Last Thursday Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Refines their Head-Mounted Display Device for a Second Time this Year." The report covered Apple updating their patent to include possible touch sensor on the headset to control various functions be it volume or perhaps answering an incoming phone call and beyond. Tonight Bloomberg is reporting that Apple's experimental prototype "would connect wirelessly to iPhones, show images and other information in the wearer's field of vision, and may use augmented reality." Apple getting serious about a future headset was covered in our January report titled "Apple's 'Secret' VR Team isn't that Secret Anymore," that touched on the Financial Times that broke that story.

Bloomberg's speculative report hints that the project is still well in the distance and could make it's way to market in a few years. Apple has ordered some materials to support prototypes but it hasn't progressed far beyond that at this point in time.

Bloomberg further noted that "Apple's challenge is fitting all the technology needed into a useful pair of internet-connected glasses that are small and sleek enough for regular people to wear. Google's attempt to develop internet-connected eye wear flopped in part because its tiny battery ran out quickly. Google Glass, as it was called, also suffered a privacy backlash and poor public perception of its external design."

The Bloomberg report is so vague that it's not really of much value at this point in time as it brings little to nothing to the table. Though if Apple is hoping for this headset or glasses to be of value, they're likely going to wait for 5G networks to arrive and that should be around 2020.

Realtime Augmented Reality is going to require networks that are much faster than they are today and that will give Apple the time needed to have a revolutionary device ready for that timeline.

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