The company is unlikely to unveil its initial set of smart glasses until 2027, placing it significantly behind Meta.
The company is unlikely to unveil its initial set of smart glasses until 2027, placing it significantly behind Meta.
Apple is accelerating efforts on smart glasses aimed at competing with similar products from Meta while shelving plans for a lighter Vision Pro headset, Bloomberg reports. The company appears to be developing at least two distinct variations: a version without a display that could be unveiled next year and launched in 2027, and another with a display, previously slated for 2028, that the company aims to “speed up development” for.
Similar to Meta’s smart glasses produced in collaboration with Ray-Ban and Oakley, Apple’s glasses are expected to include speakers, cameras, and various styles, while “relying significantly on voice interaction and artificial intelligence,” per Bloomberg. The display-equipped version of the glasses “might contend” with the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses that feature a display in the right lens. Additionally, Apple is reportedly working on a chip specifically tailor-made for its smart glasses, as Bloomberg has previously disclosed.
With its glasses, Apple is set to enter the market late. Meta has recently introduced its own range of new glasses, including a second-generation edition of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses boasting significantly improved battery life that are currently available, a new pair of Oakley-branded glasses crafted for athletes launching this month, and the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, which my colleague Victoria Song labeled the finest smart glasses she’s ever experienced.
Concerning the lighter Vision Pro headset, Apple was rumored to launch the product in 2027, but the company has informed its staff that resources are being redirected from that headset to assist with the glasses. Apple has reportedly reduced production of the original Vision Pro, yet regulatory filings discovered this week indicated that a new iteration is currently in development, which Bloomberg referred to as a “modest refresh” that may launch “as soon as the end of this year.”
