Apple Set to Unveil First Smart Glasses at WWDC Next Year
Apple is expected to make its first move into the smart glasses market, with Bloomberg reporting on the 26th, local time, that it plans to unveil the product at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June next year and begin sales later in the year. The category is led by Meta and has drawn in other major technology groups, including Google and Snap.
The device is said to carry the internal code name N50. According to the report, it will include a microphone and speakers, letting users listen to music, make calls and receive alerts from Siri, Apple’s voice assistant. The glasses are also expected to include artificial intelligence functions and cameras able to recognise surrounding conditions.
The timetable has shifted from an earlier plan. Apple had reportedly considered showing the product late this year and bringing it to market early next year. It later revisited its development strategy as concerns increased about covert recording and privacy intrusion linked to smart glasses. In some parts of the United States, and in places such as schools, hospitals and gyms, their use is restricted.
Apple is said to have tested prototypes with recording functions limited or with the camera removed altogether. The report said such designs were explored as the company worked through the privacy issues surrounding the product category. However, it also noted that removing the camera may weaken the core competitiveness of AI glasses, making such a version unlikely for the final product.
The smart glasses market is expanding quickly. Ray-Ban Meta has sold more than 2 million units since its launch in 2023. EssilorLuxottica, the maker behind the product, plans to increase annual production capacity to 10 million units by the end of 2026. Meta is also considering raising production to around 20 million units, according to the report.
Meta, in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, currently holds the lead. Google is preparing to launch AI glasses with Samsung Electronics, while Snap has already introduced its augmented reality Spectacles. Apple’s arrival would add another large platform company to a field already moving quickly.
The report places the planned launch within a wider shift in competition among major technology groups. Rivalry is increasingly centred on personal devices that could follow smartphones as the main consumer platform. Apple’s entry would place it alongside companies already pushing ahead with their own glasses products and development plans.
The product has not yet been released, and the company’s timetable remains centred on next year’s WWDC. The report said Apple’s first smart glasses would join a market already attracting major production plans and new device launches from several of the biggest names in technology. With Apple, Meta, Google and Snap all active in the category, competition over the next generation of personal devices is anticipated to intensify.
