By Mark Gurman, Bloomberg
Apple Inc. has hit pause on a planned overhaul to its Vision Pro headset to redirect resources toward a more urgent effort: developing smart glasses that can rival products from Meta Platforms Inc.
The company had been preparing a cheaper, lighter variant of its headset — code-named N100 — for release in 2027. But Apple announced internally last week that it’s moving staff from that project to accelerate work on glasses, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
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Smart glasses have emerged as a critical arena for tech companies, which are racing to develop AI-centric devices. Future designs could eventually challenge smartphones as must-have technology, and Apple wants to be ready.
The company is working on at least two types of smart glasses. The first one, dubbed N50, will pair with an iPhone and lack its own display. Apple aims to unveil this model as soon as next year, ahead of a release in 2027, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.
Apple is also working on a version with a display — something that could challenge the just-released Meta Ray-Ban Display. The Apple version had been planned for 2028, but the company is now looking to accelerate development, the people said.
A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment.
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Even with the shuffling of priorities, Apple remains well behind Meta. That company released its first smart glasses — the Ray-Ban Stories — in 2021. It then scored a surprise hit with a newer version called the Ray-Ban Meta that launched in 2023.
Last month, Meta refreshed its non-display glasses with improved cameras, longer battery life and new designs tailored for athletes. For Meta, which has a mixed record in hardware technology, smart glasses have provided a new foothold in the devices market.
Apple’s glasses will rely heavily on voice interaction and artificial intelligence — two areas where it hasn’t always excelled. It was slow to introduce the Apple Intelligence platform and had to delay upgrades to its Siri voice assistant.
But the company is working to turn things around on that front. Apple is betting that a rebuilt Siri, planned for as early as March, will help power a new range of devices, including glasses, speakers, displays and cameras.
Other tech giants have their own ambitions for next-generation devices. Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google are racing to launch a range of AI-powered hardware. And ChatGPT maker OpenAI has enlisted former Apple design guru Jony Ive to create a new collection of gadgets.
The Apple glasses are expected to come in a variety of styles and run a new chip. They’ll include speakers for music playback, cameras for media recording, and voice-control features that will work with a connected phone. Apple has also been exploring a suite of health-tracking capabilities for the device.
The priority shift to glasses is just the latest change to the company’s headset strategy following an underwhelming debut by the Vision Pro. The $3,499 product, which melds virtual and augmented reality, is seen as too heavy and expensive to be a mainstream hit. It’s also short on both video content and apps. Apple executives have acknowledged the product’s shortcomings in private, viewing it as an overengineered piece of technology.
For years, Apple planned to quickly follow the Vision Pro with a stripped-down model that shared the same general look as the first version. That idea was scrapped in favor of the larger overhaul, which would have brought a completely new design and lighter frame. Now that project is on the back burner as well.
Earlier this year, Apple also shelved plans for tethered glasses code-named N107 that would serve as a digital external display for Macs and other devices, Bloomberg News reported at the time.
Apple is still planning a modest refresh of the current Vision Pro design — with a faster chip — for as early as the end of this year, Bloomberg has reported. That device turned up in testing records from the US Federal Communications Commission, suggesting a release is close.
Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook indicated years ago that glasses would be superior to a fully enclosed headset design. In 2016, right as development of the Vision Pro kicked off, he said publicly that, “Few people are going to view that it’s acceptable to be enclosed in something, because we’re all social people at heart.”
But the technology for glasses wasn’t ready yet, and the Vision Pro emerged as a compromise. Like other mixed-reality headsets, it uses cameras to let people see the world around them.
Apple’s attempts to interest consumers in the Vision Pro have fallen flat, and the company is increasingly trying to pivot its marketing of the device toward businesses. That’s an approach Microsoft Corp. and Google also have pursued — with limited success.
Apple hasn’t totally abandoned the idea of eventually overhauling the Vision Pro and could ultimately release the lighter, cheaper version. It spent billions of dollars and a decade working on the original model.
Meta has had its own struggles selling enclosed mixed-reality headsets. The devices haven’t been big hits for the company, even at a fraction of the cost of a Vision Pro. After finding more success with glasses and AI, Meta skipped the release of a new mixed-reality headset this year.
The new display-equipped Meta glasses have some strong early buzz, and the company is working on a follow-up model for 2027 that adds a second screen, Bloomberg has reported. That means users will be able to see information in both lenses.
Apple and Meta both remain at work on true augmented reality glasses, which use more advanced technology for blending digital content with the real world. That’s a step beyond the heads-up displays used in current models.
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