Apple manufacturing partner Quanta Computer has landed a $45 million deal to produce augmented reality displays that project information into the user’s field of vision, Bloomberg reports. Lumus designed the displays, but has granted Quanta the option to produce the product for other technology companies, Lumus Chief Executive Officer Ari Grobman said.
“This means that the most expensive key enabling technology in the AR glasses teardown will now be affordably priced, effectively bringing down the overall cost of consumer AR glasses,” Grobman said.
Quanta has reportedly claimed that “full AR headsets would be priced for less than the cost of a high-end cell phone,” and Lumus expects to have its product to consumers within 12-18 months. Sources previously said Apple’s own 2020 launch timeline is “very aggressive” and subject to change, with Chief Design Officer Jony Ive admitting that “there are certain ideas that we have and we are waiting for the technology to catch up with the idea.” In October, Tim Cook similarly said, “the field of view, the quality of the display itself, it’s not there yet.” Previous rumors have revealed that Apple has hundreds of engineers working on AR applications and has developed multiple prototypes for AR glasses.
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