According to Bloomberg, Apple Inc. has initiated a project code-named “Atlas”, exploring the possibility of entering the smart glasses field.
Secret Focus Group Launches “Atlas” Project
Insiders revealed that the project code-named Atlas was launched last week to collect feedback from Apple employees on smart glasses and plans to establish more focus groups in the near future. The research is led by the Product System Quality team of Apple’s hardware engineering department.
When Apple considers entering a new product category, it often sets up secret focus groups to understand people’s preferences for existing products. However, the company usually relies on employees rather than customers to avoid prematurely exposing its plans.
Targeting Meta Orion Glasses
Recent research suggests that Apple is advancing its smart glasses work, which may challenge Meta’s Orion glasses. Meta demonstrated the augmented reality Orion glasses at a September event, featuring a built-in camera and weighing only 100 grams. However, this thick black frame prototype is not yet for sale to consumers; they will first be used internally, and it may take several years for the actual product to be launched.
(Meta launches more affordable VR device Quest 3S, AI functions evolve further)
Is There Still Hope for the Metaverse?
For years, Apple has been committed to creating a lighter augmented reality device that can be worn all day and potentially replace the iPhone. Given many technical challenges, progress on this project has been slow.
The Vision Pro, priced at $3,499, released by Apple in February, is considered too bulky and expensive to become a mainstream product. Meta’s latest VR headset Quest 3S, however, is priced at just $299. Despite Meta’s Quest equipment being the best-selling VR headsets currently, these efforts have not yet sparked a cultural phenomenon or mainstream software ecosystem around VR. Including the acquisition of Oculus in 2014, Meta has invested over $65 billion in hardware research and development, and its Reality Labs are still losing money.
Recently, it has been reported that Apple has significantly reduced the production of Vision Pro, and may cease production of the existing version of Vision Pro before the end of the year.
(Metaverse Over? Apple’s Vision Pro Rumored to Cease Production by Year’s End)