Apple AI* Glasses (not AR) — Use-Cases & Value Brainstorming

[_apple_apple_]

It seems confirmed Apple will release AI (not AR) glasses before AR, likely because:

• The AR glasses are probably still bulky, AI glasses are nice and trim => buys time to keep developing AR glases
• Can't cede the market/data generation to competitors
• Apple is more services-oriented than ever, AI-as-a-service is a money-maker they cannot ignore
• and more...

This thread is a place to contribute hypothetical use-cases that might make AI* Glasses worth having/using. In most cases, an iPhone can do it too, but perhaps not so conveniently (and thus often) as glasses.

• Stereo Pics/Video - Apple definitely wants/needs 3D media for AR/VR down the road; hence the 2D-3D ML model you can apply to photos. Presumably this would have 2 cameras at the corners like Meta's does, for stereo image/video capture. Not sure how focal point is/would be controlled.
• Controller - for macOS/iOS/TvOS etc, you could ask the glasses (how) to do something and it would send your intent to that device to execute. Probably less error-prone (who said what) than having each device listen for instructions (over a large distance, background noises, etc)
• Security - Might do the live-photo thing where it's always recording but only keeps the last 5 seconds. Thus, the glasses are essentially a body-cam/dashboard camera (when driving) where the footage has legal/law enforcement value. Not sure on the legal aspect of the former but I'm not aware of any weird legal issues with the latter.
• Translate - Visuals to audio (ie, signage)
• Lost - ask AI if it recently saw (lost object) and where; could also be on-demand, ask it to remember/pin location.
• Walkie-Talkie - HomePod and Watch both have this feature (or similar) and I want to use them but it's too awkward. Glasses might make it very convenient (the OS decides the most appropriate device to send the message to on the receiver's side and if as audio or text). No reason this can't be over the internet to friends/family as well.
• 3D Home - Scan your house by walking around; can be leveraged by home robots, ikea, interior decoration AI, etc.
• 3D Public - Scan a (pre-approved probably) public location by walking around; can submit anony. to Apple to be aggregated with other scans; becomes a feature in Maps to virtually walk around that location. Helps build useful 3D experiences for AR/VR later down the road.
• Selfie - Look at self in mirror > get fashion advice.
• Ad Hoc - Add to (shopping list) - don't need to grab phone and type/speak to it to add something to a list. Helpful for groceries and those random things around the house you need but always forget to write down.
• Tutor - can help with homework, cooking, etc. I wonder if it could help with driving, like parallel parking (pull up more)
• Memory/Brainstorm - for those times you can't recall a specific word or name. I've used ChatGPT a few times to help explore naming options for products, etc. I prefer a normal thesaurus but that does not always suffice.
• Apps - Some of the above may be via apps in the inevitable new iPhone+Glasses app category.

Overall I think AI Glasses would be like the Apple Watch - not something you'd be glued to all day (like phones/tablet/computer) but periodically/situationally useful enough throughout the day to justify it.

 

[Macaholic868]

If AI or AR glasses existed that would allow me to look at a person and see or hear their name, even if it was only their first name, it would be worth its weight in gold to me as long as they couldn’t see or hear the visual or verbal reminder.

That would be the killer app for me as I’m terrible with names. I recognize people all the time when I’m out but just can’t recall their name when I’m out on the spot unless I know them at least a little bit and have spent some time with them on multiple occasions.

The other feature I’d have great use for is the ability record audio or video in business meetings for play back or an AI summarization of meetings with the ability to pull up the summary or full transcript and query it with AI. I’d also want the option to replay the audio or video exactly as it was when necessary.

I’d want a device that would let others know I’m recording something and wouldn’t use it for personal interactions or randomly in public like a total DB but would love it for business meetings and would happily tell people what I’d like to do but wouldn’t unless they consent. Meetings could be faster and do much more productive than when I have to stop a meeting to jot down something I need or want to remember. It can kill the flow of a meeting, but right now if I don’t do that, I’ll miss things unless it’s a very quick meeting.