If you've heard it once, you've heard it dozens of times: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans." When it comes to its corporate acquisitions, Cupertino likes to play its cards very close to its chest. Of course, that doesn't stop industry watchers from peering at the tea leaves to see if they can divine exactly what the company might be working on. And, hey, I'm no different than those folks, because Apple does so little to telegraph its plans that even a boilerplate statement confirming an acquisition is a rare peek behind the curtain. Apple CEO Tim Cook said not long ago that the company makes an acquisition every two to three weeks, and not even all of those make it into the public eye.

Apple Inc.'s next breakthrough may be powered by Augmented Reality (AR). A recent report by Bloomberg outlines Apple's'big step' towards the AR space through talented hires and acquisitions in the related field. According to the report, with the goal of making smart glasses, in the short term, Apple's AR features may first show up on the iPhone. Bloomberg's report comes after its November story published last year, which highlighted Apple's wearable expansion into'digital glasses'. The AR industry is gaining momentum and could be a huge global market worth $90 million by 2020.

Apple has purchased the company behind motion-capture technology used in the latest Star Wars film. Faceshift, a Zurich based start-up, specialises in software that allows 3D animated characters to mimic the facial expressions of an actor. Apple has now bought the company, though it is not known how much the deal cost the tech giant. It is also unclear what Apple's plans are for the company following its acquisition. A spokesman said: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."