Apple is preparing to launch smart glasses by 2027 — Bloomberg
Apple is working on developing smart glasses, which it plans to unveil by the end of 2027. The company views the new device as an opportunity to radically transform the eyewear market, much like the Apple Watch did for the watch industry in its day.
This is according to Bloomberg.
When Apple entered the smartwatch market in 2015, it was already home to Pebble, Samsung, Motorola, and others. But the company didn’t target the gadget segment; instead, it aimed for the traditional market of wristwatches priced up to $1,000—and won. According to Bloomberg, Swatch’s revenue in 2025 was 28% lower than in the year before the Apple Watch launch, and Fossil lost about 70% of its sales.
Now Apple sees a similar scenario unfolding with glasses. The smart glasses market is still young—roughly at the same stage smartwatches were at ten years ago. However, the real target is traditional eyewear in the $200–500 range, dominated by EssilorLuxottica (Ray-Ban, Oakley, Chanel), Safilo (Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss), and Warby Parker.
The scale is staggering: according to the World Health Organization, 2.2 billion people worldwide have vision impairments, and the global eyewear market is estimated at approximately $200 billion annually.
The main competitor is Meta with its Ray-Ban line, which is actively expanding its features: the glasses recently gained gesture-based car control and support for third-party developers. Meta also has retail partnerships, notably with LensCrafters, and is the first brand consumers associate with smart glasses.
Apple is banking on its signature design, integration with the iPhone, and artificial intelligence features. The device, codenamed N50, will feature oval cameras, several frame options, and unique colors. Over time, the glasses could evolve into a health device and eventually incorporate augmented reality—though true AR glasses aren’t expected until the end of the decade.
Apple’s weak point is its closed ecosystem. Since the company doesn’t work with Android, Meta has a chance to fully capture this audience. Globally, Android is bigger than iOS, so even Apple’s entry into the market could play into the competitor’s hands—by sparking interest in smart glasses in general.
In addition, Bloomberg reports on several other plans the company has. The updated Siri app in iOS 27 will sync conversations across all of a user’s devices via iCloud—just as ChatGPT and Gemini already do. At the same time, Apple has already begun development of iOS 28 and macOS 28: the updates have been codenamed Bell (iOS/iPadOS) and Poppy (macOS), and together they are referred to internally as “Boppy.” iOS 28 will launch alongside an anniversary iPhone to mark the device’s 20th anniversary.
Both devices have been hardware-ready for several months—their release was held back until the arrival of the updated Siri and Apple Intelligence, scheduled for the fall. Apple TV will get a new chip, and the HomePod mini will gain support for AI features thanks to the replacement of its seven-year-old S5 processor.
As a reminder, a YouTuber was arrested in South Korea for fake AI audio.
Google’s AI Overview feature generates millions of incorrect answers every hour—NYT.
As a reminder, Japan is replacing people with robots on a massive scale due to the demographic crisis.
Also, Gemini will introduce mental health monitoring following lawsuits.
