Series Zero AR Glasses from Apple?

This VentureBeat article proposes Apple essentially release Beta hardware for its Augmented Reality glasses, and the article resonated with me:

Apple’s AR glasses deserve an Apple Watch-style ‘early access’ launch

I think key to this Beta hardware position is that Apple’s second Apple Watch release in 2016 was officially named “Series 1”, suggesting that the first Apple Watch released in 2015 was “Series 0” - essentially Beta hardware.

I had the “Series 0” Apple Watch, but unlike many others I liked it. The first Apple Watch certainly had its problems and I had a lot of frustrations with it. However, after not wearing a watch for nearly 20 years, I found it valuable enough that I started wearing the Apple Watch every day.

I think that is where Apple needs to get to for its AR glasses - valuable enough for enough people that users, developers, and Apple itself can learn where the sweet spot will be for AR glasses.

I’ve dabbled in Apple’s Augmented Reality universe on my iPad and iPhone, and I have found the potential to be quite fascinating.

But even Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines suggests that AR with iPad or iPhone should be limited to short periods of time:

Be mindful of people's comfort. Holding a device at a certain distance or angle for a prolonged period can be fatiguing. To help avoid causing fatigue, consider placing objects at a distance that reduces the need to move the device closer to the object; in a game, consider keeping levels short and intermixed with brief periods of downtime.

How will AR glasses change the experience from physically holding an iPad or iPhone out in front of you?

What types of applications and experiences will benefit most from augmented reality in glasses?

Will augmented reality situations that work well for glasses be very different from augmented reality situations that work well for iPads and iPhones?

Will there be a single form factor or multiple form factors for different use cases? (I find this a huge question because I haven’t seen any form factor that I like, and as someone who wears glasses, this ads another concern for me)

Tim Cook has for several years hyped augmented reality. Just a few weeks ago Tim Cook said (via siliconrepublic):

I’m excited about AR.

My view is it’s the next big thing and it will pervade our entire lives.

But Tim also hyped wearables, and the Apple Watch had a bumpy couple of years before the battery, horse power, software, and use cases really started to come together. I suspect it will be the same with AR glasses.