The Vision Pro launch may have received a mixed reception, but Apple has no plans to slow down its assault on the wearables market. Next on the list? Perhaps a ring or a pair of smart glasses that would bring consumers some of the benefits of Vision Pro at a fraction of the price.
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman discusses three wearable device projects currently in what he describes as an exploratory phase of development at Apple Park. The company is seriously considering a smart ring and an upgraded version of AirPods with cameras and AI features, but smart glasses are the most intriguing item on the list.
Indeed, as attractive as Vision Pro is in many ways, it faces several huge obstacles to widespread adoption. It’s heavy, bulky, and has limited battery life, all factors that prevent owners from carrying the device for long periods of time or outdoors. And it’s just way too expensive for most of us to even consider a purchase.
In contrast, smart glasses – a market that Apple has never attempted to enter before, but which has been explored by Google and its Glass product, among others – offer something smaller, lighter and less intrusive . It will also likely cost a lot less than the full mixed reality headset. Gurman says the glasses are “in an exploratory phase known as a ‘technology investigation’ within Apple’s hardware engineering division,” along with other wearable projects including camera-equipped AirPods.
“The glasses,” says Gurman, “could provide sound (so users don’t need to wear AirPods) and leverage AI and cameras to identify objects in the surrounding world. The device could also serve as a stepping stone toward Apple’s long-held dream: true augmented reality glasses that you can wear all day. Vision Pro is considered by many to be one of the first prototypes of an all-day wearable device and allowing users to interact with the world in an entirely new way. However, this will likely take several years.
In other words, we are not yet talking about a full-fledged vision of the future; Indeed, Gurman specifically says that literal augmented reality glasses – “those that would meet Apple’s standards for visual quality, performance, battery life and battery size” – will be in several years before becoming reality. It would be something less ambitious, focusing on simpler features like taking videos and giving voice commands.
As Gurman explains in the usual leaker disclaimer, the smart glasses are just a theory for now and may never launch. But it’s clear that this is an area where Apple wants to strengthen its portfolio and build on the success of wearable products like AirPods and Apple Watch.
