Apple is reportedly considering a change in its mixed reality strategy. New reports from trusted Apple analysts suggest that the company may be moving from cheap Vision Pro headset and looks more like a pair of smart glasses. It’s still early, and Apple may finally have something in store Meta’s $300 Ray-Ban mirrors and legends the Meta Orion prototype. I’m still asking a company to make glasses that feel comfortable to wear.
We have heard rumors Wishes for Apple’s smart glasses. Late Monday, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple had conducted internal research on a system called Atlas. Gurman’s unnamed sources say the Cupertino tech giant is asking its employees about smart glasses. According to a letter cited by Bloomberg, the company is looking for employees to share their thoughts on an “upcoming user survey with current market smart glasses. “
It’s an interesting time, as Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in his Twitter page Sunday that Apple was delaying its plans for a cheaper Apple Vision Pro “beyond 2027.” Instead, the best we could hope for on the AVP front is a new Pro model in 2025 with an M5 processor. The current model uses the M2, and it already is it has a lot of power and a lot of things you can do with it. The current Vision Pro costs $3,500, and Apple CEO Tim Cook has one said plainly it’s the kind of device that will have a limited market.
So, which companies have smart glasses? Currently, the field is small. There is XReal, the makers of Air 2 Ultra and compatibility Beam Pro. There are also more obscure concepts like the Spacetop G1, which is a laptop with attached AR glasses made by Sightful. And, of course, there is the Meta. While the Orion is still an expensive model, the original has only been used by a select few other than the Meta. We went hand in hand with the Ray-Ban Meta. They are good for taking pictures and calls, but I can definitely do it don’t call them the next big thing in AI wearables in their current state.
Meta was reportedly initially surprised at how Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses were selling. Part of that success, of course, is due to brand recognition. Even with their long frame making room for twin sensors, the glasses look like they could fit any tanned beach bro face. After major tech players considered wooing the glasses maker, Meta seems to have closed its deal with EssilorLuxottica, the owners of the Ray-Ban brand. The company released updated glasses this year with replacement lenses.
Still, even the relatively added weight of Ray-Bans makes them more comfortable than a regular pair of sunglasses. Anywhere, and it begins to wear on the bridge of the users’ noses. However, if any company can emphasize form, even to the detriment of function, it is Apple. Vision Pro is a great example of that. Its metal frame and dim external display make it a heavier headset than Apple’s contemporaries like the Meta Quest 3 and 3S.
A pair of real AR glasses is a real football tool for any tech company. Meta and Apple dream of a wearable computer that lets you see and produce content right in front of your eyes. In the meantime, I long for the company to make something I want to wear all the time. Apple has been very aware of this fact in the past, but despite Silicon Valley’s obsession with packing as many features as possible inside a single doohickey, sometimes less is more.
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