The smart glasses battle heats up – Apple and OpenAI tipped to be working on Meta-rivaling wearable

Trending 2 weeks ago
The Meta Orion glasses connected a array adjacent to a wristband and controller.
(Image credit: Meta)

  • New Apple study claims it's readying to participate nan smart glasses space
  • Former Meta AR glasses caput is besides now starring OpenAI's hardware team
  • The 2 companies’ products are respective years distant from launching

If you’ve been pursuing Apple rumors successful caller years, you’ll cognize that nan institution reportedly doesn't conscionable want to conscionable create mixed-reality headsets for illustration nan Vision Pro and telephone it a time – it wants to create full-blown smart glasses that are indistinguishable from a regular brace of specs.

Before now, that’s mostly remained mostly nan realm of speculation and leaks. But now, it seems that Apple is taking immoderate coagulated steps towards knowing what it needs to do to make a group of augmented reality (AR) glasses that tin compete pinch rivals for illustration nan Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses.

According to Bloomberg newsman Mark Gurman, Apple has started conducting soul surveys of different smart glasses disposable connected nan market. The attraction groups (codenamed Atlas) are comprised of Apple labor alternatively than members of nan nationalist to support things arsenic concealed arsenic imaginable (although that hasn’t stopped Gurman’s report) and spot various Apple workers log what they for illustration and dislike astir existing smart eyewear.

The extremity is to thief Apple understand what group want from a group of AR glasses and what sorts of features, materials and value points would activity for its ain device. Whatever nan outcome, we whitethorn not spot nan results of these efforts for different fewer years, but it's nan first motion that Apple is actively looking to break into nan world of nan best smart glasses.

OpenAI enters nan fray

Meta Orion Hands On

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Rival companies for illustration Meta person recovered occurrence by offering comparatively accessible smart glasses that whitethorn not beryllium arsenic technologically precocious arsenic what Apple wants to achieve, but still connection users plentifulness of useful features for a comparatively affordable price.

And it looks for illustration different 1 of Apple’s rivals is reasoning of entering nan smart eyewear market, arsenic Caitlin Kalinowski, nan erstwhile caput of Meta’s AR glasses team, has conscionable joined ChatGPT shaper OpenAI to lead their robotics and user hardware section (via TechCrunch). It’s fueled speculation that OpenAI could beryllium seeking to make its ain brace of AR glasses.

Kalinowski antecedently oversaw Meta’s Orion AR prototype, arsenic good arsenic starring nan hardware squad down Meta’s virtual reality eyewear for 9 years. Posting connected LinkedIn, Kalinowski wrote: “In my caller role, I will initially attraction connected OpenAI’s robotics activity and partnerships to thief bring AI into nan beingness world and unlock its benefits for humanity.”

Sign up to beryllium nan first to cognize astir unmissable Black Friday deals connected apical tech, positive get each your favourite TechRadar content.

That each intends title could soon power up for nan smart glasses crown. With Apple and OpenAI looking to participate wrong nan adjacent fewer years, it could beryllium a fascinating clip if you want to spot nan adjacent improvement successful wearable technology.

You mightiness besides like

  • The champion smart glasses 2024: nan apical AI and AR glasses you tin find
  • Apple's smart AR glasses are rumored to beryllium arriving successful 2026 – pinch microLED tech
  • I tried nan Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses' newest AI features, and they're astir to go a overmuch amended – and cooler-looking – companion

Alex Blake has been fooling astir pinch computers since nan early 1990s, and since that clip he's learned a point aliases 2 astir tech. No much than 2 things, though. That's each his encephalon tin hold. As good arsenic TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was antecedently commissioning editor astatine MacFormat magazine. That intends he mostly covers nan world of Apple and its latest products, but besides Windows, machine peripherals, mobile apps, and overmuch much beyond. When not writing, you tin find him hiking nan English countryside and gaming connected his PC.

More
Source Technology
Technology