Apple would be ready to present smart glasses by the end of 2020, but the market launch could be only in 2022
They will be announced in the last quarter of 2020 or at most in the first quarter of 2021, depending on the evolution of the coronavirus emergency, and will be available at most in the first quarter of 2022, but there is already a first working prototype and someone has even seen it. We’re talking about Apple Glass, Apple’s smart glasses that have been talked about for years.
Front Page Tech’s YouTuber Jon Prosser has seen this first prototype and has told the world the first information about Apple’s next product (“One More Thing,” as it will be announced). As far as Jon Prosser knows Apple Glass will be very different from the first real smart glasses launched on the market, in the now distant 2013: the Google Glass. Unlike Google’s glasses, in fact, those of Apple will look like normal glasses in every way and may even have graduated lenses. At the base of the choice of design is the technical one: Apple Glass will not be real smart glasses but little more than displays.
Apple Glass: how they will be
According to Jon Prosser, Apple Glasses will not work unless connected to an iPhone, because they will not have much electronics built in. They will basically be an add-on to the iPhone, a bit like we’ve already seen with the first Apple Watch. The prototype seen by the YouTuber was made of plastic, but the materials and design are not yet the final ones. Interestingly, the Apple Glasses will not be equipped with a camera, to avoid privacy issues, but will have a LiDAR (i.e. a laser radar) mounted on the right rod. They will charge wirelessly, placed underneath on a wireless charging stand. The displays will be on both lenses and there will be a new user interface to command them, called the “Startboard,” which will respond to gestures.
Apple Glass: when will they come out and how much will they cost
Jon Prosser doesn’t know yet when Apple’s smart glasses will arrive on the market, but he knows how much will they cost: 499 dollars, to which will be added the cost of the iPhone to manage them and of eventual graduated lenses for those who have sight problems. The time window for the launch depends a lot on the Covid-19 situation: in theory, Apple would be ready as early as late 2020, but would not be willing to make an online presentation and without an audience.