In a surprise development, it appears as though Apple’s upcoming virtual reality glasses concept has entered into trial production with the firm’s long-standing supplier Foxconn.
According to insiders, Foxconn will be responsible for manufacturing the lenses that will be used in the new Apple Glass concept. These lenses are more than a single pane of glass – they will display computer-generated images to the wearer, like weather forecasts, Message notifications, and much more, as part of ARKit, offering endless possibilities for developers.
The Information is reporting that Apple is still a year or two away from finalizing the Apple Glass concept and having them enter mass production. However, they have already passed the prototype stage, and they’re entering manufacturing for widespread testing purposes.
Right now, around three years of development work has been undertaken on the project.
Apple acquired lens startup firm Akonia Holographics a couple of years ago.
At that time, the firm was using an LCD silicon display to present users with messages and notifications, but their early products were pretty crude. We don’t know whether the same technology will be used in the trial run, but the expertise from the Akonia team will no doubt be fully utilized.
It has been reported that the trial lenses are polarized and semi-transparent, manufactured from thin layers of glass and other materials. They’re larger than ones found in standard glasses and are made in dust-free clean rooms to ensure they’re clear and protected.
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