Apple is working on a new AR glass codenamed 'Garta,' suggests iOS 13 code

A well known Apple analyst Gene Munster earlier claimed that it’s unlikely that we’ll see an AR Glass from Apple any time soon. Now, it appears that Apple is considering launching its first-ever AR glass sooner than we expected.

In an internal development build of iOS 13, folks at MacRumors has spotted a new app called STARTester, and a Readme file.

The app can be used to switch in and out of a head-mounted mode to “replicate the functionality of an augmented reality headset on an iPhone for testing purposes.”  The head-mounted test includes two modes — “worn” and “held.”

The Readme file also hints at the ongoing development of the product. It talks about a “Starboard” system shell, which is developed for Stereo apps. The Readme file also suggests that Apple is currently in the process of making an AR device codenamed ‘Garta.’

“Starboard mode,” “views,” “scenes,” “ARStarBoardViewController,” and “ARStarBoardSceneManager” are a few examples other strings that were found in the internal development build of iOS 13.

There is no official word on the release date of Apple’s AR glass, but now that we’ve gotten this far, it’s pretty much safe to say that we will see it by the end of  2020.