Apple’s Smart Glasses Without Display Expected to Launch by Early 2027 with Four Unique Designs

Apple is poised to challenge Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses with the anticipated launch of its own sophisticated version, designed to offer an enhanced construction and greater versatility in design, as highlighted in the latest Power On newsletter by Mark Gurman from Bloomberg.

Apple’s New Smart Glasses: Promising Premium Quality and Design Variations to Compete with Meta

According to Mark Gurman, Apple’s innovative, display-less smart glasses are slated for release by early 2027. These advanced devices will feature built-in cameras, microphones, and speakers, allowing users to interact seamlessly through an upgraded version of Siri, Apple’s AI assistant.

Equipped with cameras, these smart glasses will enable wearers to take photos and videos, synchronize with their iPhone for editing and sharing, manage phone calls, track notifications, play music, and provide hands-free access to Siri, enhancing user interactions.

This product will form part of a new line of AI-enhanced devices from Apple, which also includes the AirPods Pro equipped with cameras and an AI pendant. Collectively, these devices will utilize computer vision technology to analyze a user’s environment and provide contextual insights directly to Siri and Apple Intelligence, offering features such as improved navigation and visual reminders.

Apple aims to create a distinct advantage over Meta’s offerings through deep integration with the iPhone and a premium design aesthetic, featuring high-quality acetate frames and a variety of styles:

A large rectangular frame reminiscent of the Ray-Ban Wayfarer style.
A slimmer rectangular design similar to the glasses favored by CEO Tim Cook.
A larger oval or circular frame option.
A refined smaller oval or circular model.
A vertically aligned camera system set within oval lenses.
A selection of colors, including black, ocean blue, and light brown.

Gurman concludes with a compelling observation:

“Despite Meta’s early lead and Google’s advantages with the larger Android ecosystem, Apple’s strengths — its brand, in-house chips, giant retail presence and deep iPhone integration — position it well to compete. If executed properly with a functional Siri, these glasses could follow a trajectory similar to the Apple Watch: not first to market, but ultimately dominant.”

In related news, research firm Omdia anticipates that Apple will unveil its own augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, featuring 0.6-inch dual OLEDoS displays, by 2028. This timeline suggests that Meta will likely release its own competitive products beforehand.

For those unfamiliar, OLEDoS, or Micro-OLED technology, integrates Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLED) directly onto a silicon wafer substrate. This differs from traditional OLED displays used in smartphones and TVs, which rely on glass or plastic bases. OLEDoS technology utilizes semiconductor manufacturing processes, promoting extreme miniaturization and enhancing performance, resulting in ultra-high pixel density and improved power efficiency thanks to the integration of circuitry into the silicon backplane via CMOS technology.

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