Back in 2017, Gene Munster, former Piper Jaffray equity analyst and now managing partner at Loup Ventures, said that if Apple were to release a pair of AR smart glasses, the wearable would be bigger than the iPhone. Time will tell if he is right, although he was wrong about the launch of the specs which he saw taking place in 2020. He said eight years ago, "In 10 years we expect the iPhone will be around but be a much smaller part of Apple's business as Apple Glasses slowly gains market adoption."
Could Apple shock the world in 2027, 20 years after it changed the world with the iPhone?
Apple being Apple, it allowed other companies to release glasses over the years with varying capabilities of "smart." Now, with Meta arguably in the lead in the U.S. having recently released its Ray-Ban Display, the successor to its display-free Ray-Ban Stories and Ray-Ban Meta glasses, could Apple be in a similar position to where it stood with smartphones in 2007? Apple didn't invent the smartphone but made it easier to navigate and created a useful tool-essentially a computer that fit in your pocket. The world was never the same.
Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone, January 9th, 2007. | Image credit-Unknown
Could history repeat itself? Apple is taking manpower and other resources away from its lower-priced Vision Pro spatial computer and is working hard to have a display-less smart glasses product ready to be unveiled next year and released in 2027, the 20th anniversary of the iPhone. One 2027 iPhone model is expected to feature a brand-new design, one without buttons and bezels, no cutouts and no ports for charging.
With such a revolutionary new iPhone possibly being unveiled in 2027, and Apple hoping to release its first pair of smart glasses the same year, it would be perfect if Apple could do something unexpected and release AR smart glasses in 2027.
Can Tim Cook get Apple employees to do the impossible the way his predecessor could?
If the late Steve Jobs was still running Apple, he would have the team working on the smart glasses spend every breathing moment working to complete the task of including an AR display even if it meant that those on the team were losing their minds, health, and marriages. After all, this is how the iPhone was reportedly built. Changing the world is not an easy job.
If Jobs was still CEO, would Apple release AR Glasses in 2027?
Absolutely. Jobs always put the product first.
80%
No. Even Jobs couldn't perform miracles.
20%
I can't say.
0%
Does Tim Cook have it in him to surprise everyone by announcing not just display-less smart glasses for 2027, but the complete package with an AR Display? One thing that might help will be the availability of TSMC's 2nm process node to build the processor. Compared to the third-generation 3nm process node (N3P) used to produce this year's A19 and A19 Pro application processors used to power the iPhone 17 seres, the N2 process node could deliver up to a 10% gain in performance with as much as a 20% gain in efficiency. Using the 2nm process node should help Apple design and build a lightweight pair of smart glasses with decent battery life.
The component that will make Apple's smart glasses possible (with or without a display) by 2027
Perhaps Apple will have to shock the world again without releasing AR glasses in 2027 as it might be asking too much of Apple to somehow have AR smart glasses ready for 2027. We also must remember that Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs as the latter could demand so much from his engineers without worrying about the impact on their personal lives.
Some haters attack Jobs for this trait in him that he would risk the wellbeing of his employees in order to make a good product great. Jobs also had the ability to make last second decisions that would completely change a device just before it shipped. One of these stories about Jobs involves a last second change during the development of the iPhone. Originally, the handset used a plastic display for the prototypes, but Steve hated the feel of plastic and didn't like the scratches that appeared on the display from keys. So, he ordered that glass be used on the iPhone, which set off a number of changes that had to be made in the last minute by Apple employees already feeling pressure.
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Is it possible that Tim Cook has enough Steve Jobs in him to allow Apple to shock the world again by shipping AR smart glasses in 2027? Remember, Apple is expected to unveil the glasses in 2026 and release them the next year which gives it an additional year to get the tech done.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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