Apple glasses sound impressive but they might never get released

Apple might finally be ready to jump into the augmented reality space with a pair of smart glasses. Detailed leaks on possible upcoming Apple products have come out from three purported Foxconn employees. The details were posted on Reddit where moderators supposedly verified that the posters do, in fact, work for Foxconn. While leaks were made for several products, including upcoming MacBooks, the next iPhone and a home speaker, the glasses are perhaps the most surprising.

The Apple glasses are said to be delayed until 2018 or 2019 and might even be canceled because the Capacitive Pavel Ceramic batteries are difficult to produce. The glasses, dubbed “Project Mirrorshades,” have a 65 percent chance of being canceled right now, according to the leakers. The leakers sprinkled in some optimism, though, saying that if the glasses "can be done properly (it) will be like what the iPhone did 10 years ago."

The glasses certainly seem ambitious. They are said to include the option of polarized or prescription lenses, use Zeiss smart optics, have bone induction modules for audio and microphones that aid noise cancellation. Embedded sensors, including an accelerometer, would track steps and head movement for app navigation. For the visual component, information would be displayed on the lenses.

The Mirrorshades sound great. Perfect, even. Perhaps that's why Apple is having such a hard time getting them off the ground. If the leakers are real and their information is accurate, it's exciting to know Apple has this kind of product in the works even if it ultimately never sees the light of day. Apple did hire a top AR researcher last year, though, so work in this area is unlikely to go ignored. An AR or VR product from Apple will likely come out at some point.