A New Era Beyond the iPhone: What to Expect from Apple's Smart Glasses
Michael Torneau, SmartGlassesOn
Published 08:19, Sat, Aug 17 2024
A concept image of Apple-branded “true” AR glasses imagines how the company’s smart glasses ambitions could eventually be realized. (Image credit: Apple)
A new chapter beyond the iPhone is starting to take shape.
Smart glasses are rapidly emerging as a hot topic in the tech world this year. While gadgets like Samsung’s Galaxy Ring are stealing headlines, smart glasses—an innovation that has been in development for over a decade—are starting to gain serious momentum.
But how can we tell if a new product is poised to break into the mainstream and become a must-have for the future? The signs usually appear in growing market predictions from well-known analysts or increased excitement from tech publications. And perhaps the clearest signal comes when Apple decides to join the fray.
Once skeptical of competitors’ attempts to introduce smart glasses to consumers, Apple is now dedicated to launching its own version, a move that could finally push this futuristic wearable into the mainstream, ten years after Google’s initial failure with Google Glass.
Apple’s Smart Glasses: What We Know
Apple is famous for working on a variety of projects behind the scenes, and it’s never guaranteed that all of them will make it to market. But when it comes to smart glasses, things seem to be progressing steadily. Bloomberg’s trusted Apple expert, Mark Gurman, has emphasized the company’s serious commitment to the project in his latest Power On newsletter.
Rumors surrounding “Apple Glass” are inching closer to reality as Apple’s Vision group continues to develop wearable tech, building on the success of the Vision Pro released earlier this year. Unlike the Vision Pro’s high-end, cutting-edge approach to headsets, Apple’s smart glasses might take a simpler route for their debut.
Apple’s Smart Glasses: What to Anticipate
For years, it has been speculated that Apple has been developing true augmented reality (AR) glasses. However, according to Gurman, those ambitions have been paused due to technical hurdles. Instead, Apple’s initial smart glasses may resemble something closer to the Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses, which launched last October.
Meta’s glasses offer a refined smart glasses experience with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities embedded in Ray-Ban’s iconic Wayfarer design, allowing for touch-sensitive controls to manage calls and music via open-ear speakers built into the frames.
Apple, with its resources and expertise, could easily offer a similar experience, if not a superior one.
Additionally, the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses include a 12-megapixel camera and a multi-mic system for capturing photos and videos from the wearer’s perspective. They also integrate Meta AI, which allows users to interact with a voice assistant through natural commands, similar to smart home assistants. This AI can use the glasses’ camera to respond to real-world visuals—such as translating languages, providing outfit suggestions, or identifying landmarks.
If Apple aims to compete in this space, it has the capability to produce a feature-rich, well-rounded pair of smart glasses.
Apple’s Vision: What We’d Like to See
For Apple’s smart glasses to stand out, they should draw inspiration from the audio quality of AirPods and the advanced cameras of the iPhone, while incorporating their upcoming Apple Intelligence AI. With Siri’s long-anticipated overhaul expected soon, the AI capabilities in Apple’s glasses could be highly sophisticated.
Apple might also consider incorporating dual cameras for 3D video capture, a feature already present in the iPhone 15. This would give users the ability to capture immersive spatial imagery.
Smart glasses also open the door to health and lifestyle tracking, similar to the features seen in the Solos AirGo 3 glasses, which offer step tracking, posture correction, and even heart rate monitoring through a built-in gyroscope and sensor in the frame. Considering Apple’s strong focus on health technology with the Apple Watch, it wouldn’t be surprising if similar features made their way into its smart glasses.
This would expand the device’s utility and potentially lay the groundwork for a future “all-in-one” wearable that might one day replace the iPhone—once display technology is fully integrated into the glasses.
Could Apple’s Smart Glasses Replace the iPhone?
In 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, forever changing the landscape of mobile technology. Over 15 years later, we may be witnessing the early development of a product that could one day replace the smartphone as our go-to device.
While the first generation of Apple smart glasses may not be the product to achieve this massive shift, Apple’s true AR glasses could very well lead us into a new era of personal technology.
Even Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called the development of true AR glasses a “holy grail” for the tech world. Meta is reportedly aiming to introduce such a product later this year, but Apple is also on track to eventually launch its own.
Initial versions of Apple’s smart glasses could offer cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity, similar to the Apple Watch and iPad. Leaked patents suggest Apple is experimenting with ways to integrate cellular antennas into the glasses, which means they could function independently of the iPhone.
Although no one is likely to abandon their iPhone for this first iteration of smart glasses, it’s probable that the device will operate as a stand-alone product, not merely an accessory tethered to a phone. Future iterations, especially those with true AR capabilities, could potentially shift this dynamic even further.
When Can We Expect Them?
With so much potential, the anticipation for Apple’s smart glasses is only natural. But when will we see them?
While nothing is certain, insiders suggest they could arrive in the near future. Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts a possible 2026 release, with MetaLens production potentially pushing Apple’s dream of true AR glasses forward.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is more optimistic, predicting that we might see Apple’s smart glasses hit the market as soon as the end of 2025.
As always with Apple, these dates should be treated with caution, as the company is known for shelving or delaying projects until they are fully satisfied with the final product. However, with a simpler version of the glasses in development, it’s very possible that Apple could deliver on its ambitions sooner than expected and ride the wave of this growing trend in wearables.