Apple may be working on its own version of Google Glass with German lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss

REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach

Apple CEO Tim Cook waves during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 7, 2016.

Apple has partnered with German lens and optics manufacturer Carl Zeiss AG on a new pair of augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, according to technology blogger Robert Scoble.

Scoble wrote on his Facebook page that an employee from Carl Zeiss AG confirmed rumours that Apple and Carl Zeiss AG are working on "a light pair of augmented reality/mixed reality glasses".

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The conversation occurred during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week, Scoble said. It specifically took place at the Zeiss stand in the AR section of CES, according to Scoble.

Facebook/Robert Scoble

The Carl Zeiss stand at CES reportedly had no AR technology despite being in the AR section.

"Carl Zeiss is in the AR part of CES," wrote Scoble on Facebook. "But it is NOT showing off its mixed reality optics. Why not? I said 'Tim Cook didn't let you' and the employees around me smiled nervously."

The glasses could be announced by Apple as early as this year, according to Scoble, who wrote that he previously expected Apple to announce them in 2018.

Unlike Google and Snapchat, Apple is yet to release any form of computerised glasses.

If Scoble is right and Apple is planning to release a pair of glasses, it's unclear how they would be positioned versus competitor products or what they would be priced at. Google priced its failed "Glass" product at over £1,000, while Snapchat is currently selling its "Spectacles" in the US for $130 (£100).