Apple Working Closely On Augmented Reality

Apple is making moves to enter the virtual reality industry! Since the death of the Google Glass, we are witnessing a number of companies enter into the AR space.

Sony revealed their latest SmartEyeGlass at CES this year, as well as a few other companies such as ODG, Vuzix, Daqri, Epson Moverio, and Seebright. Microsoft earlier this year announced that their augmented reality device, HoloLens, would be released sometime during the Windows 10 timeframe.

Virtual Reality Reporter had a chance to try on Sony’s SmartEyeGlass at CES, and frankly did not impress us over its wired bulky design. Soon after Sony released their SmartEyeGlass promo video on YouTube resulted far more dislikes than likes.

We all know Apple is known for creating great products that people would crave for, and it is apparently that they do not want to fall behind the exploding AR bandwagon. Our research indicates that Apple has a team devoted exclusively to exploring the AR space, and they recently received patent relating to AR.

Perhaps we can hope that Apple can develop breakthrough AR applications, as Mr. Jobs did revolutionizing the world with the iPhones. Apple is also hiring for VR and AR talents right on their website.

The biggest difference between augmented reality and virtual reality headsets is that augmented reality glasses, like the Google Glass, overlays digital information and applications for user to interact with the physical world. As oppose to virtual reality glasses, such as the Oculus Rift or Gear VR, immerses the users into the virtual world while disconnecting them from the physical world.

So far we haven’t seen a successful AR product in the market, who might be the next major AR player? Can these companies avoid being an augmented reality road kill like the Google Glass? For the exploding AR and VR scene that happening around the tech scene, Apple is certainly not the leading to come out with a commercial device, but will they beat the market or just reinvent the wheel?