Apple Moving Forward on Semitransparent Lenses for Upcoming AR Headset

Apple and Foxconn have reached a key milestone in the development of Apple's long-rumored augmented reality headset, with the semitransparent lenses for the device moving from prototype to trial production, reports The Information.

Apple Glass

Apple is developing the lenses on a single production line at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu in southwestern China, where most of Apple’s iPad production is centered, the person said.

Apple has multiple phases in the development of new products, starting with periods of prototyping in California and China, during which it makes dozens and hundreds of units, respectively, of the products and their parts. As of May, the lenses had entered a stage known as engineering validation test, or EVT, during which Apple typically makes thousands of units, said the person familiar with the matter. During that period, Apple has locked down the design and begins testing its suitability for mass production.

The report indicates that the lenses (and thus the headset itself) are still at least a year or two away from mass production, and various rumors have pointed toward a launch around 2022.

A recent report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman indicated that Apple's AR and VR projects have been hampered by internal divisions over whether Apple should emphasize graphics and processing power in a design that would connect wirelessly to a nearby hub or a more personal approach with lesser capabilities but which can be contained entirely within the headset.

Apple is said to have multiple AR and VR projects in the works beyond the initial headset, known by the code name of N301, with a sleeker pair of AR glasses known as N421 that could launch in 2023.

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Top Rated Comments

incoherent_1 Avatar
63 months ago
These won’t serve any useful purpose and be an overpriced fashion accessory.

At least, that’s what I said about Apple Watch when it was released, and I’m an owner of a S5 today and love it, so in other words I’ll be wearing these glasses in 5-6 years telling people how much I love them! Ha!
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JosephAW Avatar
63 months ago
Since Mr. Cook wears glasses one day in a keynote he will say something like, all during this presentation I have been wearing them. :cool:
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MikhailT Avatar
63 months ago
As a hearing impaired person and losing more of my hearing as I get older, one vision I have for these AR Glasses is Google's Live Caption feature; transcribing everything in the real world would be a monster life-changing feature.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
63 months ago
These glasses rumors remind me of the Apple Car rumors we had to suffer through for years
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dahosek Avatar
63 months ago

And then they will show a video feed where the "naked filter" has been applied the whole time, because that's one way to not be nervous when talking in front of a group -- picture them naked. Imagining it will no longer be necessary.
Wait you're supposed to picture the audience naked? I've been doing it wrong.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
63 months ago
It'll be an interesting marketing experiment.

I'm 36 and am lucky to have not required glasses in my life, as of yet.

I know my days are numbered and some day soon I'll probably need supermarket readers, but how does Apple convince people that don't need glasses... to wear their expensive option? The watch was an easy sell, most people that stopped wearing a watch recognized the utility of wearing an Apple one.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)