Apple Glass could use Sony OLED screens for amazing AR

Apple Glass concept
(Image credit: idropnews/Martin Hajek)

Apple's long-rumored Apple Glass headset is still some way from being on early adopters’ faces, with reports suggesting anywhere between next spring and 2023, but the wearable is gradually taking shape. 

In fact, we may now have our first look at some of the spectacles’ specs thanks to Ross Young, founder and CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants.

“We have heard from multiple sources that Apple is pursuing AR/VR glasses using Sony microOLEDs,” he tweeted. “0.5", 1280x960 resolution, 1H'22 intro. Thoughts?” He later clarified that the Sony part would be for AR only. “It will use projection optics inside the glasses.”  

As AppleInsider notes, Sony’s website has a product that seems to match Young’s description. The ECX337A model has a 100,000:1 contrast ratio with a max brightness of 1,000cd/m2, and the company does indeed highlight its potential with AR and VR. 

Sony itself is no stranger to products in that category — not just with PlayStation VR, but the Personal 3D viewer, which has separate OLED displays for viewing content in the same way we imagine Apple Glass will. 

Young himself has a decent track record of leaks like this — and especially when it comes to Apple screen tech. He was one of the earliest voices predicting that there would be no 120Hz screen for the iPhone 12 (but good news, Apple fans: he’s predicting there will be dynamic refresh rates for the iPhone 13.)

As for Apple Glass, it remains a fairly nebulous product, with only a series of interesting patents tracking what it may and may not do. 

We know, for example, that Apple has been trying to crack the tough nut of how to track eye movements without cameras to save on battery life. The glasses also have some possibly potentially neat functionality related to navigation — including one leftfield idea of using subtle audio cues to hint at which direction you should be heading towards. The most recent patent we’ve seen relates to product comparison, letting you pick up two products in a store and having details overlaid for each.  

Whether these ideas ever show up in Apple Glass — or indeed any other commercially available Apple product — isn’t set in stone. The company patents a lot of things, and not all of them are obviously utilized. But we do know that CEO Tim Cook is a big believer in the future of AR, with him once calling the technology “the next big thing, and it will pervade our entire lives.” 

TOPICS
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.

Latest in VR & AR
Samsung's Project Moohan with Android XR at Galaxy Unpacked 2025
New Samsung XR headset report tips mass production for April — but I'm worried about the price
Samsung's Project Moohan with Android XR at Galaxy Unpacked 2025
Samsung’s new XR headset just tipped for a big advantage over the Apple Vision Pro
Samsung's Project Moohan with Android XR at Galaxy Unpacked 2025
Samsung’s bringing its Project Moohan headset to MWC 2025 — what we know
Project Cambria VR headset teaser
Valve VR headset just tipped to launch by end of this year — and this could be the price
Apple Vision Pro on table
Apple Vision Pro is getting a big Apple Intelligence upgrade with visionOS 2.4 — here's all the new features
Apple Vision Pro
Apple Vision Pro major upgrade tipped with visionOS 2.4 — here's all the new features
Latest in News
iPhone 17 Air render
New leaked iPhone 17 dummy units show off super-thin iPhone 17 Air with this surprising design tweak
Simone Ashley and Hero Fiennes Tiffin in "Picture This" now streaming on Prime Video
Prime Video top 10 has 3 must-watch movies — including a bubbly romcom starring 'Bridgerton's' Simone Ashley
(L-R) Josh Hartnett as Cooper and Ariel Donoghue as Riley in "Trap"
Netflix top 10 movies — here’s the 3 worth watching right now
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #379 (Monday, March 17 2025)
iOS 19 logo on an iPhone
Apple WWDC 2025: iOS 19 and everything we know so far
Siri
Siri 2.0 features reportedly only working ‘two-thirds to 80% of the time’