Magic Leap patent design peek isn't necessarily what's coming next
Startup Magic Leap plays things very close to the chest. A new patent augmented reality headset design, however, may not be an indication of what's to come.
Details continue to trickle out about the secretive augmented reality startup Magic Leap. The Google-backed venture seemed to have let slip headset designs in a patent filed this Tuesday. But these patent designs may not be an indication of what Magic Leap's future product will actually look like.
The patent claim is for an "ornamental design for a virtual reality headset," and amount to little more than a series of images of the potential Magic Leap device. It's important to note that while augmented and virtual reality have some similarities, the two techs offer distinct experiences.
Much like Microsoft's Hololens, Magic Leap is the former -- allowing for interactive digital overlays to be projected over your view of the real world, rather than showing you an entirely virtual one.
Update: Magic Leap's Andy Fouché has confirmed to CNET what it already told Tech Insider, saying these patent designs aren't indicative what any future hardware would look like. In other words, don't put any stake on those patent designs.
The original demo of Magic Leap from October last year seriously impressed, especially as, the company claimed, it was shot directly through the tech, without post-production compositing. Check out CNET's story on everything we know about Magic Leap so far.