Apple ()
Investors have been pressing for Apple (AAPL) to find their "next big hit," whether it's the car, Apple Watch, or something else. If CEO Tim Cook's comments about augmented reality (also known as AR) are an indication, the next hit may be closer than initially thought.
Bloomberg reported that Apple is considering working on wearable glasses, a la Google Glass, which could "connect wirelessly to iPhones," and show images and "other information" in the field of vision. This sounds almost exactly like Google Glass.
Google Glass failed as a consumer product, but has taken on new life as a product in enterprise, particularly medicine.
We're starting to see AR come into the lexicon and be accepted, in both software and hardware form, which bodes well for Apple -- should it choose to get into the field.
This summer, Pokemon Go was responsible for most people learning about AR, when it took the world by storm, as seemingly everyone was playing it. The game has more than 500 million downloads on both iOS and Android and changed Nintendo's financial profile drastically.
Snap Inc. (the artist formerly known as Snapchat) is thought by many to be the first AR-first company, thanks to the popularity of its virtual filters and lenses when someone snaps. Now, thanks to the early popularity of its Spectacles glasses, people are getting more comfortable knowing that others are taking pictures of the world around them.
This is very different then how people acted with Google Glass, suggesting that the technology is getting closer to being accepted, if it isn't already.
Meanwhile, Cook has made several comments in recent months about the prospects of AR and how it will fit into our daily lives. The venerable Apple CEO recently spoke with Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and noted that although AR will take a while, it will be as commonplace as our phones.
"AR is going to take a while, because there are some really hard technology challenges there," Cook said during the conversation. "But it will happen, it will happen in a big way, and we will wonder when it does, how we ever lived without it. Like we wonder how we lived without our phone today."
Apple and Tim Cook usually don't talk so glowingly about a form of technology unless they are entering the field, in some way shape or form. It was done with the Watch, it's been done with television, and with mobile payments, all fields Apple entered during the past few years.
Although Apple typically doesn't talk about future plans or products, Cook's comments on certain technologies have provided the markets with a hint where Apple is going next.
It's a good bet that Apple is getting into AR, in some way shape or form. If glasses are ultimately the way Apple chooses to do it, the response to Spectacles, Pokemon Go, and other forms of the technology are signaling society is ready for it.
We're waiting, Apple.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
