With previous rumours pointing toward Apple diving deeper into the smart glasses and XR space, a new update from an industry analyst suggests that the Cupertino giant could launch seven wearable devices in the next three years.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has a roadmap with seven head-wearable devices, including Meta Ray-Ban-like smart glasses and XR glasses. The roadmap also includes Vision Pro, a more affordable XR headset Vision Air, and a smart glasses display accessory.
Findings suggest the next Vision Pro powered by Apple M5 silicon could launch in Q3 2025, but the next product may not arrive until Q2 2027. Apple's answer to Ray-Ban Metas could arrive in Q2 2027, followed by the most anticipated Vision Air, a more affordable version of Apple's XR headset.
Fast-forward another year, we could see Apple's XR glasses which could perchance be similar to Meta's upcoming glasses with a built-in display and Google's Android XR-powered glasses. The same year, Apple could unveil the second generation Vision Pro headset. The display accessory and next-gen XR glasses could arrive in 2028 or later.
Apple views head-mounted devices as the next major trend in consumer electronics. The company currently has at least seven projects in development, comprising three Vision series products and four smart glasses variants. Five of these products have confirmed development timelines, while two remain TBD.
— Ming-Chi Kuo
Apple expects to ship over 3 million smart glasses in 2027, and a total of 10 million units by the end of 2027. The Vision Air is expected to be significantly lighter and could use Apple's then latest iPhone processor. Apple's smart glasses could leverage AI and are expected to be very similar to the Ray-Ban Meta. They could feature audio playback and camera for video recording.
Lastly, the XR Glasses, while featuring Apple's AI, could also feature a display. There also seems to be another variant of the same in development with “lower visibility”, but not much is known about it yet. The display accessory, on the other hand, could be used to stream content from Apple devices and could feature electrochromic dimming.
Apple might not have the competitive edge right now, but sure is betting big on head wearables. It should be interesting to see how the current technologies from the likes of Meta and Google mature until the Cupertino giant puts out its first device on the market.
