Apple is already making plans for what comes after smart glasses, and it’s very different to what you might imagine

*Header image is referential and showcases Xreal’s Project Aura AR glasses. | Image credit — Xreal

The race to dominate the emerging industry of AR smart glasses — which many believe will be the future of computing — is on. However, if Apple insider Mark Gurman is correct in his assessment of how the company is approaching AR smart glasses, it signals that Apple doesn’t really want to focus on them too much.

Meta has spent billions of Dollars on such glasses, with plans to bring a display-enabled pair to the market possibly as early as next month. These glasses won’t be proper AR (Augmented Reality) because they only have a single screen, but Meta is readying the real deal for 2027. Other companies are scrambling to catch up but, apparently, Apple may have other plans.



Gurman believes that Apple is considering the AirPods to be its core AI-powered wearable. There have been reports of a pair of Apple AirPods that have cameras built into them, making them just as capable as the current Meta Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses.


Apple’s approach means that it might not be considering AR to be too important, at least for now. It’s already socially acceptable to have your AirPods in at all times, so the company is betting that more people would go for its offering instead of smart glasses that might draw attention.



If this really is the company’s vision, despite reports of CEO Tim Cook’s new obsession, then I don’t think it’ll be able to hold out for too long. These AirPods will definitely be cheaper than display-enabled smart glasses, and they’ll also be a strong alternative to current display-free AI glasses.

However, true AR smart glasses should become affordable enough within a few years. When that happens, especially if there are also massive improvements in their form, the camera AirPods will fall behind very quickly, in my opinion.

These AirPods could definitely serve as Apple’s core AI wearable for the short-term, but the company really needs to get its AI problems sorted out so it can start work on proper AR glasses.

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