Apple May Be Working on Multiple Styles and Frames for Its First Smart Glasses
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Apple's product lineup is not small: The company makes smartphones, tablets, computers, headphones, and smart watches, among many others. But aside from the Vision Pro, it's a bit late to break into the headset and smart glasses market—while other companies, namely Meta, have pushed full steam ahead on their own smart wearable tech. But as anyone following tech rumors may know, Apple is working on its own smart glasses—four glasses, in fact.
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman asserts that Apple is working on not just one design for its upcoming smart glasses, but four. According to Gurman, there are two main designs, which each offer slimmer or smaller variant. They include the following:
A rectangular frame, like the Ray-Ban Wayfarers
A rectangular frame with a "slimmer" design, like those worn by Apple CEO Tim Cook
Larger circular or oval glasses
A smaller "more refined" oval or circular frame
Gurman says that all four models will use acetate, rather than plastic, which may make the glasses more "durable and luxurious" than similar options from other companies. The company is planning on a number of finishes and color options, and may include black, ocean blue, and light brown. The goal here is to design something "instantly recognizable," a concept Apple calls "the icon," according to Gurman. Think Apple's AirPods, Apple Watch: These products don't really look like anything else on the market, so when you see them, you know right away what they are and who makes them. Rather than develop smart glasses that look like any others, like Meta Ray-Bans, the company wants you to know those are Apple glasses you're seeing.
Functionally, Apple's smart glasses should be similar to Meta Ray-Bans: You'll be able to take photos and videos, sync with your iPhone, take phone calls, receive incoming notifications, listen to music, and chat with Siri hands-free: presumably, Apple's AI-powered assistant, assuming the company actually releases it with iOS 27. Gurman says the glasses will pair with Apple's upcoming AirPods and a new pendant device, both of which may come with embedded cameras for AI assistance.
My big question for Apple here is regarding privacy: Smart glasses aren't necessarily a privacy enthusiast's dream design, as they subtly embed cameras into the frames. You can walk around taking images and recording videos of people without their explicit knowledge, without attracting the same attention as you would holding up your smartphone. Gurman doesn't speak much to this point, though he does say Apple is taking a slightly different approach to the camera design than Meta: Apple's cameras may be vertical ovals with surrounding lights, as opposed to the Meta Ray-Bans' circular camera design.
While smart glasses are selling, I'm still skeptical they'll take off in the same way smartphones did. There are benefits to having a hands-free smart device in glasses form, but smartphones offer far more functionality—at least, at this time. Until we get to a point where AR technology makes heads-up displays for glasses as easy to use as an iPhone, I'm not sure people will adopt this technology en masse.