With Apple’s announced media event on September 10th, the company may have its augmented reality (AR) glasses coming down the pipeline sooner than expected. A discovery in an internal iOS 13 development build suggests Apple hasn’t stopped developing its rumored augmented reality (AR) glasses, revealing some details about the unreleased device.
The AR glasses are currently thought to be unveiled in 2020 at the earliest.
Recent builds of the iOS 13 betas have seen new AR tricks, which helps indicate that Apple is laying the foundation of what will eventually become the operating system for the AR device. The code is thought to be based on iOS, and are thought to function like a companion device to an iPhone, requiring a connection to an iPhone to an operate, as the Apple Watch currently does.
iOS beta testers noted a startester app that can switch in and out of head-mounted mode “presumably to replicate the functionality of an augmented reality headset on an iPhone for testing purposes.” The test includes two modes, “Worn,” and “Held,” which lends credence to the idea that this is a test function for the AR glasses.
An internal “README” file in iOS 13 notes a “Starboard” shell system for stereo AR apps, which could indicate the use of a headset. Other code strings with names like “Views” and “Scenes” an “ARStarboardViewController” and “ARStarboardManager” mention AR functionality even more directly.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via Boy Genius Report, MacRumors, and iDrop News