Apple Glasses may offer the most comfortable mixed reality experience yet
Easy on the eyes
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Apple’s rumored augmented reality (AR) project, theApple Glasses, may benefit from a comfort-enhancing feature that will set them apart from other mixed reality displays on the market – the ability to automatically adjust brightness.
A recent companypatent, as spotted byAppleInsider, details an “electronic device with [an] adaptive display” that uses “control circuitry” to gather physiological attributes from the user’s eyes and adjust display brightness accordingly.
While it’s not entirely clear what “control circuitry” refers to here, Apple’s proposal does detail an ambient light sensor capable of detecting measurements such as “blink rate, pupil size and eye openness”.
It’s also unclear whether this technology refers to Apple’s AR orVR project– the company reportedly has both in the works – with “electronic device” clarified only as a “head-mounted device” in the patent. With the latter expected to arrive first, though, it’s a safe bet to assume the Apple Glasses will also benefit from the feature.
In any case, given the frustrating degree of eye adjustment demanded of any user of any mixed reality headset available right now – Apple calls it “dazzle and discomfort” – it’s likely that both devices will come equipped with the ability to automatically adjust brightness.
While the patent is primarily concerned with how the “dynamic range of a head-mounted display may be perceived as insufficient depending on the adaptation state of the user’s eyes” – in other words, improving comfort – the technology could also represent an innovative power-saving method.
That same ambient light sensor – while used primarily to track and change light levels – could double as a way to dim certain areas of the mixed reality experience not in sight of the user, thus sparing power.
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What else might the Apple Glasses be capable of?
Official details regarding Apple’s mixed reality projects are few and far between, with most reports conflating AR and VR and therefore making it difficult to determine which features are rumored for which device.
There have been reports exclusive to the Apple Glasses, though, withone of the most excitingreferring to a device – called Apple Glass – capable of displaying information on both lenses, controlled via user gestures both on and in front of the frames.
We’ve also heardmutteringsthat the AR glasses could arrive with LiDAR tracking – of the sort used in autonomous vehicle development – and up to six lenses, though it’s unclear whether this refers to optical glass or camera lenses.
As for their release date, don’t expect to see the Apple Glasses any time before 2023. The latestreportssuggest the project remains in the early stages of development, and will almost certainly be preceded by an Apple VR headset that could arrive as early as next year.
We do know for sure, however, thatTim Cookand co. are working on alineup of productsdesigned to “blow you away” over the next few years – so it seems a sure bet to expect Apple will offer an exciting answer to the mixed reality question.
ViaAppleInsider
Axel is TechRadar’s UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site’s Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.
Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.
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