- Apple could release a pair of augmented reality smartglasses in 2020, highly respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts.
- Apple could also release an "Apple Car" by 2023, according to the note.
- The note is speculative, but Apple does have hundreds of employees working on both automotive projects and augmented reality prototypes.
Apple could release augmented reality glasses by 2020, and a car three to five years after that, highly-respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted in a TF Securities research note distributed on Tuesday.
Kuo's research has a strong track record of accurately describing Apple products often months before they officially launch.
In the speculative note, seen by Business Insider, Kuo discusses how Apple could reach a $2 trillion market cap after it reached the $1 trillion mark earlier this month.
"Services, AR, and Apple Car will create Apple’s next trillion-dollar market cap," he wrote in the research note.
Augmented reality, combining the digital and physical worlds through smartglasses, is going to become Apple's next major user interface, he predicts, like how the iPhone introduced multi-touch touchscreens.
"We predict that AR is the next-generation revolutionary UI; we therefore think that AR does not need any killer applications given it is a killer application already," he wrote in the note.
"We expect Apple will redefine the UIs of existing products by offering an AR experience created by the AR glass, which will likely be launched in 2020," he continued.
Apple has hundreds of employees working on augmented reality technology. Some work on Apple's current augmented reality software for the iPhone, ARKit, which developers can use to easily create augmented reality apps. Others are working on prototypes and other R&D projects. Apple is working on a new chip and operating system for the device, Bloomberg reported last year.
Apple's not the only company working on smartglasses. Google released Google Glass in 2013, and although it was not well-received at the time, Google ccontinues to develop the technology. Magic Leap, a startup that has raised over $2 billion in funding, started shipping its gaming and creativity-focused smartglasses earlier this month.
Kuo also makes a few predictions in the note about an Apple Car, which he says could be Apple's next "star product" and could launch between 2023 and 2025. Apple is likely to tightly integrate services into the car, which could allow Apple to enter into the car financing market, he forecasts in the note.
Apple has a large car division, called Project Titan, and is currently running autonomous driving tests on California roads. However, the company has never revealed the extent of its automotive ambitions.
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