Apple has partnered with the German lens and optics manufacturer Carl Zeiss AG on a new pair of augmented reality smartglasses, according to technology blogger Robert Scoble.
Scoble said on his Facebook page that an employee from Carl Zeiss AG confirmed rumours that Apple and Carl Zeiss AG were working on "a light pair of augmented reality/mixed reality glasses."
The conversation occurred during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, Scoble said. It specifically took place at the Zeiss stand in the AR section of CES, according to Scoble.
"Carl Zeiss is in the AR part of CES," Scoble wrote on Facebook. "But it is NOT showing off its mixed reality optics. Why not? I said 'Tim Cook didn't let you' and the employees around me smiled nervously."
Scoble has a mixed track record when it comes to Apple's future products. He claimed, for example, that the iPhone 8 would be "a clear piece of glass." That's almost certainly not going to happen.
But we do know that Apple is very interested in augmented reality. CEO Tim Cook said in September that he was excited by the possibilities of augmented reality.
"There's virtual reality and there's augmented reality — both of these are incredibly interesting," Cook said. "But my own view is that augmented reality is the larger of the two, probably by far."
—Robert Scoble: VR/AR (@Scobleizer) January 9, 2017
The glasses could be announced by Apple as early as this year, Scoble said, writing that he previously expected Apple to announce them in 2018.
Unlike Google and Snapchat, Apple is yet to release any form of computerised glasses.
If Scoble is right and Apple is planning to release a pair of glasses, it's unclear how they would be positioned versus competitor products or where they would be priced. Google's failed Glass product cost over £1,000, while Snapchat is selling its Spectacles in the US for $130 (£100).
