Apple Glasses are not expected to be on people's faces until 2022 or later at the earliest, but according to a new report from The Information, the company has just cleared an important hurdle behind the scenes. According to sources, the lens, a key component that will make or break the smart glasses, has cleared the prototype stage and is now in test production.

As you might imagine, Apple's longtime manufacturer Foxconn Technology is producing translucent lenses for the upcoming AR glasses. And while this may sound like a fairly predictable stage in development, this is a major milestone for Apple Glass.

According to sources at The Information, manufacturing AR lenses is particularly difficult because they are composed of multiple layers of very thin synthetic material, each of which is very prone to bubbles and scratches during the manufacturing process. To avoid this problem, the lenses are supposed to be manufactured in a dust-free area, and the prototype lenses are slightly larger than typical eyeglass lenses.

Apparently Apple has been working on the lenses for about three years, which makes sense given Apple's 2018 acquisition of Akonia Holographics, a company specializing in LCDs on silicon displays, according to The Information, Apple Glass lenses "use a polarization system similar to the technology used in 3D movie glasses to create the illusion of depth with stereoscopic images."

To be clear, this is not a sign that Apple is moving its AR plans forward; as The Information's latest report explains, Apple still intends to release an AR headset in 2022 and AR glasses in 2023 The intention is to release an AR headset in 2022 and AR glasses in 2023. This is just an indication of the major challenges involved in producing AR glasses that people can wear comfortably for extended periods of time.

It is very easy to be cynical about the prospects of AR glasses becoming mainstream, given the bad reputation Google Glass received seven years ago. But if any company can make a slightly unconventional wearable mainstream, it's Apple; remember the initial derision when the AirPods were announced? Now, not a day goes by when you don't see someone wearing a pair.

Still, this is a whole new type of device, and its usefulness has yet to be proven. Apple CEO Tim Cook clearly believes in AR and says that AR will have a huge impact on Irish audiences. He said, "In my opinion, AR is the next big thing, and it will permeate our entire lives."

He added, "I think it's going to be the next big thing, and it's going to permeate our entire lives.

If - and that's a big "if" - Cook is right, Apple is also right to try to get in first with its technology to make AR glasses as smart and comfortable as possible. After all, Apple did not build the first smartphone. Apple's trick was to make the technology attractive enough to become mainstream.