APPLE IS EVIDENTLY GEARING ITSELF UP
FOR A NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH
In October, Kuo said that Apple’s AR headset
would enter mass production during 2019’s
fourth quarter in preparation for a launch in
early 2020. Kuo reported that the glasses would
indeed be marketed as an iPhone accessory
rather than a wholly independent product, with
the eyewear set to basically serve as an external
display while leaving the wirelessly-connected
iPhone to take care of computing, networking
and positioning. Apple even appears to have
configured iOS 13 in readiness for this.
Code found deep in iOS 13 refers to what seems
to be an AR headset codenamed “Garter”, as
well as a “STARtester” app apparently intended
for testing the device. According to a 9to5Mac
report, Apple engineers have also been working
on giving iOS support for stereo AR, allowing an
experience similar to that of Google’s Daydream.
This support is said to have gone through
internal testing with three devices: Apple
devices codenamed Luck and Franc, as well as a
third-party device called HoloKit.
If you are unfamiliar with Daydream, this video
review by The Verge provides an intriguing
insight into how the platform works with a
headset. While Daydream is built around VR
instead of AR, the way that it allows a headset
to be seamlessly tethered to Google Pixel
phones could serve as an effective model for
Apple to follow with its own accessory. Besides,
Apple seemingly has a long history of exploring
AR, on which it would understandably be
keen to build.