“Apple increased its R&D investment to $2.94 billion in the third quarter of 2017, around 6.5 percent of the company’s total sales in the quarter,” David Curry reports for ReadWrite. “It is a large advancement on the past years, and shows Apple has a few things big planned in the coming years.”
“The most talked about, at least by Apple executives, is augmented reality,” Curry reports. “A patent for mixed reality glasses, able to pull real-time data on points of interest, show the potential next step for Apple. CEO Tim Cook said AR could be as big as the smartphone in an interview with The Independent, and reports suggest it is turning into a passion project for the company.”
“In interviews, the firm’s executives have hinted that cars are but one part of automation, leading people to believe it is looking into drones, pods, or new types of transport,” Curry reports. “That said, the company recently received a license to test three self-driving cars in California.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’re in the calm before the storm!
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s R&D spending hasn’t been this high since three years before iPhone launched – August 9, 2017
Apple in talks to form partnership with Boeing to provide broadband access via constellation of 3,000 satellites – June 15, 2017
Apple + satellites = ? – April 22, 2017
Why Apple may be interested in space satellites – April 21, 2017
Apple hires top Google executives for new hardware team – April 21, 2017
Apple in talks to buy Boeing communications satellites – March 18, 2015
Apple adds former Boeing CFO James Bell to Board of Directors – October 1, 2015
Steve Jobs on R&D: If it was just a matter of spending money, Microsoft would deliver good products – May 11, 2007
Is there a mixture here that we’re missing?
Will the next CarPlay have AR for the windscreen? Is this what the facial recognition is for — login via face, change tracks via left-wink, etc.
It’s a fair amount of R&D spending but is it enough to keep up with the other companies like Alphabet and Microsoft? Is it enough money being spent to get outstanding results? I don’t know how to measure returns for R&D spending except by increased product sales.
With this AR push, it appears there are going to be a lot of emerging countries not being part of the movement because AR is going to require high-end processors and increased bandwidth which $50 Android smartphones will likely be lacking.
Did someone say Microsoft? You have to be kidding.