Apple is gearing up to give Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses a run for their money by launching a superior competitor, replete with a more premium build and greater design versatility, as per the latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Apple's smart glasses to sport a premium build and greater number of design options vs. Meta's relatively more staid offerings, with launch expected by early 2027
Mark Gurman has disclosed today that Apple's upcoming display-less smart glasses will likely launch by early 2027, and come equipped with integrated cameras, microphones, and speakers, enabling the wearer to interact via an improved version of its bespoke AI assistant, Siri.
These new camera-equipped smart glasses will be able to capture photos and videos, sync with an iPhone for post-capture editing and sharing, handle phone calls, keep a tab on notifications, play music, and enable hands-free interaction via Siri.
These smart glasses would complete a troika of new AI-powered devices from Apple, which include camera-equipped AirPods Pro and an AI pendant. All of these devices will leverage computer vision to interpret a given user’s surroundings and feed contextual awareness directly into Siri and Apple Intelligence, enabling features like improved turn-by-turn map directions and visual reminders.
Interestingly, Apple is planning to create a hefty differentiation between its smart glasses and the ones from Meta by implementing a tight, utility-heavy integration with the iPhone. Additionally, Apple appears to be opting for the more premium acetate frame for its smart glasses, along with a host of color and design options:
- A large rectangular frame akin to Ray-Ban Wayfarers.
- A slimmer rectangular design that mimics the glasses worn by Apple's Chief Executive Officer, Tim Cook.
- Larger oval or circular frame.
- A smaller, more refined oval or circular option.
- The camera system might sport vertically oriented oval lenses.
- Color options include black, ocean blue, and light brown.
Gurman concludes by noting:
"Despite Meta’s early lead and Google’s advantages with the larger Android ecosystem, Apple’s strengths — its brand, in-house chips, giant retail presence and deep iPhone integration — position it well to compete. If executed properly with a functional Siri, these glasses could follow a trajectory similar to the Apple Watch: not first to market, but ultimately dominant."
Elsewhere, Omdia expects Apple to launch its own AR smart glasses - replete with 0.6-inch dual OLEDoS displays - only in 2028, months after Meta would have presumably launched its own competitive offerings.
For the benefit of those who might not be aware, OLEDoS, also called Micro-OLED display tech, mounts Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLED) directly onto a single-crystal silicon wafer substrate. Unlike traditional OLED screens used in smartphones or TVs that are built on a glass or plastic base, OLEDoS leverages semiconductor manufacturing processes to achieve extreme miniaturization and performance, leading to ultra-high pixel density and an improved power consumption profile, especially as the circuitry is integrated directly into the silicon backplane using CMOS technology.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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