Apple rumoured to have augmented reality union with Carl Zeiss; could be a game changer

Apple could be set to make its biggest new product announcement since the iPhone. Photo / AP

Apple could be set to make its biggest new product announcement since the iPhone, with the tech giant set to be entering into the world of augmented reality.

It is believed Apple has joined forces with German lens specialist Carl Zeiss to create AR/mixed reality smart glasses that will arrive on the market sometime this year.

This is according to tech evangelist Robert Scoble, who claimed a Zeiss employee confirmed the partnership at this year's CES.

"A Zeiss employee confirmed the rumours that Apple and Carl Zeiss AG are working on a light pair of augmented reality/mixed reality glasses that may be announced this year.," he wrote on his Facebook page.

"That explains why there was no augmented reality in Zeiss's booth even though it was right in the middle of the AR area."

Augmented reality differs from virtual reality as it superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, instead of creating a fully immersive new world.

The most popular example of the technology has been seen with Pokemon Go, which saw computer generated Pokemon appearing in the real world.

This isn't the first time the company has been rumoured to be entering into the world of AR, with Apple's chief executive Tim Cook being vocal about his interest.

"[AR] gives the capability for both of us to sit and be very present, talking to each other, but also have other things - visually - for both of us to see," he told ABC News last September.

"There's a lot of really cool things there."

Cook went onto say the "present" nature of AR made it more commercially viable than VR.

"Virtual reality sort of encloses and immerses the person into an experience that can be really cool, but probably has a lower commercial interest over time," he said.

"Less people will be interested in that."

Additionally, Apple has filed a number of AR patents with the US Patent and Trademark Office, including a "transparent electronic device".