Apple’s next big thing could replace both the iPhone and Apple Watch

“With so much focus on the next iPhone, or updates to the Apple Watch and AirPods, the next big product for [Apple] might be something that replaces them all,” Michael Henage writes for Seeking Alpha. “Apple glasses, or if the company has any sense, iGlasses, have the potential to dwarf other product categories.”
“The AR market is expected to grow at better than 60% between 2017 and 2023. According to Zion Market Research, the AR market will grow at a rate of more than 85% annually through 2021, ultimately reaching $133 billion,” Henage writes. “Normally a 60% or 85% annual growth rate would represent massive opportunity, but those aren’t the most optimistic projections. There are two different reports on Statista, one suggests the market for virtual and artificial reality will reach more than $200 billion by 2022, the other study suggests at least $160 billion by 2022.”
“Apple may be moving toward being a services company, yet last quarter 87% of the company’s revenue came from products,” Henage writes. “Apple needs transformative products that grow revenue at a significant pace. For anyone who doubts that a wearable headset could be a viable business, the regular eye-wear market is expected to reach $178 billion by 2023. To say that another way, Apple doesn’t need to create a market that doesn’t exist, it just needs to give purchasers of eye-wear a reason to buy its AR glasses.”
“Apple glasses would theoretically be able to replace your phone, watch, and maybe your tablet as well depending on its capabilities,” Henage writes. “The ability to replace multiple devices with one is a theme that Apple has exploited in the past to its advantage. When it comes to pricing, paying well over $1,000 for Apple glasses wouldn’t be such a significant ask if it can replace your glasses, as well as replace your iPhone and Apple Watch.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’ll see (get it?) how far Apple’s AR glasses go toward replacing other products, but once they are released, people are going to want to wear them during every waking hour.
Someday, hopefully sooner than later, we’ll look back at holding up slabs of metal and glass to access AR as unbelievably quaint. — MacDailyNews, July 28, 2017
The impact of augmented reality cannot be overstated. It will be a paradigm shift larger than the iPhone and the half-assed clones it begat. — MacDailyNews, August 4, 2017
Augmented Reality is going to change everything. — MacDailyNews, July 21, 2017
SEE ALSO:
Augmented Reality will spark the next big tech platform – February 15, 2019
Apple taps iPhone exec Casanova to be first head of marketing for augmented reality – February 12, 2019
Apple working on new iPhones with powerful 3-D camera and laser scanner in augmented reality push – January 30, 2019
Apple patent reveals ongoing work on micro-LED displays for holographic imagery – November 9, 2018
What’s happening with Apple’s secret augmented reality glasses project? – November 8, 2018
Apple’s Akonia acquisition points towards ‘Apple glasses’ – August 30, 2018
Apple buys Akonia Holographics, a startup focused on lenses for AR glasses – August 30, 2018
Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple Glasses coming in 2020 – August 15, 2018
Gene Munster: Apple will release Apple Glasses late in 2021 – May 17, 2018
Apple patent application reveals work on eye-tracking technology for VR and AR headsets – April 27, 2018
Apple prepping Micro-LED displays for Apple Watch and Smartglasses for 2019, sources say – April 3, 2018
Apple CEO Cook on the future of fashion, shopping, and AR smartglasses – October 11, 2017
Apple’s AR smartglasses – understanding the issues – August 29, 2017
Bernstein: Apple’s ‘smartglasses’ opportunity ‘could be enormous’ – August 25, 2017
Apple working on several prototypes of AR glasses – August 4, 2017
Apple’s next big move: Augmented reality – August 3, 2017
Apple’s rumored new glasses will be an even bigger deal than the iPhone – July 28, 2017
Apple smart glasses are inevitable – July 28, 2017
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]