Pokémon Go’s developer Niantic could be creating an Apple Glasses competitor, according to a tweet by Niantic’s CEO John Hanke. This comes as rumors intensify about Apple’s own plans to release AR and VR headset and glasses products.
To understand what Pokémon Go’s developer might be doing, it’s important to remember what happened at the beginning of the month. During an event, Microsoft announced its Mesh platform, using mixed-reality software with the company’s hardware, like the HoloLens 2.
During this announcement, Microsoft shared information about a partnership with Niantic to show off what Microsoft Mesh could mean for games like Pokémon Go.
According to this tweet below shared by Hanke, Niantic could be developing its own AR Glasses while still partnering with other companies:
“While this demo is not intended for consumer use, it offers an early glimpse into the future evolutions in both software and hardware,” says John Hanke, CEO, and founder of Niantic. “We’ve only scratched the surface. We know the years ahead to be filled with important achievements which will serve as waypoints in AR’s journey to become a life-changing computing platform.”
Of course, this could mean two things: Niantic is just helping other companies with their AR products or it’s creating its own Glasses product. This would be similar to what Snapchat did a few years ago with Spectacles.
Exciting to see the progress we’re making to enable new kinds of devices that leverage our platform… pic.twitter.com/yYglk4q89G
— John Hanke (@johnhanke) March 29, 2021
When Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said that he believed AR is “the next big thing,” he may have been correct. As we’ve seen recently, most of the Big Tech players are focusing on AR, VR, and MR projects.
What we know so far is that Apple could release a mixed-reality “helmet-type headset in 2022. Apple Glasses could feature 15 camera modules, with eight of them dedicated to augmented reality video experiences. Apple’s mass-market glasses are believed to be further down the roadmap.
If you want to learn more about Apple’s plans for an AR headset, check out our roundup here. Meanwhile, let’s wait and see what Niantic could surprise Pokémon fans with in this category. The company recently helped the franchise achieve $100B in all-time sales becoming the world’s most valuable media brands.
