Tim Cook: Apple Glasses remain his main project

Several years ago, at least since 2019, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized how much future the field of augmented reality (AR) had for him. It was "profound" and life-changing. At the time, there was still no sign of the company's first headset, the Vision Pro. Things have now changed: the devices have been on the market in the USA for over a year, and in Europe for almost a year. Economically, it is said to be a flop, which is hardly surprising given the starting price of 4000 euros. But the technology behind it is being developed further. This also has to do with Cook himself, as the financial news agency Bloomberg wrote at the weekend: according to them, there is hardly anything that is more important to him than the further development of real Apple computer glasses that you can put on your nose.

Product development top priority – staying power

"Real" AR glasses are the plan to beat Meta or Google. "Tim is not interested in anything else," an insider told the financial news agency Bloomberg. "It's the only thing he cares about time-wise when it comes to the product development standpoint." The plan remains the grand vision of lightweight glasses that customers can wear throughout the day. They will overlay the field of vision with AR, projecting images into the real world. The idea remains Cook's top priority, according to the report.

However, it will still take "many years" before such AR glasses are ready. This includes displays, chips with sufficient performance and small batteries with a large capacity. And, according to Bloomberg, applications must be as exciting as those of the iPhone. After all, mass production and an adequate price are needed. By way of comparison, the glasses for Meta's Project Orion are said to have cost around 10,000 US dollars per prototype unit.

First a new model of the Vision Pro

Before moving forward with AR glasses, however, Apple wants to launch a second Vision Pro on the market. This is supposedly lighter and cheaper – How much remains unclear. In addition, the device is to receive a quick connection to the Mac in future to allow high-end enterprise applications without latency – whether for flight simulators or surgical applications.

Currently, this is only possible with the developer strap, which Apple sells as a special accessory and which has to be attached in a special way, further restricting freedom of movement.

(bsc)