Rumor: Apple planning ’Steve Jobs Heritage Edition’ of Apple Glass

It caused quite the stir on Twitter.

What you need to know

• Jon Prosser's latest Apple Glass rumor has caused quite the ruckus on Twitter.
• Earlier this week, he revealed several details about Apple's rumored glasses, including the name (Apple Glass), price, and a launch/release time frame.
• Now, on Cult of Mac's podcast, he has said that Apple may be planning to release a 'Steve Jobs Heritage Edition' of the glasses, akin to its famed gold Apple Watch.

Jon Prosser has told Cult of Mac's The CultCast podcast that Apple may be planning to release a 'Steve Jobs Heritage Edition' of its Apple Glasses, causing a major stir amongst the industry.

Earlier this week, Jon Prosser revealed details about Apple Glass, a new "one more thing" accessory he says Apple is working on. These are not AR or VR glasses, but rather seem more closely to resemble Google Glass from back in the day. From that report:

Firstly, Prosser says that they'll be called 'Apple Glass'. The starting price is apparently $499 plus the price of your prescription. It looks like Glass will operate the same way as the first generation of Apple Watch, with all data being processed on the iPhone. Jon says that Apple planned to announce Apple Glass as a "One More Thing" announcement in either Q4 2020 or Q1 of 2021. The catch is that COVID-19 has suspended all such Apple keynotes, and it would of course like the media to be present. Apple was reportedly planning to try this at the iPhone 12 event, but all of this is dependent on the COVID-19 pandemic, and Prosser says there's a chance Apple might not be able to have the media presence it wants that early, so he offers March 2021 as an alternative window.

Now, he says that there may be different, special editions, including a tribute to Apple's late, great founder Steve Jobs. According to Cult of Mac:

Apple is working on a special pair of AR glasses that resemble the spectacles Steve Jobs famously wore, white-hot Apple leaker Jon Prosser told Cult of Mac.

Called the "Steve Jobs Heritage Edition," this limited-edition version of Apple Glass would be round like a classic pair of John Lennon-style glasses. Cupertino would position it as a special edition of the core AR glasses, much like the original $10,000 gold Apple Watch.

CoM described the claim as "one of Prosser's wildest Apple leaks yet", and Twitter wasn't much kinder.

Within hours, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman dismissed the claim, stating on Twitter:

Do I even need to say that this (along with the rest of the Apple AR glasses stories in the past week) is complete fiction?

Do I even need to say that this (along with the rest of the Apple AR glasses stories in the past week) is complete fiction? https://t.co/oLK3VVbz8H

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 21, 2020

Gurman then tried to explain himself, stating that he thought confusion had arisen because Apple is working on two different devices, a mixed AR/VR headset (delayed from 2020 and coming next year), and "pure AR glasses" (coming 2022 or 2023). However, Prosser was fervent in his response stating "there's no confusion - I'm definitely not referring to the AR/VR headset."

Given that Jon Prosser has been bang on the money with several recent reports, but also the weight of criticism in response from other heavyweights in the scene, the jury is absolutely still out on this rumor.

In a more measured response, MacRumors editor Joe Rossignol noted that veracity aside, the idea of a Steve Jobs edition of Apple Glass does seem "a bit insensitive/weird."

Jon Prosser of course is dependent on the accuracy of his information for his credibility, which makes the criticism of "complete fiction" deeply unfair and implausible. It is quite possible to cast doubt on the assertion, without also suggesting that Prosser has simply made up his latest Apple Glass claims, including this most recent revelation. Prosser's meteoric rise over the last few months is predicated on his accuracy and seemingly high level of insight/sources, it makes almost no sense to suggest Jon Prosser would simply make up a story as bold and outlandish as this, whilst sticking to it to his own detriment (were it in fact fabricated). Prosser has absolutely nothing to gain, and everything to lose by giving out information that he doesn't think is accurate, let alone making up claims out of thin air. Why would Jon Prosser torpedo his entire operation with rumors he knows are untrue?

Back to the actual rumor, as noted, Apple has indeed issued very expensive special editions of Apple Watch, notably the gold editions which cost thousands of dollars. It is unclear from this whether Apple would put a similar inflated price tag on a special edition of Apple Glass, or if this variant would simply be one variation of several designs that Apple wants to put forward.

What do you make of this rumor? Let us know in the comments!