Apple buys startup focused on lenses for AR glasses

Apple buys startup focused on lenses for AR glasses

on August 30, 2018

Apple buys startup focused on lenses for AR glasses

By Stephen Nellis

(Reuters) - Apple Inc has acquired a startup focused on making lenses for augmented reality glasses, the company confirmed on Wednesday, a signal Apple has ambitions to make a wearable device that would superimpose digital information on the real world.

Akonia said its display technology allows for "thin, transparent smart glass lenses that display vibrant, full-color, wide field-of-view images." The firm has a portfolio of more than 200 patents related to holographic systems and materials, according to its website.

Bloomberg last year reported that Apple was developing augmented reality glasses that could ship as early as 2020. Apple declined to comment on its plans or products.

But the company last year launched augmented reality applications for its iPhones and iPads, and CEO Tim Cook has called augmented reality a "big and profound" technology development.

"This is one of those huge things that we'll look back at and marvel on the start of it," Cook said of augmented reality on a conference call with investors last year.

The Akonia acquisition is the first clear indication of how Apple might handle one of the most daunting challenges in augmented reality hardware: Producing crystal clear optical displays thin and light enough to fit into glasses similar to everyday frames with images bright enough for outdoor use and suited to mass manufacturing at a relatively low price.

Augmented reality headsets currently on the market such as Microsoft Corp's HoloLens and startup Magic Leap's Magic Leap One both use darkened lenses and are intended for indoor use. Both are also intended for software developers testing the technology and cost several thousand dollars.

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