Apple’s smart glasses have slipped again, and this time the delay looks less like a hiccup and more like a strategic stall. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is now aiming for a launch at the end of 2027, which likely pushes retail availability into 2028, because the visual AI features the glasses depend on still are not ready.
That matters because Apple is trying to enter a category Meta already owns in public, in stores, and in the real world. Meta has been selling AI-powered smart glasses since 2023, and its lineup keeps widening while Apple is still polishing the pitch.
Apple smart glasses still need visual AI
The glasses are internally codenamed N50 and are meant to be a lightweight Apple Intelligence device with no display. Instead, they would rely on cameras, microphones, and a direct line to Siri, which is fine in theory until the software doing the heavy lifting is late. Apple reportedly does not want to ship the product without the more advanced visual layer, and that decision has now become the bottleneck.
Siri’s core overhaul is still said to be on track for later this year, but that is a separate problem. The glasses need the smarter AI stack to feel like more than just a camera accessory with Apple branding, and Apple seems unwilling to launch half a product just to say it arrived on time.
- Planned launch target: end of 2027
- Likely retail availability: 2028
- Design: no display, cameras, microphones, Siri integration
Meta’s head start keeps compounding
Meta is no longer just the first mover here; it is now the company accumulating habits, feedback, and product polish while Apple remains in rumor mode. The Ray-Ban Meta lineup runs from $299 for the camera-and-AI model to $799 for the display version, and Meta recently added prescription-compatible frames, which quietly broadens the addressable market in a way Apple would be wise to envy.
Apple is reportedly planning multiple frame styles and distinct color options, plus front cameras arranged in an oval shape with more visible indicator lights than Meta uses. That sounds very Apple: careful, controlled, and allergic to looking like it borrowed the whole category from a rival that already sells it off the shelf.
Apple AR glasses are still far off
Gurman’s report suggests Apple sees smart eyewear as a long-term platform that could eventually become a health device, with proper AR glasses coming later. But the timeline keeps stretching: true Apple AR is not expected before 2030. For now, the company is trying to build a stepping stone, and even that step seems to keep moving away.
The open question is whether Apple is being patient or simply late. Meta has had two years of real-world usage data and keeps expanding the category, which means Apple may still enter with better hardware and tighter software, but into a market that has already learned not to wait for Cupertino.