With Google prepping Google Glass for a commercial launch and push the device into the hands of consumers around the world, we’re sure Apple isn’t going to sit by and let that happen, are they? While we’re not sure what Apple’s plans are for such technology, it seems that at one point in time the Cupertino company did have a prototype in the works, but it apparently never caught on due to Apple’s lack of time to turn it into something that could have been sold commercially.This is according to Tony Fadell, the CEO of Nest, who was also the Senior VP of Apple’s division back in 2006 up to 2008. According to Fadell, as part of an interview of Fast Company’s Oral History of Apple Design, “At Apple, we were always asking, What else can we revolutionize? We looked at video cameras and remote controls. The craziest thing we talked about was something like Google Glass. We said, “What if we make visors, so it’s like you’re sitting in a theater?” I built a bunch of those prototypes. But we had such success with the things we were already doing that we didn’t have time …”
The gadget described by Fadell sounds more like a virtual reality headset, possibly similar to the Oculus Rift, rather than Google Glass, but while obviously it did not make the cut, it’s interesting to see what Apple gets up to in their secret labs.
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