Apple's acquisition of AR display startup shows its own AR glasses are on the horizon

Apple will most likely be unveiling the 2018 iPhone lineup on 12 September and quite rightly a lot of anticipation has been built around it. However, if recent reports are to be believed then Apple is pushing for another device that should generate a lot of noise in the tech community. [caption id=“attachment_4483735” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  Apple logo. Image: Facebook[/caption] It’s no secret that Apple is very interested in AR and this year at WWDC it featured ARCore 2.0 SDK as one of its main highlights. Now Apple has bought a Colorado-based company called **Akonia Holographics** , that specializes in building lenses for AR glasses. Could this mean that an AR-powered Apple Headset is on the horizon or better yet AR glasses like the Google Glass? Akonia said its display technology allows for “thin, transparent smart glass lenses that display vibrant, full-colour, wide field-of-view images.” The firm has a portfolio of more than 200 patents related to holographic systems and materials, according to its website. A Bloomberg report has cited inside sources from Apple, the company is aiming to have the tech ready by 2019 and to be ready to ship the product sometime in 2020. Apple CEO Tim Cook has called augmented reality a “big and profound” technology development. The acquisition of Akonia looks to be the step in the correct direction for making deep strands in the AR market which is currently in its fledgeling state. Augmented reality headsets currently on the market such as Microsoft Corp’s HoloLense and startup Magic Leap’s **Magic Leap One** both use darkened lenses and are intended for indoor use. Both are also intended for software developers testing the technology and cost several thousand dollars. With inputs from Reuters