“Apple Inc. is working on a range of augmented and virtual-reality devices underpinned by a new 3-D sensor system, according to people familiar with the plans,” Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg:
A new iPad Pro for release as early as the first half of 2020 will feature a new module with two camera sensors, up from one on the current model, and a small hole for the 3-D system, letting people create three-dimensional reconstructions of rooms, objects and people. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant also plans to add the sensor to new high-end iPhones later in 2020, along with 5G networking capabilities, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing unannounced products.
In 2021 or 2022, Apple aims to release a combined VR and AR headset with a focus on gaming, watching video and virtual meetings. The company intends to roll out a lightweight pair of AR glasses as early as 2023…
Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has talked up AR for some time, and the technology is the core of Apple’s next big hardware push beyond the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. The new 3-D sensor system will be the centerpiece of this. It has been in development inside Apple for several years, and is a more advanced version of the Face ID sensor on the front of Apple’s latest mobile devices, said the people.
MacDailyNews Take: iOS/iPadOS devices with 3D Time of Flight systems are going to revolutionize AR – just in time for Apple Glasses to change everything!
Augmented Reality won’t hit its stride until we’re freed from having to hold up glass slabs in order to experience it. Once AR graduates to mainstream smart eyewear from Apple, the killer AR apps will come in a deluge – and Android phones will become even less desirable as they already don’t work with Apple Watch, Apple Arcade, Apple Messages, etc. Soon Android phones will become outcasts from the Apple Glasses revolution, too, leading to iPhone becoming even more coveted by the hoi polloi!
AR, which seems like a gimmick today, will become very, very important sooner than later. — MacDailyNews, October 21, 2019
Someday, hopefully sooner than later, we’ll look back at holding up slabs of metal and glass to access AR as unbelievably quaint. — MacDailyNews, July 28, 2017
Augmented Reality is going to change everything. — MacDailyNews, July 21, 2017
That is definitely my next iPad, now to begin listing the pros and cons of 11 inch vs.12.9 inch. Oh the agony of choice.
That new MacBook Pro would really augment my reality at the moment.
I think the launch time lines seem more reasonable than the more advanced release dates we have been hearing about previously. Though not directly related but I wonder if there will be a link to the time frame of releasing Arm based Macs too. That potentially could be some Transformatory launch year with whole new capabilities on offer for wide ranging products as well as a new platform if so.