Apple, Snap and Facebook met with AR suppliers at CES 2018, says report

Plenty of companies used CES 2018 to unveil their wares for the upcoming year, but it's perhaps what we didn't see that will make the biggest waves in the space, as some of the industry's biggest players reportedly used the show to map out their AR plans with suppliers.

That's according to Bloomberg, who indicates that Apple, Facebook and Google all met with representatives of companies that build components for smartglasses. The report also notes that both LG and Samsung have already ordered parts from AR suppliers in order to build prototypes to test.

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It wasn't just companies meeting with suppliers, either, as Snap and Xiaomi were said to be in contact with potential partners over the production of their own smartglasses.

With insider whispers and pages of patent filings swirling around the space for some time, it comes as no real surprise to hear plans are reaching a more formal stage. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been on record for some time with his ambition to enter the platform, Snap Spectacles were mooted as the starter before more advanced AR smartglasses and Google, well, we all know about Google Glass (which has now found new life in an Enterprise Edition).

Facebook supremo Mark Zuckerberg has also been open about his company's dip into the space, and Samsung — who debuted a prototype for its Relúmĭno glasses at the tech show — have long been one of the more experimental of the big companies.

And while the prospect of the finer points being worked out is exciting in itself, it also potentially gives us a hint towards the timeframe for when we can expect hardware to actually arrive.

If details are being arranged now in back rooms, perhaps it isn't crazy to think that Apple could be set for an unveiling in 2019, as hinted. As for the rest exploring the space, the race appears to be hotting up.