Apple Accelerates Development of AI Wearables
Apple is reportedly accelerating development of post-Vision Pro AI-powered wearables, including smart glasses, pendants, and AirPods with cameras, with some products potentially debuting this year. Rumors suggest a potential March 4 event to unveil new Macs and a wearable Siri-powered AI assistant. Additionally, a new beta of visionOS introduces a "Foveated Streaming" framework, designed to improve performance by allowing the headset to access external computing power more efficiently.
- The planned smart glasses, internally codenamed N50, will compete with Meta's Ray-Ban glasses and are targeted for a 2027 release, with production potentially starting in December 2026. They are expected to feature a high-resolution camera for photos and video, a secondary camera for environmental context, and will not have a visual display, relying on a voice-based Siri interface. - The AI pendant is envisioned as an "eyes and ears" for the iPhone, roughly the size of an AirTag, and can be clipped to clothing or worn as a necklace. It will feature an always-on camera and microphone to provide visual and auditory context to Siri but will rely on the iPhone for processing, equipped with a chip closer in power to AirPods than an Apple Watch. - Camera-equipped AirPods are also in development, with some reports suggesting a potential launch later in 2026. These would use low-resolution infrared cameras not for photography, but to gather environmental data for the AI, enabling features like gesture control. - This strategic push into multiple AI wearable form factors is seen as a way for Apple to maintain its iPhone-centric ecosystem while challenging competitors like Meta and Snap in the growing smart glasses market. The devices are designed to act as accessories to the iPhone, enhancing its capabilities rather than functioning as standalone products. - Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that Apple's first Ray-Ban-style smart glasses could achieve a shipment volume of 3-5 million units or more in 2027, helping to push the total market for such devices beyond 10 million units. - The March 4 "special Apple Experience" is expected to be an in-person press event held in New York, London, and Shanghai, possibly preceded by several days of product announcements via press release. While wearables may be mentioned, rumors heavily point towards the launch of new MacBooks and a more affordable iPhone 17e. - Foveated rendering, a technique that reduces GPU load by prioritizing resolution where the user is looking, has been shown to cut processing demands by up to 72%. The new "Foveated Streaming" extends this by selectively streaming high-resolution data based on the user's gaze, optimizing for bandwidth and enabling more powerful cloud-based XR experiences. - The development of these AI wearables is being spearheaded by Apple's Vision Products Group, the same team that developed the Vision Pro headset. This signals a long-term strategy to create a range of head-mounted and body-worn devices that blend AI with the user's environment.
