Apple Inc. (AAPL): Is This Its Next Big Thing?

Apple’s recent acquisition of WiFiSlam, an indoor presence company that pinpoints a user’s location by using WiFi signals, can transform Apple’s patented AR technologies into great products. If they can locate and address a user using a hybrid of WiFi and 3G signals, they can be in a unique position to push relevant content to each user without all the privacy concerns of Google’s Glass.

For Apple this isn’t a far-fetched science fiction to launch an AR-powered iOS device. This is very much possible today as the technology already exists. Smartphones can do all these things, but their form factor isn’t as efficient as Google Glass. All that would be required in this case would be for a wearable device to have mobile data connectivity, a database to reference, a transactional app, and a credit card or equivalent, on file. Apple can provide all of those, including the software ecosystem and a social discovery app.

Conclusion

Apple’s stock has taken a financial beating in the past few months, despite delivering record-breaking sales quarter over quarter. Ironically, everyone agrees that Apple is still a grossly undervalued stock. Apple trades less on financials and more on market sentiment. Although an AR-based iOS device is unlikely to be significant immediately for Apple’s financials, I do believe the successful introduction of such a device could illustrate that innovation remains high at Apple and reaffirm some investor sentiment.

Anindya Batabyal has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Google.