Apple CEO 'Hell Bent' on Launching True AR Glasses Before Meta

Apple CEO Tim Cook is "hell bent" on bringing true augmented reality glasses to market before Meta can achieve the same feat, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

meta ray bans
Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says that upcoming new versions of Apple's Vision Pro mixed reality headset are a "stepping stone" towards Cook's ultimate decade-long goal of making AR glasses – lightweight spectacles that users can wear all day and which overlay graphics on the real world.

Cook has apparently made the glasses a "top priority" for the company. "Tim cares about nothing else," Gurman quotes a person with knowledge of the matter as saying. "It's the only thing he's really spending his time on from a product development standpoint."

Meta is currently developing true AR glasses, and has already prototyped a version of the device it envisions bringing to mass market, dubbed Orion.

Gurman notes that it will take "many years" for true AR glasses to be ready, with several technologies still needing to be perfected, including high-resolution displays, a high-performance chip, and a tiny battery that can provide all-day power.

Meta's non-AR Ray-Ban glasses have reportedly been a surprise hit. These glasses are for taking pictures and conversing with an AI assistant. Apple is said to have discussed the possibility of making similar glasses to compete in the same space. Apple's rationale seems to be that creating smart glasses could be a precursor to developing true AR glasses further in the future.

Apple is also said to be adding AI-enabled cameras to the Apple Watch and AirPods over the next couple of years.

There have been rumors about Apple's work on AR glasses – aka Apple Glass – for almost 10 years now, and the Vision Pro headset is what Apple built because the technology doesn't yet exist for the kind of augmented reality glasses that Apple is aiming for.

Gurman has previously reported that Apple is conducting user studies at its offices to gauge the appeal of features and interfaces, and that the company is working on a version of visionOS that will run on glasses. Codenamed "Atlas," the studies are being led by Apple's Product Systems Quality team, part of the hardware engineering division.

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Top Rated Comments

Havalo Avatar
12 weeks ago

Tim cares about nothing else,
Never truer words spoken.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
12 weeks ago
Tim Apple is testing the prototype himself



Attachment Image
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
12 weeks ago
Looks like Apple will continue to have the wrong priorities for the next couple of years.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gpat Avatar
12 weeks ago
So that's why Macs start from 16GB RAM now.
Because he was looking elsewhere and somebody else adjusted the numbers while he was distracted.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr_Ed Avatar
12 weeks ago
Sounds like Cook wants to be remembered for being more than just a supply chain bean counter. Good luck with that.

I also don’t get the push for this from Apple, Meta, or anyone else. In the US, around half of adults use glasses. I suppose you could have them custom made to your prescription (for an added cost, of course), but I’m not sure how they would handle something like a progressive lens for projection of AR overlay.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sykora171 Avatar
12 weeks ago
Maybe i'm out of touch, but is there actually a market for these kinds of things? I try to stay OFF my phone as much as possible, so at least for me, wearing a device on my face definitely doesn't have an appeal.

I would MUCH rather them take more time to crush bugs in their software. We have strayed SO far from "it just works".
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)