Apple Planning Smart Glasses and AirPods With Cameras for 2027

Apple is working on smart glasses and AirPods with built-in cameras for a potential release in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The devices are said to be part of Apple's efforts to expand its augmented reality product lineup beyond the Vision Pro headset with something that has wider appeal.

Apple Glasses Triad Feature
The push for new AR products comes as the Vision Pro faces challenges in the market. Many users find the $3,500 headset too heavy for extended use, expensive, and prone to overheating, relegating it to niche status. Interest in the device has reportedly waned since its launch, with sales falling short of Apple's expectations.

In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman reports that Apple's Vision Products Group is now looking beyond the Vision Pro and considering launching smart glasses comparable to Meta's Ray-Ban collaboration. The smart glasses and camera-equipped AirPods are intended to make use of the billions of dollars invested in the Vision Pro's visual intelligence capabilities. This technology allows devices to analyze their surroundings and provide relevant information to users.

A software update coming later this year will bring a similar feature to iPhone 16 models: Users will be able to open the Camera app and point it at an object to get information about that object with a click and hold gesture. Pointing it at a restaurant, for example, will bring up hours and ratings, while pointing it at a plant will identify the plant. Using visual control with something that has a date, such as a flyer, will add the date to the Calendar app.

Apple's smart glasses and AirPods with cameras are still in the planning stages, but are said to represent Apple's strategy to bring augmented reality features to more accessible form factors. The company is reportedly concerned about its current position in the AR market, with Meta already offering smart glasses at a lower price point.

Gurman also mentioned Apple's plans for nearer-term Vision Pro iterations. A lower-cost version of the headset, priced around $2,000, could arrive as early as next year, while a second-generation Vision Pro with an upgraded processor is reportedly slated for 2026.

Related Forums: AirPods, Apple Vision Pro

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Latest iPhone 17 Series CAD Images in Line With Redesign Rumors

Friday February 28, 2025 2:51 am PST by
Apple is expected to embrace a new camera system design for some models in its upcoming iPhone 17 series, and the latest purported CAD images don't deviate from what we have been hearing lately about Apple's new lineup. If you do not like the sound of an iPhone with a Google Pixel-style camera bar, look away now. Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson shared the following images in a post on X...
iphone 16e usb c feature

Apple Provides Reason for iPhone 16e's Lack of MagSafe

Friday February 28, 2025 4:39 am PST by
Apple has offered a reason why the iPhone 16e doesn't include MagSafe, one of the more notable omissions from its latest entry-level smartphone. According to Apple representatives who spoke to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because "most people in the iPhone 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging...
apple intelligence black

These New Apple Intelligence Features Are Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday February 28, 2025 3:17 pm PST by
iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April. Priority Notifications Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at ...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
apple c1

How Fast is Apple's First-Ever 5G Modem? The Results Are Surprising

Friday February 28, 2025 10:08 am PST by
iPhone 16e reviews are now out, and Apple's custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the test. The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected. While the C1 does not support ultra-fast mmWave 5G in the U.S., it appears to offer comparable 5G performance to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem found in the iPhone 16,...

Top Rated Comments

stocklen Avatar
20 weeks ago
Must be fun to be Mark.

Make up any old Tutt and say its a few years away with no repercussions or people picking him up on when its total fantasy.

Cameras in AirPods? really?
Has he thought about this Nostradamus level prediction?
How does this work for people with long hair? Those cameras are going to have a great view.
Privacy? Apple's main thing is privacy. Cameras in AirPods that you can wear to the gym and have on in the changing rooms/showers? Really?

This is one of the 'Gurman grains of salt' predictions that we get a lot of.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
20 weeks ago
AirPods will have IR cameras, not RGB. Kao talked about this months ago. Will allow in-air gestures.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goobot Avatar
20 weeks ago
No way they can make a worthwhile pair of smart glasses that quickly, try 10 years from now maybe
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wanha Avatar
20 weeks ago
I'm all for Gurman's product rumors, but I can't stand his Apple commentary of late.

In this particular newsletter, he first writes:

"Apple blew billions on a car project that it shut down earlier this year, and the company’s Vision Pro hasn’t yet proved that a face-worn technology can be a hit."

But then later in the same newsletter goes on to say:

"The company has a stable base of revenue, at nearly $400 billion a year, but Apple can’t coast forever."

Well which one is it, Mark? Is Apple coasting or is Apple blowing billions on trying to find/create new product categories?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anaxarxes Avatar
20 weeks ago

I looked through the original article by Gurman, and he did meant actual Airpods with built-in camera. So they’re separate from the smart glasses.
rumors could be far from actual products :)



Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrysisDeu Avatar
20 weeks ago
lol too slow.. good luck
I would buy one if they released last year
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)