scoble, citing sources “at the highest levels,” points to the tech giant teaming up with optical experts at Carl Zeiss to develop augmented reality glasses.
However, Cook closed his interview with The Independent on a cautious note with regards to any product release. “I regard it as a big idea like the smartphone. The smartphone is for everyone… I think AR is that big, it’s huge. I get excited because of the things that could be done that could improve a lot of lives… But there are things to discover before that technology is good enough for the mainstream.”