Apple Is Asking Its Employees What They Think About Smart Glasses
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In the wake of this year’s release of its Vision Pro headset, Apple is now looking at additional ways to deliver augmented and virtual reality content to its customers. Several reports this year have indicated the Cupertino firm is considering releasing new smart glasses. Now, it’s said to be conducting an internal survey focusing on the product category.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the initiative, known internally as “Atlas,” kicked off last week. It asked Apple employees for their thoughts and feedback about smart glasses. The group leading the initiative emailed select employees, asking them to participate in an upcoming user study about the smart glasses marketplace.
“Testing and developing products that all can come to love is very important to what we do at Apple. This is why we are looking for participants to join us in an upcoming user study with current market smart glasses,” the email read.
As noted by Bloomberg, Apple often forms secret internal groups when first developing a new product category. The company prefers to gather employee feedback rather than from the general public to keep its plans under wraps. The internal study indicates that Apple is leaning toward building and offering its own smart glasses.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman first reported in February that Apple was working on simpler smart glasses to compete with Amazon’s Echo Frames and Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses. The glasses reportedly would not provide a complete augmented-reality experience. Instead, they would focus on simpler tasks, such as taking videos, playing music, answering calls, and talking to chatbots.
Gurman said the Apple smart glasses would be positioned as more of an alternative to the AirPods rather than the Vision Pro and would carry a more reasonable price tag.
The smart glasses would likely resemble the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, lacking a display but allowing users to listen to songs, talk to Siri, place and answer calls, and capture photos and videos. They would be cheaper and lighter than the expensive and heavy Vision Pro headsets, appealing more to the casual user.
As noted by the Bloomberg report, Apple has explored the possibility of making a lightweight augmented reality device that could be worn all day and possibly replace the iPhone. However, the development of that project has faced delays due to numerous technical challenges.
Apple’s rivals are also working on augmented reality glasses. Meta and Snap Inc. have both previewed AR glasses to app developers, pushing them as wearables that can offer a blend of the real world with digital overlays of messages and apps. However, neither product will be ready for prime time for at least a few years. Currently, the prototypes are tools to get app developers to buy into the concept and explore developing apps for it.
The report says that it will likely be years before Apple unveils a pair of smart glasses to customers. Until then, the company continues to work on a lower-priced version of the Vision Pro and a second-generation headset with a more powerful chip.
[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.]
