Apple testing smart glasses

Apple is testing multiple smart-glasses designs and is now aiming its first pair at a simpler 2027 product, not a full display headset. (bloomberg.com) Bloomberg reported on April 12 that Apple is developing several frame styles and a new camera design for the device. MacRumors, citing the same reporting on April 13, said Apple is testing at least four styles and expects an unveiling in late 2026 or early 2027, with release in 2027. (bloomberg.com, macrumors.com) The first model is expected to skip built-in displays and lean on the iPhone for processing, notifications, and other tasks. Bloomberg reported in February that Apple’s glasses, camera-equipped AirPods, and a pendant device are part of a broader artificial intelligence hardware push tied closely to the iPhone. (bloomberg.com, macrumors.com) That would put Apple closer to Meta’s camera-and-audio glasses than to its own Vision Pro headset. Apple still sells Vision Pro as a spatial-computing device with digital content layered into the room around you, while Meta’s Ray-Ban line starts at $299 and focuses on photos, audio, and Meta artificial intelligence. (apple.com, meta.com) Meta has moved faster in this category over the past year. Its higher-end Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses went on sale in the United States on September 30, 2025 for $799, while Meta said Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 starts at $379 and cited International Data Corporation data calling it the top-selling artificial intelligence glasses line as of July 2025. (meta.com, about.fb.com) Apple has been circling this market for years, but the target has shifted. Bloomberg reported in May 2025 that Apple wanted glasses by the end of 2026, and reported on October 1, 2025 that the company paused a bigger Vision Pro overhaul to focus more resources on Meta-like smart glasses. (bloomberg.com, bloomberg.com) The trade-off is clear in the product design. A display-free pair is easier to make lighter, cheaper, and more reliable than glasses that have to project graphics into each lens, but it also leaves Apple without the futuristic overlay features long associated with augmented reality glasses. (bloomberg.com, apple.com) For now, the reporting points to Apple trying to make glasses feel like an everyday accessory first and a new computing platform later. The next milestone is whether Apple shows hardware in late 2026 or keeps the project behind closed doors until closer to a 2027 launch. (macrumors.com, bloomberg.com)