Guo Minghao pointed out that Apple’s augmented reality glasses will become a lightweight accessory for the iPhone.
Editor’s note: This article is from “Tencent Technology” .
In the past few years, technology media have reported that Apple Inc. is developing an augmented reality glasses that is similar in functionality to Google’s “Google Glasses”, but not long ago it was reported that Apple has terminated augmented reality. Glasses project. However, according to the latest news from foreign media, from the iOS operating system code, as well as the published patent application documents, there are many recent indications that Apple is still developing and testing augmented reality (AR) glasses.
Test Software
According to foreign media reports, the recent Apple iOS 13 operating system code, disclosed some information about augmented reality glasses. Developers have found a STARTester app in iOS 13 beta that includes a head-mounted model designed to present a user experience with some augmented reality hardware. It is worth noting that the model itself has two options, one called “wearing” and the other called “handheld”.
With the official release of iOS 13, a developer named “xSnow” recently successfully entered the test mode of the STARTester app and released some of the videos he found. The developer found that this application test mode works much better on iPhone XS phones than the 2017 iPhone X.
Foreign media pointed out that there have been rumors that Apple has stopped all research and development work on augmented reality glasses, but this is not the case.
In addition, Guo Minglu, a well-known analyst who has tracked Apple’s dynamics for a long time, said in March that Apple may start producing augmented reality glasses as early as this year to sell in 2020.
Know that Guo Mingqi is well-known in the industry. In the past, he has accurately predicted many new products and functions of Apple. He himself has a close relationship with Apple’s supply chain.
Guo Minghao pointed out that Apple’s augmented reality glasses will become a lightweight accessory for the iPhone. In this hardware combination, Apple’s mobile phone will undertake most of the heavy information processing work, and the augmented reality glasses themselves will mainly focus on displaying relevant information. In other words, Apple Augmented Reality glasses cannot be used independently of the iPhone. The positioning of the glasses products means that high-performance processors or large-capacity batteries cannot be implanted.
For the augmented reality glasses project, Apple has remained silent on this issue. Two years ago, Apple’s head Tim Cook (TimCook) said before that he believes that “augmented reality has far-reaching significance.”
Mobile try
It is well known that Apple smartphones have been weak in innovation in recent years and have been questioned by the outside world. The appearance of mobile phones has remained unchanged for a long time, which has affected consumers’ desire to purchase. According to reports from IDC and other companies, Apple’s mobile phone has experienced a sharp drop of more than 20% in the first half of 2019.
As a differentiating attempt, Apple has introduced some augmented reality features on the iPhone, but the market has generally responded. For example, through a combination of hardware and software, consumers can use mobile phones to measure the size of indoor spaces and objects (depending on the camera), or whether the furniture that is ready to be purchased in the indoor environment is tested in space.
According to foreign media reports, the augmented reality function of Apple’s mobile phone has not become a hot spot, and the augmented reality software submitted by developers has shown a downward trend. AR has not become a true differentiation advantage for Apple phones.
Patent exposure
Recently, a patent project filed by Apple was reported by the media, and it has once again indicated that Apple may still be developing augmented reality glasses.
In augmented reality eyes, digital images projected to us by some means are considered the next big user experience. However, it is a huge obstacle to make the required components small enough to fit the glasses that the user actually wears. But Apple may have found at least some of the answers.
In Apple’s patent, digital images are not projected onto the lens, but are projected onto the wearer’s retina. This is a projection technology called shadow imaging introduced by Apple.
This system focuses light on the area of the retina called the “central fovea”, which is part of the eye and is designed to observe small objects (such as text in a book) with high acuity. The fovea is filled with optic nerve endings, which are less than 1% of the retina’s size, but it occupies more than half of the brain’s visual cortex.
By focusing light on that area of the eye, you can project sharp images in different depths of field and high detail.
The light engine designed by Apple is located on the bracket of the glasses, and the beam emitted by it is deflected from the reflective surface on the inside of the inside of the lens and then projected back onto the eye. A wide beam is projected into the eye, through the lens and into the fovea, while a thinner beam is directed toward the periphery of the fovea.
The image created in this way looks like a 3D hologram and seems to blend into the real world.
This technology makes Apple’s augmented reality glasses different from Google Glass, which projects flat 2D images to the wearer.
However, when we focus on things, our foveal area is always moving, so Apple’s eyewear design also includes eye tracking technology to ensure that the beam is always in the right position. Microsoft’s HolThe oLens augmented reality helmet also uses eye tracking technology.
Of course, this is just a technical patent. Whether it will be integrated into Apple’s final augmented reality glasses is still unknown.
Google failed
Augmented reality glasses can superimpose digital images in the real world, bringing new application functions, such as users wearing glasses to watch some rare trees, and the glasses can instantly display the encyclopedic knowledge of such trees.
Google has previously developed augmented reality glasses “Google Glasses”, the company issued test glasses to some developers, Google Bulin and other executives have also been worn in public, but the project ended in failure.
Among them, Google Glass is ready for screen shooting and information processing, and is considered by the media and cinemas, bars and other institutions to infringe the privacy rights of other guests. The American film and cinema industry also announced that it is forbidden to wear Google Glass on the premises for fear of piracy.
It is reported that Google is currently using some of the technologies developed by the Google Glass Project to develop augmented reality tools for users in the enterprise industry.
(Note: The cover image is from pexels.com)