The Cupertino giant has been working on smart glasses for years, and if you were hoping to buy a pair this year, Bloomberg has some disappointing news for you.
According to Mark Gurman, Apple’s smart glasses, internally codenamed N50, have been delayed past their original timeline. The initial plan was to introduce them at the end of 2026 and ship by early 2027. Now, they’re targeting a late 2027 launch.
Why is Apple so late to a market Meta already owns?
The delay doesn’t come as a surprise at all.
The N50 smart glasses depend heavily on the revamped Siri, which has been the single most consistent source of delays across the company’s entire product roadmap.
Call it the revamped Siri or Siri 2.0, it has been holding back not just the smart glasses but also the AirPods with cameras, along with a range of other smart home devices where Siri serves as the central interaction layer.
Meanwhile, Meta has spent two years building momentum with its AI-infused smart glasses. More Meta announcements in the smart glasses space are expected as soon as June.
What is Apple actually building?
Even though its devices are delayed, I’ll give Apple some credit for building ambitious products.
The first Apple glasses will feature oval-shaped cameras, multiple frame styles, and unique color options. Like every other Apple product, they will connect to the iPhone and leverage the company’s ecosystem of over two billion active devices.
Over time, Apple believes the glasses could evolve into a health device. Future iterations of the device could also incorporate augmented reality. True AR glasses, however, are not expected before the end of this decade.
Apple wants to go after the $200 billion global eyewear market, targeting the $200 to $500 segment.
To me, it looks like Apple is following the watch playbook with its smart glasses. The company decimated Fossil and Swatch by making a tech device that competed with fashion accessories. However, while the Apple Watch was among the first mainstream smartwatches on the market, the smart glasses market is already a growing category dominated by Meta.