By the end of 2026, Apple could launch its own smart glasses, rivaling Meta's Ray-Ban and likely also models in the works at Google. Bloomberg reports that Cupertino engineers are hard at work on a release of this new product next year.
Attacking Meta's Ray-Ban
The manufacturer is expected to begin producing "a large quantity" of prototypes before the end of 2025. This means that rumors and leaks will intensify... These glasses would be equipped with cameras, microphones, and speakers, allowing them to analyze the user's environment to better answer the user's questions.
The frame will also be able to support phone calls, music playback, live translations, and turn-by-turn directions. Nothing that Meta's Ray-Ban can't do, and Meta is preparing the next step: the social media giant is reportedly preparing a new generation of glasses with a monocular screen to display information such as maps, notifications, and even the photo gallery.
The approach is similar on the Google side, which this week presented prototypes of connected glasses running on Android XR. No date, no price, but we already know that it will be possible to add a screen as an option. And the search engine is working with partners like Gentle Monster and Warby Parker to make the product socially acceptable.
Apple's glasses, codenamed N401, which groups other projects in the field, will also be a showcase for Apple Intelligence. And that's a risky move. AI is essential for analyzing the world around us, and the Apple company is still far from the level of its rivals.
The iPhone's Visual Intelligence feature uses ChatGPT and Google to "understand" the user's immediate environment. Out of charity, we won't revisit the Siri disaster infused with Apple Intelligence, postponed until better days.
To stand out, Apple can always leverage its hardware and technical expertise: in terms of audio, the manufacturer knows how to do it, between the AirPods and the Vision Pro speakers, which are simply excellent. We can also trust it for the design. An internal source assured Bloomberg that Apple's glasses will be similar to those of Meta, but... "better made."
Less encouraging: Apple reportedly finally canceled its Apple Watch project this week, incorporating a camera. The idea was to allow the smartwatch to collect more external data to also improve AI. AirPods with integrated (mini) cameras would remain in development, however.
Source: Bloomberg
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