Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know About Apple's Answer to Meta Ray-Bans

[MacRumors]

Apple is working on a set of smart glasses that will rival Meta's popular AI-equipped Ray-Bans, offering many of the same features. Rumors about Apple's work on the glasses have been picking up, and we've gathered all of the information we've heard in the guide below.

Overview

There have been persistent rumors about Apple's work on augmented reality smart glasses, but true, lightweight augmented reality glasses are still years away. What's feasible now is a set of smart glasses that don't have any display functions, and that instead rely on cameras, speakers, AI integration, and sensors to offer useful features to wearers.

Apple's first smart glasses will be an iPhone accessory like the Apple Watch or AirPods, able to provide auxiliary features to reduce iPhone reliance.

Design

Apple plans to offer multiple material and frame options, making the smart glasses as much of a fashion accessory as the Apple Watch once was. Buyers will be able to choose their preferred color and frame style, selecting from metal and plastic frame options.

Apple is apparently testing 3D printing technology for manufacturing.

It's likely that Apple will offer both standard lenses and sunglasses, and based on the Vision Pro, Apple will also support prescription lenses. There's already a mechanism in place for ordering custom Vision Pro lenses through Zeiss, so Apple could expand that to cover the smart glasses as well.

Cameras and microphones will be included, and there is likely to be an LED light that indicates when the camera is active.

Controls

The glasses are expected to support touch-based controls, such as a tap to snap a photo, and voice-based controls.

Features

Here's what you'll be able to do with Apple's smart glasses, based on what we know so far:

• Take photos
• Record video, including spatial video
• Listen to audio
• Get directions
• Get answers to questions
• Get descriptions of the surroundings
• Identify plants, animals, landmarks and more
• Make phone calls
• Live translation
• Find My integration (not rumored, but likely)

iPhone Reliance

Apple's smart glasses may need a connection to an iPhone to provide functionality like music playback and AI assistance, though they will have some on-device capabilities. Apple is designing a custom SoC for the glasses that's based on the chip in the Apple Watch.

AI Integration

The cameras in Apple's smart glasses will be able to feed information to an AI assistant. The AI will be able to answer questions about what the wearer is seeing, similar to how Visual Intelligence works on the iPhone today.

AI will be able to control the glasses and do things like snap a photo or play music, plus it will be able to provide directions.

Pricing

There's no word on what the smart glasses will cost, but somewhere in the AirPods to Apple Watch range would make sense. Meta's glasses are priced starting at $300.

Competition

Apple's main competition will be the Meta Ray-Bans and the Meta Oakleys. Meta teamed up with popular sunglasses manufacturers and its smart glasses have proven popular with customers.

The Meta Ray-Bans use the traditional Wayfarer style and come in a range of colors, plus there are other frame options available as well.

Launch Date

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes Apple could introduce the smart glasses as soon as 2026, but Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo doesn't expect them to come out until 2027.

Future Features

Apple's first smart glasses will not include augmented reality capabilities, but a future version could integrate a display that would overlay digital information on the real world view.

Augmented reality glasses are a longtime goal of Apple's, and it is technology that the company is actively pursuing.

Article Link: Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know About Apple's Answer to Meta Ray-Bans

 

[Havalo]

Given Tim’s history of pricing and the infamous Apple Wheels, I’m guessing the frame alone is going to cost about $500 and the lenses will cost even more.

 

[0xjf]

So... Exactly what Meta glasses do now?

 

[klasma]

So... Exactly what Meta glasses do now?

No, they’ll be limited by Siri.

 

[goonie4life9]

Here's what we can officially confirm:

1. Apple's glasses won't be the first but will be the best!
2. Apple's glasses are ALL NEW.
3. Apple's glasses will feature an ALL NEW chip.
4. Apple's glasses will feature a stunning display!
5. Apple's glasses will be a game changer, with best-in-class features, and the privacy only Apple can provide.
6. Apple's glasses will take things to the next level with ALL DAY battery life.
7. Apple can't wait to see the things customers are able to do with the Apple glasses.
8. Apple thinks you're gonna love them.

 

[dynamojoe]

Not to slight the author, but hearing that Meta partnered with Oakely and RayBan is kind of weird as those companies (and many, many other eyewear companies) are owned by Luxottica. Yeah, yeah, I know some of them are "autonomous" but when you're owned, you take your owner's lead.

I wonder who Apple will partner with, and if it (wisely) will be a group unrelated to Luxottica.

 

[Macalway]

The same catch-up story over and over. It's like a broken record. Yes, 2027 is safe. By then anything is possible, right? No need to rush! Let technology develop naturally.

All for the shareholders. Apple will not fall behind!

 

[hugogogo2003]

Here's what we can officially confirm:

1. Apple's glasses won't be the first but will be the best!
2. Apple's glasses are ALL NEW.
3. Apple's glasses will feature an ALL NEW chip.
4. Apple's glasses will feature a stunning display!
5. Apple's glasses will be a game changer, with best-in-class features, and the privacy only Apple can provide.
6. Apple's glasses will take things to the next level with ALL DAY battery life.
7. Apple can't wait to see the things customers are able to do with the Apple glasses.
8. Apple thinks you're gonna love them.

lol this is so accurate. 7 and 8 are exactly how Cook boringly closes each keynote.

 

[Macalway]

lol this is so accurate. 7 and 8 are exactly how Cook boringly closes each keynote.

As I recall Steve was more relaxed, while the rest of them were wooden like they all are now. But it's a trade presentation first and foremost, so that formal verbiage is traditional conservative. It's the way they pitch internally. It's not Hollywood. Everyone knows this.

Point is, it's unlikely to change much.

 

[hieranonymous]

If they can cram HDR spatial video-capable optics into them, they’ll be a huge leap over the Meta ones.

 

[Periwinkle85]

The lenses of smart glasses should correct my vision as it changes, and respond to where I’m looking (near or far) whether it be through the top or bottom of the lenses.

 

[V.K.]

I would definitely be interested in AR glasses from Apple but all these articles just say "years away". what's the ballpark for how many years away? 5? 10? 15?

 

[Happy_John]

I still can’t my head around these devices, irrespective of the company. Apart from the camera functionality, without these having some type of display, AirPods could do all of this as conveniently as glasses, and, with regards the camera functionality, I’m not at all comfortable with both the laziness and sneakiness of having cameras in glasses rather than just taking out your phone. Maybe I’m old, but I find this concept creepy.

 

[Dark_Omen]

I would definitely be interested in AR glasses from Apple but all these articles just say "years away". what's the ballpark for how many years away? 5? 10? 15?

Hopefully after the board of idiots at the top realize Tim Cook is out of gas and has nothing in the tank to support the stock price in the future. Everyone else has seen it for years. Apple is flat since December 2023, and that 100% falls on the CEO's shoulders.

 

[TVreporter]

Plot twist: Tim has been wearing them for years as a beta tester!

 

[CEmajr]

If these actually catch on it's going to be weird to have people walking around and filming everything without you knowing.

 

[Happy_John]

If these actually catch on it's going to be weird to have people walking around and filming everything without you knowing.

Yep. Not a fan of that becoming normalised.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

If these actually catch on it's going to be weird to have people walking around and filming everything without you knowing.

I expect if this category of product were to ever actually become popular, they'll end up banned in a the parts of the world that still value privacy.

 

[klasma]

If these actually catch on it's going to be weird to have people walking around and filming everything without you knowing.

They have a light indicating that they're recording. In some regions it's required by law.

The Meta glasses also limit recordings to 3 minutes maximum at a time. And recording drains the battery pretty fast, so you really can't record a lot.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Can't wait for the Apple iGlasses!

 

[canadianreader]

This is the equivalent of everyday people wearing CCTV cameras what could go wrong

 

[cuhulin]

Not to slight the author, but hearing that Meta partnered with Oakely and RayBan is kind of weird as those companies (and many, many other eyewear companies) are owned by Luxottica. Yeah, yeah, I know some of them are "autonomous" but when you're owned, you take your owner's lead.

I wonder who Apple will partner with, and if it (wisely) will be a group unrelated to Luxottica.

Yes, Meta partnered with Essilor Luxotica, which has been a problem for some, since the build quality of the frames has been problematic for a fair number of people. I expect that Apple will use their own design teams for the frames but they are likely to be more sturdy.

What the Meta glasses are likely to do, however, is set a price target for the Apple glasses. Apple has been rather competitive lately, so I don't expect them to stray far from Meta pricing.

 

[tim_apple]

I’m skeptical that Apple will really do this. No display? Seems like not a user friendly product. The reviews for meta ray-bans are mixed.

 

[Dr McKay]

If these actually catch on it's going to be weird to have people walking around and filming everything without you knowing.

I remember the collective public freakout when Google Glass first got announced: all the articles everywhere about how people could be recording you without you knowing, all the businesses preemptively banning them from their properties. Then, like Google Glass, the outrage seems to have vanished.

 

[transpo1]

Given Tim’s history of pricing and the infamous Apple Wheels, I’m guessing the frame alone is going to cost about $500 and the lenses will cost even more.

There’s no way these things (with lenses) will cost any less than $1000 dollars and probably more like $1500– if we’re lucky.