Apple smart‑glasses rumours

Apple is testing several smart-glasses designs as it looks beyond the Vision Pro headset and toward lighter, everyday wearable devices. (msn.com) Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on April 12 that Apple is trying four frame shapes, including two rectangular options and two rounder styles, while TechCrunch said the reported device is aimed more at Meta’s camera-and-audio glasses than at full augmented reality headsets. (bloomberg.com) (techcrunch.com) Several reports say the current concept does not put a screen in front of the wearer’s eyes. Instead, the glasses are described as voice-first and camera-equipped, with features closer to taking photos, handling calls, playing music, and using an assistant hands-free. (techcrunch.com) (forbes.com) That distinction matters because augmented reality glasses try to place digital images into your view, while camera-and-audio glasses work more like a phone assistant built into eyewear. Apple’s reported shift suggests it is pursuing a simpler product that people could wear all day, not a face computer like Vision Pro. (techcrunch.com) (apple.com) Apple’s current headset still starts at $3,499 on its online store, which puts it in a different category from mass-market wearables. Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta glasses start at $299 and are sold as glasses that add a camera, open-ear speakers, and an artificial intelligence assistant. (apple.com) (meta.com) The market Apple would be entering has grown quickly. Counterpoint Research said global smart-glasses shipments rose 110 percent year over year in the first half of 2025, and Meta held 73 percent share during that period. (counterpointresearch.com) Apple is also still working through delays in the software that would power more ambient devices around the home and on the body. Bloomberg reported on March 9 that Apple pushed back a smart-home display, code-named J490, until around September 2026 because the new Siri it depends on was not ready. (bloomberg.com) That links the glasses rumor to a wider Apple device plan: lighter hardware, more voice control, and more reliance on artificial intelligence that can respond without pulling out an iPhone. The catch is that Apple has not announced any smart glasses, launch date, or feature list, so the current picture still comes from supply-chain and reporter sourcing rather than the company itself. (digitimes.com) (bloomberg.com) For now, the clearest signal is not a finished product but a direction: Apple appears to be testing what smart glasses should look like before it decides what they should do. (indianexpress.com)