Apple’s AR Hype for New iPhones; Facebook Readies its Ray-Bans

The invite image for Apple's next event, which has also been incorporated into an AR teaser. Image: Apple

Today marks a small anniversary for Apple: it’s been one year since the company started hiding augmented reality teasers in the invites for its events. Monday brought yet another one of those simple, lightly interactive AR experiences inviting people to next Tuesday’s event, which will probably focus on the next version of the iPhone.

Facebook has news of its own coming: the company has scheduled an announcement tomorrow with Ray-Ban concerning their smart glasses collaboration. Even though neither Apple nor Facebook is likely to have anything earth-shattering to share with regards to AR in the coming days, these events warrant attention from those interested in AR regardless—the new messaging from both companies will indicate how much value they think customers currently put on AR.