Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Friday November 10 2017, @11:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the distracted++ dept.

Apple Is Ramping Up Work on AR Headset to Succeed iPhone

Apple Inc., seeking a breakthrough product to succeed the iPhone, aims to have technology ready for an augmented-reality [AR] headset in 2019 and could ship a product as early as 2020.

Unlike the current generation of virtual reality [VR] headsets that use a smartphone as the engine and screen, Apple's device will have its own display and run on a new chip and operating system, according to people familiar with the situation. The development timeline is very aggressive and could still change, said the people, who requested anonymity to speak freely about a private matter.

While virtual reality immerses the user in a digital world, augmented reality overlays images and data on the real one. The applications for AR are endless, from a basketball fan getting stats while watching a game to a mechanic streaming instructions on how to fix a specific piece of equipment. Apple isn't the only company working on the technology. Google, which drew derision for $1,500 smart glasses a few years ago, is developing a business-oriented variant. Startup Meta has developed a headset with a focus on education and medical uses.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook considers AR less isolating than VR and as potentially revolutionary as the smartphone. He has talked up the technology on Good Morning America and gives it as almost much attention during earnings calls as sales growth. "We're already seeing things that will transform the way you work, play, connect and learn," he said in the most recent call. "Put simply, we believe AR is going to change the way we use technology forever."

Apple declined to comment.

The operating system on the devices is reportedly called "rOS".

Also at CNBC, AppleInsider, and 9to5Mac (opinion).


Original Submission

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(1)
  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 10 2017, @11:13PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 10 2017, @11:13PM (#595397)

    It's going to be called iReality and retails for $5995.00, and only runs apps from iStore that are moderately priced at $66 each.

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @12:12AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @12:12AM (#595414)

    If you have recently experienced loss of time, blackouts, or deja-vu while wearing an ARH please apply patch vrhijack1 as soon as possible.

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 11 2017, @12:29AM (1 child)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday November 11 2017, @12:29AM (#595416) Homepage

    " The applications for AR are endless, from a basketball fan getting stats while watching a game to a mechanic streaming instructions on how to fix a specific piece of equipment. "

    The first application sounds really annoying, as the most hardcore gameheads would rather listen to a sportscaster than having annoying bubbles in front of his face...and you bet your ass that any American sports organization which has a licensed AR app is going to cram ads the living fuck into it. Feeling the crowd's heat on your face is pretty damn awesome at live events.

    Now, the second option would be pretty rad -- kinda like "rent-a-mechanic" for home users to learn more and more about repairing their own shit and extra could be charged from a video of the camera and webcast for future reference. As a guy whose mechanic (and good buddy) is too far away to fix my shit in a major emergency, this would be a godsend if and only if it undercuts significantly the ripoff prices of commercial auto shops.

    But, as an employee for Boston Dynamics who has investigated AR with Unity/Vuforia, I warn you all to put your hardons down because you're not gonna see live 3-D overlays on everything spontaneously just yet. To do so requires either reference targets and/or 3-D models of the shit you want to overlay over, and this is not easy when you're in a "random" environment. Apple and all others who take on this challenge will likely require custom silicon for 3D/PR. I also predict that there will be more subtle-yet-insidious manipulation of its users for mostly advertising but quite possibly other nefarious purposes. As one example for a stereoscopic version you could code it to cover up potholes and make the user trip.

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:37AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:37AM (#595476) Journal

      As one example for a stereoscopic version you could code it to cover up potholes and make the user trip.

      A clever way to lower you raw material costs in soylent green business.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:47AM

    by Gaaark (41) on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:47AM (#595482) Journal

    Will Apple users be able to watch each other get f*cked up the arse by Apple?

    Will Apple users be virtually HumanCentipadded?
    That may be fun to watch from the outside!
    If it happens, someone please promise to upload video to Youtube AppleWhateverStoreVideoWatchingThingyIDon'tKnowWhatIt'sCalledBecauseIDon'tUseAppleProducts.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(1)