Apple's future smart glasses plan is just part of a larger computer vision play

Apple Glass will be a direct competitor to Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, but it will be only a part of a larger three-pronged AI wearable strategy for the company. Here's what's coming.

Apple has long been working on its smart glasses, known as Apple Glass. What is anticipated to actually launch will be quite close to what the existing Meta Ray-Bans can already do.

In Sunday's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman writes that the Apple Glass will be easily able to handle everyday uses, including photographs and video capture, dealing with phone calls, handling notifications from an iPhone, and music playback.

There will also be the ability to call upon Apple's digital assistant, Siri, in a hands-free way. However, that will only really be useful as part of an upgraded Siri in iOS 27.

However, we're probably not going to get a full augmented reality experience anytime soon. Back in October, it was said that an AR screen won't make it into Apple Glass until the second generation.

Testing designs

While everyone has a general idea of how Apple products are aesthetically designed, it seems that Apple hasn't quite determined what it wants from the smart glasses. The design team has apparently come up with four different styles that could come out at launch.

This includes the use of acetate for the design instead of plastic, which will lend itself to a more high-end appearance. There are also claims of Apple using a large rectanglar frame similar to the Ray-Bans.

A slimmer rectangular design is also on the cards, as well as one with larger oval or circular frames. A more refined oval and circular option is also worked on by the team, in a mhc smaller overall package.

The cameras will differ from the Meta versions, consisting of vertically-oriented oval lenses with surrounding lights.

As for finishes, this includes color options for black, ocean blue, and light brown.

The ultimate aim is for the design to be as instantly recognizable as Apple Glass, just as we recognize AirPods or an Apple Watch. It's what is referred to internally by Apple as creating the "icon."

Whatever form it takes, a2026 to 2027 timeframe is expected for its launch.

A big AI approach

Apple Glass won't be a product in isolation, aside from its connection to an iPhone. It's really part of an attempt by Apple to take advantage of the power of artificial intelligence and computer vision.

This will include two other products in the same category. The previously rumored AirPods with cameras and the more recent pendant claims.

The AirPods Pro would have infrared cameras in each earbud, filming the world in a similar way to smart glasses, without needing the frames.

The wearable pendant has also been discussed as a wearable AI pin, which would incorporate multiple microphones, a speaker, and a pair of cameras on the front. This is something that could arrive after Apple Glass, sometime in 2027 at the earliest.

The idea is that Apple wants to use all of this hardware to feed a view of the user's surroundings into Apple Intelligence. This data could then be used to create contextual awareness, such as by Siri responding based on what it can "see" in the world.