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Apple smart glasses still a distant possibility as Apple considers its wearables future

Optimistic renders of what Apple Glass could look like


Apple is still working out how it can press forward with wearable devices, with it considering a possible switch away from bulky Apple Vision Pro headset instead creating the fabled Apple Glass by 2030.

The wearable device ambitions of Apple are somewhat troubled, with the Apple Vision Pro considered a commercial flop in its first release. While it has other ways it can progress forward on the concept, it's still taking time to work out the best way forward.

In Sunday's Bloomberg newsletter, Mark Gurman writes that Apple is at least looking into different form factors. After axing its project to create AR glasses as an external Mac display earlier in 2025, Apple is now thinking about standalone AR glasses once again.

The report predicts that it could be three to five years before Apple manages to create a commercial version.

Apple is also thought to be coming up with its own variation of the Meta Ray-Ban glasses. As a device, it won't have AR capabilities, but could still offer other elements including cameras, microphones, audio, and AI.

There is also the ongoing project to incorporate cameras into AirPods, which can help bolster its AI efforts.

Massive hurdles to overcome

To create any sort of smart glasses like Apple Glass, Apple has to work around multiple issues with design. That includes somehow making the glasses lightweight enough to not be bulky or heavy, while still retaining additional functionality.

For something that could contain a battery to power all the extra hardware, this can be a challenge, even without a display.

It has multiple offices working on the concept, including studying the appeal of various features that could be incorporated. Internal testing has also been occurring for years, though in very hushed secrecy, even for Apple.

Back in 2017, an Apple Environment Health and Safety contractor report revealed someone needed "medical treatment beyond first aid" after testing a prototype. It was a very rare revelation that eyewear was being worked on within Apple's offices.

While the project to create a lightweight pair of smart spectacles is a challenge that's years in the making, it at least has the best champion within Apple.

At one time, CEO Tim Cook believed that creating AR glasses was the way forward instead of VR glasses. An approach of superimposing images on a real-world view was better in a non-isolating way compared to a headset like Apple Vision Pro.

Billions of research dollars later, Apple is still working on the problem. It's just something that could take years before a commercialized solution becomes available to purchase.

11 Comments

mikethemartian 19 Years · 1565 comments

This is the direction that I would have thought they would have taken. Starting with some slim fashionable glasses and adding features to them. It would seem to fit better with the rest of their products than a bulbous headset.

0 Likes · 2 Dislikes
Xed 5 Years · 3036 comments

This is the direction that I would have thought they would have taken. Starting with some slim fashionable glasses and adding features to them. It would seem to fit better with the rest of their products than a bulbous headset.

AVP and this rumored headset aren't the same product. AR ≠ VR. Just like how Apple's VR solution came out a long time after the first modern, commercial VR headset, Apple's AR solution will likely follow a similar path. The technology simply isn't there right now for the form factor people are expecting. Frankly, AVP wasn't that long after Oculus Rift CV1 in 2016 considering the massive technology bump Apple included in their solution. And, no, I don't consider Google Glass or Snap Spectacles to be modern AR glasses.

I know certain people on this forum like to call AVP a failure, but in the one year it's been out it's been a success in ways I thought would take years to achieve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/1c8laz0/apple_vision_pro_used_to_assist_doctor_during/

3 Likes · 0 Dislikes
Marvin 19 Years · 15397 comments

This is the direction that I would have thought they would have taken. Starting with some slim fashionable glasses and adding features to them. It would seem to fit better with the rest of their products than a bulbous headset.

The route they went with passthrough cameras was needed to get fully opaque graphics. With see-through glasses, the digital elements are semi-transparent so it would be harder to have features like immersive environments.

Any type of AR glasses are still heavier than normal glasses and rest on the bridge of the nose. It would be better if they can eliminate the weight on the face with a visor form factor that sits in front of the eyes with no pressure on the face:





Moving away from the ski goggles form factor shouldn't take 3-5 years. Moving the compute parts and dropping EyeSight would let them reach the size of the more compact VR headsets.

Dyson made a set of headphones with an air purifier that sits in front of the face that can swivel out the way. This would just need to be an AR visor instead and they can make this just now, launch in 2026:




2 Likes · 0 Dislikes
gavinthain 15 Years · 15 comments

If they don’t release wearables, they will go out of business. 

0 Likes · 1 Dislike
Xed 5 Years · 3036 comments

If they don’t release wearables, they will go out of business. 

Define wearables? I consider headphones and watches to be wearable. Do those count?

1 Like · 0 Dislikes