For many people, everyday life is now unimaginable without the smartphone. But in the next few years it could be replaced by another product.
Palo Alto – The smartphone has replaced a lot in recent years: From MP3 players to navigation devices to digital cameras – now everything is available in one device, without any lack of quality.
But could it soon be outdated and replaced? Companies like Apple are working on the development of augmented reality glasses and are racing to see who is the first to develop a product suitable for the masses. And at least the Californian smartphone giant could want to replace its iPhones with augmented reality in the long term, reports hna.de *.
Augmented Reality – what is it anyway? If it were up to tech companies, we could hear this term a lot more often in just a few years. In German this means something like “Augmented Reality”. The principle: Users can still see their real environment with the help of a computer-aided device, such as a smartphone or glasses. However, this is supplemented by other elements.
For example, you can test whether certain pieces of furniture would look good in the apartment. The game “Pokémon Go” also works with the technology. The basic concept of augmented reality (AR for short) is an additional display of information. It is versatile because it can appeal to different human sensory modalities.
Augmented Reality at Apple: will smartphones soon be history?
More and more technology fits into ever smaller areas – we can see that from how narrow smartphones and laptops, for example, have become over the years and how much more they can still do. Placing the performance of a smartphone in glasses with which you could have information right in front of your eyes sounds comfortable and not too unrealistic.
And not new either: a few years ago, Google introduced AR glasses, the “Google Glass” – futuristic looking glasses with a small display in front of the left eye. Users should be able to view information such as time, weather and received messages directly in their field of vision without having to have their smartphone in hand.
However, only a comparatively small number of functions could be used on the device. The interest was too low, which is why the project – at least for the public – was discontinued.
Now it should be different – industry observers as well as insiders trust Apple to revolutionize AR, just as it revolutionized smartphones with the iPhone. According to a report by the US broadcaster CNBC, the company has been working on prototypes for AR headsets for years.
As reported by Bloomberg , among others, such a device could come onto the market as early as 2022 – for the equivalent of almost 2500 euros and, according to the Heise portal, potentially with iris recognition and eye tracking.
Augmented Reality: Apple and Co. are working on products
Apple itself attaches great importance to AR: “AR changes the way you work, study, play, shop and interact with the world around you. You can use it to perfectly visualize things that would otherwise not be or would only be difficult to see, ”says the company’s website.
“What if the boundary between your imagination and the real world didn’t exist? With augmented reality this is not only possible, it is already a reality, ”is how the technology is described.
Should Apple bring AR glasses on the market, it could “determine the fate of the AR industry,” said industry expert Mike Boland the broadcaster CNBC. However, the company has never confirmed that it is working on such products.
Still, according to insiders, some developments at Apple indicate that AR products are being worked on. For example, some iPhone models that came onto the market at the end of 2020 have advanced lidar sensors (lidar is a form of laser scanning) built into the cameras. The sensors can measure how far away objects are from the camera and are currently used for filters and other photo effects.
Smartphones and Augmented Reality: Apple is buying relevant companies
In connection with an AR headset, however, the sensors could hide even more potential. As the Phone Arena portal also notes, AR glasses could experience greater acceptance in terms of data protection if they worked with a laser instead of a built-in camera.
In addition, Apple has bought up companies in the past that deal with the necessary technologies, which also suggests that they are dealing with the topic there. The company also patented a kind of smart ring years ago – it is estimated that it could be used to control AR glasses.
In addition to Apple, other companies are of course putting out feelers in the area of AR. According to CNBC, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon are working to make AR technologies suitable for the masses. It remains to be seen whether such products will actually replace smartphones. (ial) * hna.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
