With iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch sales in decline and the Apple Car nowhere to be seen, plenty are betting that a play for the growing augmented reality or virtual reality markets could be on the cards for the tech giant.
Reports out of Bloomberg have given additional credence to the former, with sources saying the company is in talks with near-eye display component suppliers.
Based on this information, speculators say the company is now more interested in bringing a Google Glass-style smart device to market than a full-blown headset.
These rumors come on the back of a steady stream of AR and 3D-mapping startups acquired by Apple over the past three years and multiple comments by CEO Tim Cook praising the potential of the tech.
“There are some really hard technology challenges there, but it will happen in a big way, and we will wonder when it does, how we ever lived without it,” he said just last month.
Sources told Bloomberg that if Apple does move forward on the glasses, it’s likely a consumer version won’t appear until 2018 at the earliest.
