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The latest cancellation casts uncertainty complete Apple’s early AR plans.
The latest cancellation casts uncertainty complete Apple’s early AR plans.
Jan 31, 2025, 9:08 PM UTC
While Mark Zuckerberg and Meta property guardant pinch augmented glasses projects buoyed by its million-selling group of smart Ray-Bans, Bloomberg newsman Mark Gurman says that Apple conscionable pulled the plug connected an AR glasses project. Codenamed N107, they’re described arsenic thing that would’ve looked akin to regular glasses but pinch added displays successful the lenses that could link to a Mac.
With features that sound akin to devices for illustration the Xreal One AR glasses, the glasses could’ve delivered connected the Vision Pro characteristic that’s closest to being immoderate benignant of a slayer app (popping up a immense virtual show anywhere) without the $3,499 value and dense creation that required a caput strap. The glasses besides would’ve had tint-changing lenses that, for illustration the Vision Pro’s Eye Sight, could awesome to onlookers whether the wearer was engaged aliases not. While different specifications are fuzzy, it doesn’t look arsenic if the N107 glasses would’ve had a camera aliases immoderate of the mixed-reality features of the Vision Pro.
A large problem, according to Gurman, was processing thing that worked good while being cost-effective proved to beryllium a challenge. Apple initially wanted the N107 to link to an iPhone, but it proved to beryllium a battery-guzzler, and the iPhone itself didn’t person capable juice to powerfulness the glasses — hence the displacement to a Mac. Unfortunately, that move purportedly didn’t look to spell complete good pinch executives successful testing.
This astir caller cancellation puts a large mobility people complete Apple’s early AR and XR plans. Apple purportedly canceled a abstracted AR glasses project successful 2023, and rumor has it that activity connected a Vision Pro 2 has been put connected clasp successful favour of trying to create a cheaper Vision Pro. Meanwhile, the Vision Pro itself has struggled to find a foothold.
The cancellation besides intends Apple is falling further down the competition. CES 2025 was a playground for each sorts of smart glasses, and Google precocious entered the fray pinch Android XR. Samsung has besides thrown its chapeau successful the ringing pinch its Project Moohan headset. Last year, Meta showcased its Orion glasses, an AR glasses prototype pinch precocious Micro LED displays and a neural wristband for controls. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has besides been bullish connected smart glasses arsenic an eventual conveyance for AI assistants, and the institution is expected to merchandise both Oakley-branded smart glasses for athletes and a higher-end type of its existent Ray-Ban glasses pinch a show this year.
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