According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is ramping up efforts to develop lightweight augmented reality (AR) glasses. It appears that the company is refocusing its long-term strategy from the ultra-premium Vision Pro headset to more affordable wearables in an effort to challenge Meta’s growing dominance in the XR and smart glasses segment.
Apple’s long-term vision goes beyond Vision Pro
A report claims that Apple CEO Tim Cook has made the development of augmented reality glasses his top product priority. A source close to the matter told Bloomberg: “Tim doesn’t care about anything else. This is the only thing he really spends his time on in terms of product development.”
Unlike the Vision Pro, which launched at $3,499 and is aimed at a niche audience, Apple’s AR glasses are expected to be more accessible in both form and function. The device is still in the early stages of development, with significant obstacles including miniaturization, battery efficiency, and maintaining affordability.
When will it be launched?
There are no confirmed release dates for Apple’s AR glasses yet, but according to some reports, the product could be a few years away. It is believed that Apple is aiming to release them earlier than Meta’s Orion AR glasses, which currently cost about $10,000 per prototype and are expected to be commercialized by 2030.
In the meantime, Apple may release smartglasses-like devices with artificial intelligence features that could possibly be integrated into future Apple Watch or AirPods models. They would be more similar to Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, successful products that offer support for photography, music, and voice assistants, but lack true augmented reality capabilities.
