After announcing its first-ever mixed reality headset Vision Pro, Apple is reportedly exploring new ways to provide AR & VR content to its users. And, it seems Apple has an idea about what could be its next ‘BIG’ category. According to the latest report from Mark Gurman, Apple has been surveying its employees about smart glasses as it plans to launch its own version of Meta Ray-Ban-inspired smart glasses. Apple has launched an internal study of the smart glasses market and is gathering feedback from its employees.
Apple Could Introduce Smart Glasses to Rival Meta
According to the report, the initiative, internally called “Atlas,” likely began last week, with Apple employees providing feedback and insights on smart glasses. Apple’s Products Systems Quality team sent out an email to employees, calling participants for an “upcoming user study with current market smart glasses.”
Gurman also states that it’s pretty common for Apple to gather focus groups when it plans to enter a new product category. To keep everything behind the curtain, Apple prefers to collect feedback from its employees rather than the public. The study indicates that Apple likes the idea and wants to push ahead into the Smart Glasses market.
Well, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Apple has plans to launch its own smart glasses. There have been rumors that Apple has plans to expand its wearable catalog with a Smart Ring, AirPods with Cameras, and Smart Glasses. The recent report indicates the idea of Smart Glasses is seeking a mature phase in the company.
Apple’s AR & VR Plans
Apple’s first shot in the AR & VR category was its Vision Pro headset, which wasn’t a huge success. It had mixed reviews and weaker-than-expected sales, which led Apple’s CEO Tim Cook to admit that Vision Pro isn’t a mass-market product due to its premium price tag of a whopping $3500.
Meta and Ray-Ban already offer smart glasses, and the Meta Ray-Ban collaborated pair of smart glasses has garnered quite an attention. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses are not as advanced and premium as the Apple Vision Pro, and they don’t even have a display. That said, users can still listen to songs, answer calls, and use the camera & integrated AI to capture photos and videos with the glasses. Since Vision Pro has a heavy design and an expensive price tag, Apple wants to build something lighter and cheaper that could attract the masses.
Apple might design a simple set of smart glasses with a camera, built-in speakers for music, and Siri integration. The giant could potentially include some health capabilities too. With a simple pair of glasses, Apple could boost wearable profits while working on its advanced AR glasses. The Cupertino tech giant has been struggling to make AR glasses due to high costs and technical limitations which haven’t seen a fruition.
The report suggests that Apple might take years to show its Smart Glasses to the world. Until then, Apple is prioritizing a cheaper version of Apple Vision Pro as well as the upgraded Vision Pro 2 with a faster M5 chipset and Apple Intelligence.
