Apple Keeps AR/VR Plans under Wraps, Announces Watch, iPad Redos

For more than a decade Apple has been looking into and spending money on augmented reality and virtual reality tech. And with AR/VR popularity really seeing improving numbers, tech experts think Apple is going to release some exciting new products in the very near future. For now, the company announced new operating systems for the iPad and Watch at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) last week in San Jose, CA.

And one word the experts are using in their predictions is GLASSES. And these are not the old version of the “smart glasses” that really didn’t take off for Apple. The staff at macrumors.com reported that:

Apple is rumored to have a secret research unit comprising hundreds of employees working on AR and VR, exploring ways the emerging technologies could be used in future Apple products. VR/AR hiring has ramped up and Apple has acquired multiple AR/VR companies, suggesting something is afoot in Cupertino.

It is being suggested that along with a smartglasses, Apple has put work into a powerful AR/VR headset. Both projects use the code name T288, but that is most likely just a covering code for several AR/VR prototypes.

It’s not yet entirely clear if the augmented reality smart glasses and the AR/VR headset are one and the same project or two different projects.

Apple’s work on virtual and augmented reality dates back multiple years, but rumors picked up starting in March of 2015 when news hit that Apple had a small team of people working on augmented reality. In 2015 and into early 2016, Apple’s team grew as the company hired employees with expertise in AR/VR technology and made multiple related acquisitions.

Apple CEO Tim Cook greets developers at WWDC 2019. (credit: Apple)

New Plans for Apple Watch OS 6

The WWDC 2019 kicked off last week with Apple CEO Tim Cook laying out what Apple’s future is going to look like in the near term. From WWDC, zdnet.com reported that Cook was excited about new hardware, software, and services, but the biggest takeaways are that the Apple Watch will become more independent and the company is honing its focus on health. Among the new health features of watchOS 6 are the Noise app, Cycle Tracking and Activity Trends.

Here’s what Apple outlined at WWD,  written by Larry Dignan for zdnet.com.

Apple has so much being introduced at the moment, that it’s hard to keep up with it all. In the links below you will get a sense of the companies Apple has acquired, and the experts they have brought on board to make the augmented/virtual reality projects real.

At the WWDC, Tim Cook also talked about the new iPad operating system that Apple is rolling out. The product comes with an improved Safari, a better ability to multitask and an improved screen.

Apple on Monday announced that starting this fall, the Pad line-up will switch from iOS to iPadOS. The update is part of a renewed focus by Apple to add productivity features and tools to the iPad line, something the line has needed for the past few years.

read more at macrumors.com or zdnet.com