Apple's 2026 Smart Glasses: Five Key Features to Expect

[ericinboston]

This problem is the result of Apple getting addicted to that sweet juicy IAP revenue lockdown on iOS.

It's completely perverted their incentives and flies in the face of how they traditionally would have been all about the best, safest, most private and healthiest devices and experiences for families & those with kids.

Exactly. It's quite sad (as well as infuriating). Our 3 kids LOVED the iPods...I think they got them around age 6. They had a bunch of kids songs on them, they took pix and videos here and there, and that was it. But they loved, loved them. And for ~$200 and tons of fun colors, it was a great device for young kids. Personally I would also love to have one like the Classic as it would save so much battery life...make me a Classic (with a lot of storage) that has a screen the size of the iPhone but only able to play tunes. Take my $600. I will still need (and want) an iPhone, but man would I love to have just a great Apple MP3 player again.

 

[seinman]

All perfectly legal. Smile you’re on a camera in public most of the time.

There’s plenty of things that are legal but still creepy and/or weird.

Interesting. Teaches me not to project myself to others. I would never buy an Apple Watch that is not mobile phone enabled. That’s the whole point of having an Apple Watch.

What would be the purpose of an Apple Watch if you have a phone on you? (no, please don’t say the silly fitness rings, or heart rate monitor or such nonsense - you can have those with a £20 wrist band that only needs to be charged once a week) Interesting, indeed.

The phone doesn’t have to be “on you,” it needs to be within WiFi/bluetooth range. I can walk around my house and yard without the phone on my actual person, no cellular needed. Same at work.

 

[Rychiar]

Releasing this a year from now with no display is beyond pathetic. They should give up now if that’s all they got. They have like unlimited resources, why should anyone need to be pulled from a Vision Pro team to make something this basic?

 

[Will Co]

DOA. Sorry Tim. I'm usually willing to go to bat for Siri working as a timer-setter and navigation-starter, but as a primary mode of interaction? Nah.

Agree. Unless Siri gets a MAJOR rework before these launch, they will be totally unusable.

 

[CasinoOwl]

There's nothing to say about these until "Siri Will Play a Major Role" no longer elicits eye-rolls.

 

[whatnot]

as long as there's a red flashing light alert (fanfare sound optional) so I can get out of plonker's eyesight - fool, money, etc.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Interesting. Teaches me not to project myself to others. I would never buy an Apple Watch that is not mobile phone enabled. That’s the whole point of having an Apple Watch.

What would be the purpose of an Apple Watch if you have a phone on you? (no, please don’t say the silly fitness rings, or heart rate monitor or such nonsense - you can have those with a £20 wrist band that only needs to be charged once a week) Interesting, indeed.

When I had an Apple Watch, fitness is literally the only thing I used it for, other than telling time and glancing at the weather. I had all notifications turned off on the watch. I never used it for calls, or responding to texts, and had Siri disabled. I would still have Siri disabled, but it's required for CarPlay. They are popular in healthcare (where I work) where it's not safe, appropriate, or sterile, to look at your phone, but you can quickly glance at your wrist when with a patient, gloved up, in surgery, etc. Wifi is everywhere, and your phone is probably back at a desk or nursing station.

I also moved to Garmin and use it for fitness. It gets notifications, but other than texts and calls, I have them disabled as well. It costs what an Apple Watch costs, but I can use it for maps when trail running and it doesn't need the touch screen, which is big deal when super sweaty and or/wet and muddy. It shows my current workout zone so I can adjust, laps, mileage when training for a specific distance. I also take it backpacking and it's nice to not need to charge for days.

I'm a bit of a workout nut, and I like being disconnected.

 

[Jean Claude]

If there's no display, it will be a hard-pass for me until there is. All the AI features are fine, but most of the more tangible use-cases I can think of: Live direction feeds, messaging, email, etc., will all require some type of embedded visual display the user can interact with. I'd be shocked (even for a gen 1) if Apple launches this without it....

 

[repoman016]

Apple plays catch-up. Again.

IMO Apple hasn't been a "get there first" company in a lonnng time. They have been a "make it better" company.
Fashion first, technology second 😂

 

[joshml]

Like the fashion forward watch? That hasn't had a redesign in over 10 years?! haha

 

[jinnyman]

I'm pretty sure Apple will come up with a great product. The question is will it have an acceptable price?

 

[mxrider88]

Powered by Siri 🤣🤣🤣🤣 say no more!

 

[cocoua]

Stopped reading at “siri’d play a major role”

 

[ryanasimov]

I'm all for Apple continuing to develop wearable tech, but I believe this will have the same level of adoption as the Vision Pro.

 

[NeonNights]

Wise decision, Apple. Smartglasses are much more practical and affordable than AVP. I love my Meta Ray Bans as they allow me to instantly capture an event or moment in front of me without fumbling for my phone. It also allows me to connect to work meetings and calls without having to put on additional headphones or earbuds. I look forward to trying out the Ray Ban Display, but am also waiting to see what Samsung will release with Google XR.

 

[Ho Tai]

I would LOVE to be able to see lyrics in a heads-up display while I'm listening to a song!

 

[johnsawyercjs]

View attachment 2563068

The iPhone failed to do what it was asked only because the user didn't first fill out the proper permission forms in triplicate and mail them in.