Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Google made waves yesterday by showcasing a set of lightweight astute glasses featuring heavy Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited involvement successful Apple's ain astute glasses project, which has been the taxable of rumors for astir a decade. Here's a recap of wherever things stand.

Current Development Status

Apple is actively moving connected caller chips specifically designed for astute glasses that would vie with Google's XR glasses and Meta's Ray-Ban astute glasses. According to Bloomberg, these chips are currently successful development, with Apple targeting wide accumulation successful 2026 oregon 2027 for a imaginable motorboat wrong the adjacent 2 years.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman notes that portion specified a merchandise wouldn't beryllium a due augmented world instrumentality similar Apple Vision Pro, it would see AI capabilities, microphones, and cameras to make a "pretty bully idiosyncratic experience."

The astute glasses Apple is designing volition reportedly see aggregate cameras, microphones, and integrated AI functionality, akin to Meta's Ray-Ban offering. They would apt enactment features specified arsenic capturing photos, signaling video, and offering translation options. Apple could perchance integrate a Visual Intelligence-like diagnostic that would let wearers to scan their environment, get merchandise information, and person directions.


The customized spot Apple is processing for these glasses is based connected Apple Watch SoCs, which devour little vigor than iPhone chips. Apple has reportedly already made optimizations to amended powerfulness ratio for this application.

The Journey to Smart Glasses

Apple's astute glasses task has been thing but smooth. The institution had been exploring existent augmented world glasses designed to brace with Mac computers for power, but Bloomberg reported successful January that this task was halted. The archetypal conception progressive glasses that looked similar regular eyewear but offered AR capabilities.

Apple engineers determined that the AR glasses would request to supply the show of an iPhone with a tenth of the powerfulness consumption, different the spot would simply tally excessively hot. Adding a artillery to the glasses would besides beryllium problematic due to the fact that of the weight.

Initially, Apple wanted the glasses to link to iPhones, but iPhones deficiency capable powerfulness and artillery life. The institution past pivoted to utilizing Macs arsenic a powerfulness source, but executives yet weren't convinced this attack would succeed, starring to the project's cancellation.

The Vision of Apple Glass

Despite setbacks, Apple CEO Tim Cook remains "hell bent" connected bringing existent augmented world glasses to marketplace earlier Meta tin execute the aforesaid feat, according to Bloomberg. Cook has seemingly made glasses a "top priority" for the institution and is personally invested successful merchandise improvement efforts.

Bloomberg has said that it volition instrumentality "many years" for existent AR glasses to beryllium ready, with respective technologies inactive requiring perfection, including high-resolution displays, high-performance chips, and tiny batteries susceptible of all-day power. In the meantime, Apple is pushing up improvement of less-ambitious Ray-Ban-style astute glasses.

Development Continues

Apple is conducting idiosyncratic studies astatine its offices to gauge the entreaty of assorted features and interfaces. Codenamed "Atlas," these studies are reportedly led by Apple's Product Systems Quality squad wrong the hardware engineering division. The institution is besides processing a mentation of visionOS that volition tally connected glasses.


Work continues astatine a secretive installation successful Santa Clara, a municipality distant from Apple's Cupertino headquarters, wherever unit absorption connected AR technology. Apple besides maintains a manufacturing installation determination for investigating aboriginal show technologies.

Expected Timeline

Gurman believes Apple could make a "smash hit" if it tin "bring its plan prowess, connection AirPods-level audio prime and tightly integrate the glasses with the iPhone." While Apple is actively pursuing these Meta Ray-Ban competitors, it continues parallel improvement of existent augmented world glasses, though that much ambitious merchandise remains years distant from marketplace readiness. Based connected existent information, we tin expect Apple's astute glasses to perchance scope consumers astir 2026-2027 astatine the earliest.
This article, "Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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