What's next for Apple? With recent product launches seen to be lacking innovation, many point to Tim Cook's repeated praise for augmented reality technologies as evidence that AR will be the next big thing for Cupertino. And one rumored device that just won't go away is Apple's smart spectacles.
Bringing the possibility of iGlasses into focus once more is VR/AR evangelist Robert Scoble. Speaking during the This Week in Tech show, Scoble cited "many sources [...] at the highest levels" claiming that Apple would be working with Carl Zeiss to create a pair of augmented reality glasses.
Scoble went as far as to suggest an announcement window for the specs, perhaps as early as summer of 2017 to hit the year's 10th anniversary iPhone festivities (although he hedged his bets with a spring 2018 release window, too).
Lens time
"This is Tim Cook's legacy," said Scoble. "In fact, it's Steve Jobs's legacy too."
It's not the first time Scoble has linked Apple to Carl Zeiss. Back at this year's CES 2017 show, he claimed that sources at Carl Zeiss opened up about an Apple partnership, but have been publicly gagged until Apple sees fit to show its hand.
Hence Carl Zeiss's incongruous appearance at CES's augmented reality area, despite having no new AR product to show off.
Tim Cook has been prepared to put his money where his mouth is too. Recent acquisitions by Apple include a long list of AR companies, from Metaio to Flyby Media. Even if the specs appeal runs dry, Apple's certainly got one augmented reality project or another in the works.
