Last week, I rounded up the rumors floating around about Meta’s smart glasses —but Zuckerberg won’t be entering the future alone. Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses may be the first widely adopted smart glasses, but they’re unlikely to be the last, especially if Apple releases a competitor. It’s widely believed that Apple is preparing to toss its gigantic hat in the smart glasses ring, but we don’t know anything for sure. So here are the main rumors surrounding the smart glasses that Apple is (supposedly) cooking up. If you’re expecting news of a world-shaking device like the iPhone, you’re going to be disappointed.
Apple plans to release AI-focused smart glasses in 2026 or 2027
According to an unnamed Apple employee who spoke to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is hard at work developing yet-unnamed Apple smart glasses. The source said Apple plans to release the product in 2026 or 2027, and the focus will be on AI and audio as opposed to augmented or mixed reality. According to the article’s description of the glasses, they’ll be designed to have similar features to Meta’s AI smart glasses. They’ll have a camera and microphone, so you’ll be able to use them to take pictures, make calls, and listen to music. You’ll also be able speak to an improved version of Siri, an AI meant to rival ChatGPT. The source said Apple glasses will be “better made” than Meta glasses, and the company is said to be developing a new chip for powerful yet lightweight glasses. Supposedly, Apple is churning out prototypes for testing as I write this.
Apple halted development of Mac-connected AR smart glasses
Also according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple had been developing smart glasses designed to work with Mac computers, but ultimately killed the project.
The report details the significant hurdles that must be overcome before AR glasses are useful: A stand-alone pair of AR smart glasses up to Apple’s standards would need the performance of an iPhone, but would need to run at a tenth of the power consumption. In other words, the battery would be too heavy and/or the chip would run too hot for smart glasses. The company then envisioned glasses that would work with iPhones as a power source, but the phones don’t have the battery life to support them either. The final form of these theoretical smart glasses project was a wearable powered by a Mac computer, but Apple executives nixed that plan, ending the project.
Apple has been working on AR for a long time, and the advancements made in the pursuit of AR glasses are seen in the company’s headset, the Apple Vision Pro. Apple is supposedly waiting to revisit the idea of AR smart glasses because, for now, the only way to get the performance that Apple wants is through a larger device. Speaking of …
Apple is developing a new version of the Apple Vision Pro
The final of three Mark Gurman Apple rumors is that Apple is planning to release the second generation of its Apple Vision Pro VR headset between fall of 2025 and spring of 2026. The new Vision Pro is rumored to be powered by Apple’s upcoming M5 chip, and will be significantly more powerful than the first Gen Apple Vision Pro. The new version will supposedly look similar to the first line of Apple Vision Pro headsets.
Taken together, these three rumors suggest that Apple is not banking on the big swings or revolutionary products the company is known for. Instead of trying to develop the next big thing, they’re mostly focused on improving and supporting their main product, the iPhone, and making better versions of things that have come before, like Apple smart glasses and the Vision Pro. So look for Apple innovation to come in smaller doses, for now.
