Apple’s long-rumored augmented reality smart glasses are nowhere on the horizon yet. Seemingly the launch is distant, but that doesn’t change the fact that the glasses aren’t the most-awaited Apple accessory. This means, designers have a good reason to toil with the expectations and present us with ideas to induce excitement. Case in point, the Apple Smart Glasses concept which has a very modern, sunglasses look (slightly oversized) to it with a range of nuances Apple could steel.
To begin with, AR glasses from Apple will carry the baggage of expectations on its frame, and the Cupertino giant will have to squeeze in a lot of tech within those frames to meet the expectations. The concept pair here seems an exciting idea of a pair of glasses from Apple to do that, but to our dismay, Apple insiders have ruled out – on numerous occasions – the possibility of Apple using sunglasses pattern for the AR eyewear.
Designer: Eunho Kim
Of course, Apple intends to keep the AR glasses as lightweight as your pair of sunglasses but it will not be able to use colored glasses. Arguably, Apple wouldn’t find it easy to display information on tinted glasses. Over time, it may happen in the second or third iteration of the wearable, but you can rule it out as a feature in the first model.
Apple Glass prototype that we have seen fluttering on the internet is currently believed to feature a plastic frame. Apple could though consider something that Eunho Kim has conceived in his concept: A detachable metal frame that clips to the temple of the round glasses. As we learn, Apple will be placing a LiDAR scanner on the right temple, the clip-on arm may take some tinkering, but since Apple is reportedly refraining from using any other camera on the glasses, it could be an option to consider.
Apple’s first-generation glasses are likely to pair with the iPhone, which will do almost all the data processing. This will definitely allow Apple to shed the weight off the AR glasses so they can be close to a pair of natural-looking glasses, like this cool round one in the concept. Although there is no timeframe for the launch of the Apple Glass, reports do hint at the possibility of Apple’s AR/VR headset arriving early 2023.
