Apple’s AR glasses are further away than we thought

Apple discussed the future of its AR headset in an internal meeting last month, the alleged details of which have just emerged. The company reportedly expects to see the first augmented-reality headset in 2022, with AR glasses landing a year later. 

In the meeting, Apple executives are believed to have discussed the timelines they expected to see for their upcoming AR products. Ultimately, Apple Execs believe that AR products will replace smartphones, though they expect this to take about a decade… so don’t throw that iPhone 11 away just yet.

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This is all according to anonymous internal sources, who claim to have been present in the meeting, and spoke to The Information about it afterwards.

Multiple tidbits of information emerged from the meeting, which reportedly involved about 1000 Apple employees. Apple’s AR glasses will apparently darken while the user is using augmented reality features, so people around the user will know they’re distracted.

Earlier reports, based on projections from Apple analyst, Ming Chi Kuo, had suggested that we could see an AR Apple device as soon as next year. It sounds like that’s a miss for the usually reliable Apple expert.

Now, following this meeting, which took place last month at Apple’s Cupertino, California campus, any Apple fans who were getting excited about AR will have to dial down that excitement and dial up their patience.

The date being pushed back from 2020 to 2022 rather raises the question: has Apple hit a bump in the road? What was so difficult, in developing the AR tech, that it put the release back two years?”

Then again, it’s possible that Kuo’s 2020 prediction was always off the mark.

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AR is a hugely complex field so there’s no doubting that plenty of potential bumps in the road could have presented themselves, we will likely have to wait until nearer release to hear exactly what issue Apple has encountered.