Apple Glasses are ‘sleek as hell’ and could launch sooner than you think

Apple Glasses are ‘sleek as hell’ and could launch sooner than you think
(Image credit: Martin Hajek/iDropnews)

Earlier today we reported that Apple Glasses won't arrive for a while, but someone who has seen the company's rumored augmented reality lenses says they're coming sooner than we thought.

Long-time Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo provided product updates for investors yesterday. In the note Kuo said that while new iPads are just on the horizon, Apple Glasses won't be ready to ship until 2022 "at the earliest." Jon Prosser believes otherwise, sharing on Twitter that he has seen the glasses and the launch is "aimed for March-June 2021."

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Prosser, who has developed accurate track record in recents month, said he "can't believe" his Apple Glasses intel goes against Kuo's.

While the two analysts have shared some conflicting reports in recent past, namely around upcoming AirPods launches, we might be more interested in the tidbit about the Apple Glasses looking ‘sleek as hell.' Prosser said he has video that he'll show off soon.

In November, The Information reported on an internal presentation given to employees at the company’s headquarters, where people who attended said Apple Vice President Mike Rockwell divulged details about the design and features of the Apple Glasses

It's possible Prosser obtained material from this meeting, although he could also possess video of a newer prototype. Needless to say, we're interested in finding out.

Due to conspicuous design and unrefined functionality, for the most part so-called 'smart' glasses haven't piqued more than passing interest among consumers. But if Apple has plans for a pair that look great and benefit from the company's spree of AR start-up acquisitions, more people might be convinced. Apple did manage to make wearing mini white hairdryers in our ears cool, after all.

At least for the first generation of Apple Glasses, they would deliver AR apps and info to our eyes wirelessly and use the iPhone for processing power. But over time they could evolve to become a standalone wearable device.

We'll learn more about Apple's vision for AR long before we see Apple Glasses in the wild. At WWDC 2020 the company is likely to present new AR apps, while the iPhone 12 Pro models are suspected to feature a LiDAR scanner. How well the apps and scanner are received could certainly influence the Apple Glasses release date.

Kate Kozuch

Kate Kozuch is the managing editor of social and video at Tom’s Guide. She covers smartwatches, TVs and audio devices, too. Kate appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her taking up a new sport, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef.