Apple Still Has Its Eye on Smart Glasses

Out of all the products Apple plans to release over the next two years, none seem as awkwardly positioned as the Cupertino company’s VR endeavors. This year’s Vision Pro, which is $3,500, was an expensive niche product, so it makes sense that Apple’s AR-focused Vision Group is reportedly making the headsets cheaper and also releasing some kind of AR glasses.

We already knew from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that Apple was working on a less-expensive, less capable Vision headset. According to the Apple guru’s latest newsletter, that’s still in the works alongside a Vision Pro sequel. However, he added the extra tidbit in his Q&A (via 9to5Mac) that the Vision group is developing a pair of smart glasses, which on their face could compete with Meta’s Ray Bans. 

The next set of smart glasses wont have a heads-up display like the Vision Pro. Gurman last hinted at these glasses in February, and it appears Apple’s still determined to have a product that apes Meta’s initial release. The glasses could produce audio and use their cameras to take pictures. Those sensors could also use AI to detect objects in the world, which Meta has implemented on its pair of smart glasses over more than half a year. 

Whatever Apple’s glasses end up looking like, they won’t be a full pair of AR glasses. Meta is likely going to debut some kind of AR device at Meta Connect in September. The latest reports claim it could have a single lens with a projection display. Reportedly, those glasses are so big and awkward that owners of the Ray Bans branding, EssilorLuxottica, may balk at applying their name to whatever new product Mark Zuckerberg and co. are cooking up. 

We won’t see another Vision this year, but we’re certainly seeing the next iPhone. Gurman’s report effectively reiterates what we already saw hinted about the iPhone 16. This includes a redesign of screen sizes. The Pro and Pro Max will be slightly bigger, while the non-Pro models will get the iPhone 15 Pro’s action button. The more expensive 16s may also have a dedicated camera control with depth sensing, similar to a typical DSLR camera.

Next year, the iPhone 17 could be a bit of a changeup. Besides a new version of the iPhone SE, Gurman hints Apple’s working on a new kind of iPhone, one that sits between the regular and Pro models in terms of power and capabilities. Gurman dubbed it the “iPhone Air,” and it might not have the same Pro cameras, but it will “[look] much cooler.”

Apple isn’t working on a pair of true AR glasses, despite CEO Tim Cook’s original dream of doing so. There are a host of technical challenges, from weight to connectivity to power, and Apple doesn’t yet have the answers to those issues. 

According to Gurman’s regular anonymous sources, the next Apple Vision headset could be released as soon as 2025. We still don’t know how Apple will bring down the price enough while maintaining the qualities of its micro-OLED displays and complicated hand-tracking camera array.