7 ms·

Tim Cook: Technology Doesn't Exist to Do AR Smart Glasses 'In a Quality Way'

11 points by kartD 9y ago

warrenm 9y ago
Google Glass was a neat 1st-gen (or 2nd-gen, depending on how you look at it) AR-like tool But it was too expensive by far (and underpowered, and didn't run long enough on a charge, and was too limited, etc) Sadly, instead of blazing ahead on that starter technology, Google [seems to have] abandoned it Doing AR on your smartphone - for now - is much smarter: you can pick when you want to use it, you don't need another device, etc
- linuxps2 9y ago
  It seems they are moving away from consumer-facing with the Glass and targeting industry use http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/03/18/514299682/google-glass-didnt-disappear-you-can-find-it-on-the-factory-floor http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/03/18/514...
  - warrenm 9y ago
    Targeting specific industries with Glass is smart - if they don't change how they're doing AR I think shifting focus on how to do AR is smart-er
    - linuxps2 9y ago
      It also narrows the number of use cases you have to account for which gives google time to flesh out the platform one use case at a time - something the consumer market simply wouldn't tolerate
wkearney99 9y ago
More FUD from apple. There's existing tech out there that does a reasonable job. It's gaining popularity. We don't have anything to deliver, so let's shit on the market until we can cobble something together. Yep, standard apple ploy.
- Sangermaine 9y ago
  What Apple ploy? He's right. What the average person wants is the kind of HUD/AR glasses you see in sci-fi movies that seamlessly and easily "just works". We're not there yet. >There's existing tech out there that does a reasonable job. No, there isn't. What exists now is clunky and isn't the kind of experience users are after. One of Apple's strength is understanding that "reasonable job" doesn't cut it. Too many tech people obsess over the tech and misunderstand what consumers want. It's why the people who laughed when the iPod came out, or the iPhone, or the iPad and went on about tech specs and features other products already had were so blind.
- mikestew 9y ago
  There's existing tech out there that does a reasonable job. Name a single product you'd feel comfortable drop-shipping to a non-techy relative that is geographically distant, confident that they can get it working and won't be disappointed when they do. There's been an article posted not once, but twice to HN in the last two days about someone returning their Apple Watch because it won't currently stream music, despite the fact that Apple specifically says, "coming soon". And the article's author pays for the developer program, and should know better than most. But as I understand your argument, you're saying there exist products today that actually live up to the hype so well that Joe Normal won't be disappointed. What you call "reasonable job", I call "tech preview" with regards to the current state and it's level of usefulness for average folks.
  - KurtMueller 9y ago
    Hololens? I've showed it off to relatives and they've been pretty impressed.
    - mikestew 9y ago
      Well, I'll go easy because you were kind enough to offer an answer. But I don't think a $3000 developer kit fulfills my parameters. :-)
      - 9y ago
AndrewKemendo 9y ago
He's both right and wrong. Right, in that there are no good examples of a holistic "just works" stack of hardware and software + user modalities that Apple could release and have people just pick it up and go. Wrong, in that Apple could make all of that work if they really wanted to because the fundamental underlying physics is there for everything except rendering black.

11 points by kartD 9y ago

Google Glass was a neat 1st-gen (or 2nd-gen, depending on how you look at it) AR-like tool But it was too expensive by far (and underpowered, and didn't run long enough on a charge, and was too limited, etc) Sadly, instead of blazing ahead on that starter technology, Google [seems to have] abandoned it Doing AR on your smartphone - for now - is much smarter: you can pick when you want to use it, you don't need another device, etc

linuxps2 9y ago
It seems they are moving away from consumer-facing with the Glass and targeting industry use http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/03/18/514299682/google-glass-didnt-disappear-you-can-find-it-on-the-factory-floor http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/03/18/514...
- warrenm 9y ago
  Targeting specific industries with Glass is smart - if they don't change how they're doing AR I think shifting focus on how to do AR is smart-er
  - linuxps2 9y ago
    It also narrows the number of use cases you have to account for which gives google time to flesh out the platform one use case at a time - something the consumer market simply wouldn't tolerate

wkearney99 9y ago

More FUD from apple. There's existing tech out there that does a reasonable job. It's gaining popularity. We don't have anything to deliver, so let's shit on the market until we can cobble something together. Yep, standard apple ploy.

Sangermaine 9y ago
What Apple ploy? He's right. What the average person wants is the kind of HUD/AR glasses you see in sci-fi movies that seamlessly and easily "just works". We're not there yet. >There's existing tech out there that does a reasonable job. No, there isn't. What exists now is clunky and isn't the kind of experience users are after. One of Apple's strength is understanding that "reasonable job" doesn't cut it. Too many tech people obsess over the tech and misunderstand what consumers want. It's why the people who laughed when the iPod came out, or the iPhone, or the iPad and went on about tech specs and features other products already had were so blind.
mikestew 9y ago
There's existing tech out there that does a reasonable job. Name a single product you'd feel comfortable drop-shipping to a non-techy relative that is geographically distant, confident that they can get it working and won't be disappointed when they do. There's been an article posted not once, but twice to HN in the last two days about someone returning their Apple Watch because it won't currently stream music, despite the fact that Apple specifically says, "coming soon". And the article's author pays for the developer program, and should know better than most. But as I understand your argument, you're saying there exist products today that actually live up to the hype so well that Joe Normal won't be disappointed. What you call "reasonable job", I call "tech preview" with regards to the current state and it's level of usefulness for average folks.
- KurtMueller 9y ago
  Hololens? I've showed it off to relatives and they've been pretty impressed.
  - mikestew 9y ago
    Well, I'll go easy because you were kind enough to offer an answer. But I don't think a $3000 developer kit fulfills my parameters. :-)
    - 9y ago

AndrewKemendo 9y ago

He's both right and wrong. Right, in that there are no good examples of a holistic "just works" stack of hardware and software + user modalities that Apple could release and have people just pick it up and go. Wrong, in that Apple could make all of that work if they really wanted to because the fundamental underlying physics is there for everything except rendering black.