Apple smart glasses coming in 2026 rumored to be comparable to Meta’s Ray-Bans and Google’s Android XR glasses
Apple is rumored to release its first smart glasses in 2026 with features comparable to Meta’s Ray-Bans and Google’s Android XR glasses.
Mark Gurman wrote in his recent Bloomberg piece that the glasses, said to be part of Apple’s push into AI-enhanced gadgets, would have features similar to Meta’s AI glasses (created in partnership with Ray-Ban) and upcoming Android XR devices.
“Apple’s glasses would have cameras, microphones and speakers, allowing them to analyze the external world and take requests via the Siri voice assistant,” reads the report. Additional features would be allegedly supported in order to make the glasses comparable to the Meta product and similar competition.
Apple’s smart glasses may arrive by the end of 2026
“They could also handle tasks such as phone calls, music playback, live translations and turn-by-turn directions,” added Gurman. “The approach would be similar to that of Meta’s current glasses and upcoming devices running Alphabet Inc.’s Android XR operating system.”
And this:
One person with knowledge of the glasses said they will be similar to the Meta product but better made. The Meta device has increasingly become a hit with consumers, and the company is planning a higher-end product for later this year. Those glasses will include a display, letting wearers see notifications, pictures and other relatively simple visuals. The social networking giant is planning its first pair with true AR in 2027, Bloomberg News has reported.
Apple is currently ramping up work on the glasses, Gurman has it, “in a bid to meet the year-end 2026 target.” He added that Apple’s suppliers will start producing “large quantities of prototypes” at the end of this year. This sounds like the glasses could take months to fully roll out, similar to the original HomePod and AirPods.
Multiple models in the works
“The glasses were originally dubbed N50 internally but now carry the umbrella descriptor N401 — the name of a broader project exploring the category,” reads the report. The information comes with a standard disclaimer that Apple’s plans could change as it has canceled some projects in the past.
The glasses project is mostly being developed by the Vision Products Group which created the Vision Pro headset. They’re also working on a cheaper and lighter model and one that tethers to the Mac to provide compute resources and reduce lag.
Gurman adds that Apple hasn’t given up on standalone augmented reality glasses with built-in displays that would superimpose digital content like notifications, messages and directions on real-world views without requiring a connection to the Mac, “but those remain years away.”
Camera-equipped Apple Watch nixed
The same report states that Apple has shelved plans for 3037 Apple Watch models with a built-in camera that could analyze its surroundings for Apple Intelligence features like visual intelligence. Work on camera-equipped AirPods reportedly continues unabated.
Apple is also planning to release its smart home hub with a built-in display and AI features by the end of 2025, with a robotic version following “a year or two later.”
The company’s plans to develop AI-infused gadgets could be jeopardized by its former design chief Jony Ive, who teamed up with OpenAI which purchased Ive’s startup, called io, with the goal of releasing a family of AI devices.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/05/26/apple-smart-glasses-2026-release-rival-meta-ray-bans-google-android-xr/
Leave a Reply