Apple has no shortage of ideas for new devices to diversify its offering: a connected ring, AR glasses, AirPods with cameras and a HomePod with an iPad screen are being studied.
After years of waiting, Apple has finally released its mixed reality headset with the Vision Pro. The Californian firm is already thinking about several options for new hardware to launch on the market to continue to diversify, and seems to be focusing above all on the wearables sector.
A ring to conquer an audience that doesn’t fall for the Apple Watch
In his newsletter Power Onpublished by Bloomberg, journalist Mark Gurman indicates that two products are particularly studied by Apple’s teams. The first is a health and fitness-oriented connected ring, reminiscent of Samsung’s Galaxy Ring.
The idea of a connected ring was presented to the leaders of Apple’s health section a few years ago, but the company would never have really worked seriously on the design of such a device. The fact that the competition is becoming active could motivate the Apple brand to become active.
The smart ring could become a less expensive alternative to the Apple Watch, offering health tracking but sparing itself features that not everyone needs. Apple could thus convince users who do not want to carry a watch on their wrist.
Glasses or boosted AirPods?
The second product that we could see arriving in the years to come will undoubtedly be smart augmented reality glasses. These could be equipped with speakers to avoid having to wear AirPods in addition to glasses. Meta and Amazon already offer this type of product.
Another solution considered by Apple would be to directly improve the AirPods with cameras and sensors, which would eliminate the need for glasses and frames. An investigation, codenamed B798 internally, is reportedly being carried out to study the feasibility of such a project.
Finally, there is mention of a HomePod embedding an iPad-type screen, offering seamless interactions with FaceTime and Apple TV. This device could rotate via a robotic arm or be magnetically attached to a wall.
If all these options are explored by Apple, they may still be abandoned along the way and none of them will in any case be marketed for several years.
Source : Bloomberg
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