Will Apple Usher In An AI Future With AR Glasses?

One day in the future, no one knows for sure when, but the smartphone will be replaced. Let that sink in for a minute. Did the mobile phone change the way you work, communicate, and go about your life? For most people, it has. So imagine what your life would be like when something does replace it. What could that look like? How could that happen? There is a future ahead of us that includes different access points other than our cell phones and that future will impact all of us and most of the business world as well.

If you think about it, carrying around a hand-sized rectangle is starting to feel outdated. It doesn’t feel natural to have one hand tied up holding a device. Or, if you’re like many millennials and Gen Z out there and like to see the world with augmented reality, watching through a smartphone screen won’t cut it in the future. Smartphones will eventually evolve into something else, and in their place will be another type of wearable, possibly smart glasses.

You may wonder, who is going to wear AR glasses? Who would put a supercomputer on their face? Why would anyone ever do that? Well, let’s take a look at the pedometer to learn how technology can go from a niche hobby to a technology that has become second nature.

When the pedometer was first invented, it did not become an overnight success. Mechanical pedometers were invited by watchmakers. Over time they turned into mechanical devices hobbyists tinkered with. In the 1960s, a Japanese doctor, Dr. Yoshiro Hatano invented the term Manpo-kei which translates to “10,000-step meter.” Today our phones track our steps by default and our smartwatches display our step goal on the watch face. Counting steps is almost as synonymous with telling time. Who knew that those first pedometers would turn into a cultural normality?

Just like the pedometer, a seemingly irrelevant device that became part of our daily lives, a new wearable device is coming. Much like the smartphone that transformed the way we interact with the world and each other, this new device will change the way we digest information, work, shop, and connect with each other. We’re talking about wearable technology embedded with AI with computer vision and machine learning that constantly scans and interprets the world around us, and also uses augmented reality.

While most articles out there deal with the rumors of when and what Apple might bring to market in the near future, in this article, we touch on what it means to you, to the business world, and how to prepare for a post-smartphone future where the mobile phone is replaced by a new, wearable device. Although this will take a while, in 2023, we need to start a conversation about what our post-smartphone future will look like. It has to go beyond the Metaverse hype and the current AI conversation that is consumed with ChatGPT. As this potential future gets closer, we will need to prepare for an AI-driven future with AR glasses or another type of wearable.

Many speculate on whether Apple will introduce AR glasses or some type of extended reality device. Apple’s Tim Cook has said in the past that he believes that AR will change everything and throughout the years has remained bullish on AR.

We might be at the cusp of seeing what Apple’s plans for a future with AR could be. Cook recently spoke with GQ about the future of Apple and while he didn’t confirm or deny any new products, he did speak about the potential of a new device. He mentioned that “the idea that you could overlay the physical world with things from the digital world could greatly enhance people’s communication, people’s connection. It could empower people to achieve things they couldn’t achieve before.”

More revealing than this latest interview are some of the things that Tim Cook has said about AR, in particular about its role in “creative” applications and corporate environments.” Cook doesn’t want to remove people from the physical world. He and Apple would rather enhance the way we learn, interact, and create through augmented reality. That means making a tool that lets you do even more in the physical world, instead of another screen to look at.

Moving Beyond the Mobile Phone: A Screen or Screenless Future?

So what comes after the mobile phone? That seems up for debate. While Google Glass, Microsoft Hololens, Magic Leap 2, Snapchat Spectacles, and a slew of many other brands haven’t achieved mainstream adoption, maybe Apple’s entry into the industry with a device focused on communication, connection, and co-presence will mark a watershed moment. It could mark the start of a race toward what replaces the mobile phone.

The Makeup Of A Wearable Device

The future of wearables will involve a mix of technology, whether it involves screens or not. This convergence is important to understand in order to create the groundwork for a wearable world. What we see and hear will become premium real estate that could be used for good or for evil. This in itself will impact every person and every industry and every constituent. The impact of this shift in how we use technology should not be underestimated. Its impact should not be understated.

Artificial Intelligence

AR glasses will have artificial intelligence embedded in them. The AI will do more than just recognize a meal and tell you how many calories are in it or give you the best directions to your destination. You will be able to create from your wearable through your thought interface and generative AI tools. No more typing. You will navigate using your voice and possibly even via neural interfaces. It will optimize processes and what we see around us. Sensory design will become increasingly important.

The three S’s of Augmented Reality

• Sight: We, humans, are sight creatures. Whatever wearable device we’ll have, whether it’s screenless or not, will include visuals.
• Smell: We can augment more than what we see. If we wear it on our heads, smell is another sense we can augment and share.
• Sound: Spatial audio is something we have today. But as we wear devices on our heads, what we hear and how we hear it could change.

Haptics

Taps, vibrations, and even squeeze sensations are examples of haptics. As materials evolve, how they’ll interact with us through touch will evolve too.

Optics

Optics are what lets people see through smart glass lenses. It has to work for all types of vision with highly, precise optics to ensure clear and accurate images. Diffractive waveguides or holographic optics allow smart glasses to become even more compact and lightweight while providing higher-quality displays and more immersive experiences. This is one of the hardest components to crack when it comes to a wearable that we would put in front of our eyes.

Battery

Batteries will have to power smart glasses all day for them to be realistic for everyday use. Battery technology will have to be small and lightweight enough to fit the glasses frame but also power the display and processor.

Sensors

The wearable will have to be equipped with many sensors that help the device “see” the world by scanning (meshing) the physical world constantly in order to interpret the world around us and be able to blend physical and virtual. Sensors will also do a lot more than just mesh the world they will contribute to how the wearer experiences the world.

Neural Interfaces (potentially)

Some smart glasses may come with a neural interface in the form of a wristband. Neural interfaces, like Meta is working on through their acquisition of Ctrl Labs, may make it easier to interact with the glasses through hand gestures but without having to hold anything in your hand.

While there are several other components of extreme importance, we want to highlight some of the most important ones in order to start having you think about how these components impact what you do, how you do it and even how you and your customers and audiences will engage with their world.

It’s important to mention that while most tech professionals are keeping their eyes (pun intended) on Apple, and while not released yet, patterns and trademarks show that Apple is developing an AR or mixed-reality headset, but companies like Meta, Snap and others have also been working on wearables.

Meta’s Project Aria uses machine perception and augmented reality to create AR glasses in partnership with Luxottica. The glasses are currently available as research kits. Sensors on the device capture your video and audio, as well as eye-tracking and location information, and computes it on-device to figure out how to use AR in the real world. “Maybe you don’t want to have to carry your phone around at all or have to worry about having it take you away from the moment; you’re gonna be able to do all of this with a pair of glasses,” Zuckerberg said.

Snap, on the other hand, has been working on glasses since 2016. The latest version of Snap Spectacles, the Spectacles 4, features dual HD cameras and polarized lenses that can capture depth and provide a 3D-like effect. The Spectacles 4 can be synced with Snapchat, allowing wearers to upload and share their content with friends and followers instantly.

Additionally, speaking with industry experts, some of them see what’s been introduced so far as transitional equipment that will lead us to the point where we have a mature device. A device that will provide us with the ability to layer a dimension of data over the world around us and will create an immediate contextual insight in the next stage of a non-phone future.

Is the Future On Our Faces Or Not?

Startups like Humane, which was founded by former Apple Director of Design Imran Chaudhri, recently spoke at TED and demoed his company’s wearable device with a projected display and AI-powered features intended to act as a personal assistant.

He sees a future that is heads-up and screenless, so not AR glasses, but rather some other device that combines AI and projection that won’t be on our faces but still allows people to literally shop the world. Chaudhri said, “A world without a display where your surroundings become your operating system – means less demanding and distracting screens. No more complicated, time-consuming interactions. A screenless future allows us to focus on what really matters.”

Humane recently demonstrated their screenless device on stage at TED and set the tech scene ablaze with commentary on their AI-driven wearable that uses projection. Their concept for a post-smartphone future could eventually be a part of a screenless future and many in the industry are excited about their vision and their path forward despite the very little known about their device yet.

A Wearable World

So, if in fact, we are moving away from being heads down on mobile phones to being heads up to AR glasses or some type of wearable device, will this make our world a wearable world, both from the device we would wear, but also how we see the world around us.

Content will play a key role, not only in the design of what that wearable will be, but also in how we use that device, why we use it, and most importantly how what we can see in and through it impacts what we wear or hear. What we wear could become a combination of bits and atoms: a convergence of the Metaverse concept and the Metaverse of physical design. It would unlock completely new possibilities in how we experience and use self-expression, and this in turn will impact culture. If the world becomes both the canvas and the catwalk, and culture continues to impact the business world, what will what we wear say about us?

Through the use of sensors, computer vision, game engine technology, and machine learning, these wearables will mesh the world around us in order to understand it in real-time as we navigate the physical world. It will make what’s within eyesight and earshot of a person become a further extension of their experience, further connecting both virtual and physical touchpoints and extending content, making it contextually aware and unlocking new potential beyond just the physical world. This in turn will have an impact not only on what we design but also on how we design.

What Businesses and Brands Need to Know

While most articles focus on the specs of smart glasses hardware, we can’t ignore the potential impact smart glasses or AR glasses will have. So far, consumer AR glasses and smart glasses have had a low impact on businesses. Rayban Stories, Spectacles, Bose Frames – these have all focused on simple value-add for the wearer, like capturing images and video in 3D. But businesses didn’t need to do much to take advantage of them. As we move closer to a post-smartphone world, businesses need to start preparing today for an AR/AI world.

For the past two decades, we lived in a social media world. The creators of the most used glasses so far, Rayban Stories and Spectacles, are created by social media companies, Meta and Snap Inc. When Apple releases its smart glasses, that will change the landscape for wearables. Apple isn’t a social media company. They’re building a wearable OS, that many speculate is not focused on capturing the world to share it (with all that data included). They seem to be focused on creating a device that possibly puts the wearer first, not the social media companies and that will change how we communicate with each other.

If in fact, the future of the physical world is seen through glasses or experienced via a screenless wearable, this in turn would ignite change and would force companies to change their strategies away from sharing on social media to bringing value in the products, physical locations, and digital experiences in ways they hadn’t prepared for.

Take, for example, a dress. Smart glasses can scan and automatically score its price, sustainability, and ethics metrics (like where was it made, who made it, and the conditions of those workers). It can even tell us who owned it before they did and if they were shopping second hand, as some shoppers are starting to move away from fast fashion and consumerism. Businesses should be prepared with a virtual version of the dress for sale so that the buyers will be seen wearing it virtually by others who have the AR glasses. Businesses can revamp their loyalty programs to add virtual access to someone’s look. Do you and your friends want to view and swap virtual outfits? Make sure to sign up for the loyalty app. These looks aren’t to share with the world, just your closest friends or fellow fashionistas that get access to you.

As a wearable OS, businesses not only need to look outward at how their customers will shop and need customer support but also at how their employees will work. Visualization of product placement, supply, and inventory will change how business is done. Being able to analyze the numbers will still be important, but for on-the-go management, visual representations of business operations will be a competitive advantage.

So Where Do We Go From Here?

Whether it is Apple’s AR glasses or a screenless mwearable, what replaces the mobile phone remains to be seen (literally). But one thing is certain, most industries will be impacted by a move from mobile phones to some other type of wearable device.

Businesses have already been impacted by gaming in ways that many didn’t foresee, and AI is forcing everyone to think about their internal and external AI tech stack. And while it might take a few years for a new wearable to go mainstream, the use of tech like AI and AR has accelerated and will only further accelerate whenever Apple announces what its plans are. That will be the watershed moment for many industries. A wake-up call for many and the potential start of a serious conversation about what comes after the mobile phone.

As a new wearable on the horizon promises to change the way we interact with the world, the hope is that a new type of wearable will propel us to continue pushing the boundaries of creativity and imagination. The post-smartphone era will hopefully enhance our human experience, with tech moving to the background, and physical and virtual touchpoints seamlessly blending. Starting to think through what you create and design today for the post-smartphone future should begin today.

In GQ, Cook also said, “If you do something that’s on the edge, it will always have skeptics.” Skeptic or not, something will replace the rectangles in our hand. The smartphone will eventually be replaced and AR and AI-enabled glasses or another wearable will revolutionize again the way we work and connect with one another. Businesses will have to evolve their products, services, and operations for a new way of engaging with the world. New businesses, content, hardware, and software will emerge, built for those new wearables. The new OS will be wearable as we enter a future without phones.

AI, The Metaverse, And Prettier Sunsets

As the conversation around AI’s impact on our daily lives, our productivity, and our work continues, many see the convergence of technology helping to remove barriers – beyond intellectual activity or knowledge work and allowing us to possibly enter into a new phase, which includes the Metaverse.

AI and the idea of the Metaverse, which is a piece of this equation that is in progress, will need to be built on new technological infrastructure and using new and existing technologies, some of which might not have been created yet or are only known to those working in stealth startups or R&D departments. For some, the Metaverse is a space between identity and activity and should be built based on the organizing principle that experiences are to be shared. If this is so, then a new interface will be a key component of how we enter the Metaverse.

Once we understand how to integrate AI into our world and have the tools to ‘see’ AR, we will be able to more clearly own and use digital objects in the physical world. We will possibly have the Metaverse that many of us envision, and the technology that we’re working on now – from Web3 ownership to identity to game tech to everything in between – plays out once we have that in place. As we head into this new future, we will be adding an extra dimension of context to the world around us…and that could give us even prettier sunsets.

This article was written in collaboration with Lily Snyder and several other industry experts.