In his newsletter Power On, Apple insider Mark Gurman says that by the time there is a pair of smart glasses to complement the iPhone, Meta will have already established dominance. In fact, Apple may only release a pair of glasses that doesn’t come with a display, while Meta will have had a product with a screen for approximately a year.
Meta has seen unprecedented success with its Ray-Ban smart glasses, and has followed that up with a new pair of smart glasses made with Oakley. Apple reportedly wanted in on the hype train, but its ambitions have been delayed again and again because of the slow progress of Apple Intelligence.
Meta is now preparing to launch a pair of glasses that have a screen, albeit not a proper AR (Augmented Reality) display. The company wants these glasses to bridge the gap until its launch of a consumer version of the Orion smart glasses in 2027.
Meta’s new Oakley smart glasses expand on the success of the Ray-Ban glasses before them. | Video credit — Oakley
Apple, meanwhile, will be late to the market, with there being no deadline as of yet for the launch of its smart glasses. When the company will get around to actually making a pair of AR glasses, and not just a display-free product, is up in the air. For all we know, it might not even happen.
I think it will, though. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is convinced that AR glasses are the future of smartphones, and has invested billions of Dollars into research. Following in Meta’s footsteps, Samsung is re-entering the XR (Extended Reality) industry with Project Moohan: a new MR (Mixed Reality) headset.
Apple isn’t giving up on XR, either. The Apple Vision Pro is getting an upgrade, possibly this year. This possible Apple Vision Pro 2 is a marginal improvement, and is also simply meant to keep the company relevant in the market until it can deliver a better product down the line.