Apple Eyes 2026 for Smart Glasses Debut, Axes Camera Watch
Credit: Ray-Ban Stories Smart Glasses
Toggle Dark Mode
Apple is planning to launch its first smart glasses by the end of next year, reports Bloomberg. The glasses are expected to include microphones and cameras, boasting AI capabilities, and would be similar to Meta’s Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses Google unveiled earlier this week.
The upcoming Apple glasses will reportedly be able to take photos and record video, give turn-by-turn directions, play music, provide translations, conduct phone calls, offer Visual Intelligence-like feedback on the wearer’s surroundings, and answer queries. However, the glasses will not include any augmented reality capabilities. Siri will be a big part of the smart glasses experience. Apple is currently working to improve its virtual personal assistant before the product’s launch.
With Apple targeting a late 2026 launch, work on the smart glasses has ramped up. Apple plans to have “large quantities” of prototypes ready by the end of this year, providing plenty of time to test the specs before mass production and a public debut.
Bloomberg says an Apple employee said that while the smart glasses are similar to Meta’s Ray-Bans, they’ll be “better made.” Apple’s smart glasses will also rely on its own in-house developed AI models, much like Meta’s and Google’s glasses, which use Meta’s Llama and Google’s Gemini, respectively.
Apple has long been rumored to be working on lightweight augmented reality glasses, and while these glasses are not them, they are an important stepping stone on the path to AR glasses. Augmented reality glasses are still years away, as chips, batteries, and other components still need to come down in size and cost.
No Cameras for the Apple Watch
Bloomberg also reported today that Apple had canceled its plans to equip future Apple Watch models with a built-in camera. The company had reportedly been developing at least one version of its wearable that would feature cameras to view the wearer’s surroundings.
The camera would not be used to take photos or videos or to make FaceTime calls. It instead would allow the user to learn more about their surroundings, using Visual Intelligence to obtain information about places and objects in their immediate area. The camera functionality could have provided hours and menus for restaurants, identified objects and plants, and also provided language translations of printed languages.
Apple reportedly planned to release camera-equipped Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra models in 2027 but is said to have canceled those plans. The reasons for the cancellation have not been shared, and Apple could, of course, still change its mind.
Apple is still reported to still be working on AirPods with tiny cameras inside. In June 2024, Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo noted Apple still had plans to sell new AirPods equipped with infrared cameras by 2026. He suggested that the infrared camera component would work similarly to the iPhone’s Face ID and would offer an enhanced spatial audio experience with Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
In March 2025, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said Apple is still working on tiny cameras for use in AirPods and that they would likely be used as infrared sensors. Gurman indicated that Apple would use the cameras to “feed data to AI.”
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
