Apple's engineers are still hard at work on their AR glasses project. This news comes from a trusted source who previously suggested that Apple had abandoned plans for smart glasses. The tech world is buzzing with excitement over the next big thing in mobile computing, and augmented reality glasses are at the forefront. Apple, known for its iPhones, is reportedly planning to introduce an iPhone SE soon.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in his latest newsletter, clarified that Apple has not entirely abandoned AR glasses. He pointed out that the company might have dropped a temporary product, the N107, which was supposed to pair with an iPhone or Mac but didn’t perform well. Gurman believes that John Ternus, the head of Apple’s Vision Group, is cautious about another failure. A new pair of AR glasses from Apple could be on the horizon, but it may take three to five years.

The failure Gurman refers to is the Apple Vision Pro, a $3, 500 VR headset launched last year. Despite its impressive display and hand tracking, the device is expensive and mostly used for passive content. Gurman insists that Apple’s goals for AR glasses are still in place, and they continue to develop screen technology for that purpose.

Currently, Apple won’t be able to compete with Samsung and Meta, who are expected to launch new glasses technology this year. Meta reportedly has several wearable devices in the works, aiming to sell hundreds of millions of pairs. Samsung also hinted at new glasses technology during its latest event.

Beyond the gimmicks and disappointments, Apple faces the same challenges as other tech companies. Many smart glasses, like those from RayNeo and XReal, are just extra screens. Adding more features quickly drains the battery of connected devices. Apple’s Vision Pro had this battery issue, which led to a tethered design. Samsung’s Project Moohan also includes an external battery, while Meta’s glasses are criticized for their AI chatbot’s lackluster performance. Taking photos or videos from your face is interesting but won’t replace smartphones anytime soon.

Apple is gearing up for a new hardware release with the iPhone SE 4, which might launch as early as this week. The new device will replace the iPhone SE 3’s home button with the standard Face ID system. The big question is whether Apple will include the Dynamic Island feature, found on current iPhone models. The iPhone SE 4 could retail for around $500, a slight increase from the $430 price tag of the iPhone SE 3.

The Future of Apple’s AR Glasses

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