- From $138 (Buy rating; current price $136.99), analyst Steve Milunovich notes augmented reality as prospectively "the next major innovation from Apple."
- Highlights Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) expertise in hardware as well as high-level integration between hardware and software, steady iOS updates with the greatest customer presence on most recent version (vs. fragmented base for Android), an already-built up installed base across iPhone and iPad for AR utilization (vs. building from nothing) and a cloud infrastructure enabling the gathering of data.
- Suggests possibility next iPhone iteration could incorporate "moderate" 3D mapping, making use of stereoscopic vision, as well the potential for an AR SDK.
- Previously (September 14, 2016): Apple CEO Tim Cook perceives augmented reality a larger opportunity than virtual