Apple is planning to ship its first pair of smart glasses by late 2027, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The company could unveil the product as early as late 2026, setting up what would be its most significant new hardware category since the Apple Watch.

These aren’t the augmented reality glasses the tech world has been fantasizing about for a decade. Apple’s smart glasses will have no display at all. Instead, the device will lean entirely on AI capabilities and an upgraded Siri to deliver value.

What Apple is actually building

The smart glasses will be tethered to an iPhone, functioning more like a sophisticated accessory than a standalone device. The glasses will include cameras, microphones, and speakers.

Under the hood, the glasses will run on low-power processors adapted from the Apple Watch.

Apple is currently testing four distinct frame styles, including rectangular and oval variations. Color options reportedly range from classic black to ocean blue and light brown.

A strategic pivot away from Vision Pro

Apple reportedly shifted its development priorities in late 2025, redirecting resources away from building a lighter version of the Vision Pro headset to accelerate work on the smart glasses instead.

The Vision Pro launched in early 2024 and starts at $3,499. The enhanced Siri functionality will be central to the experience, with the smart glasses representing a natural surface for Apple’s AI capabilities.

The Meta-shaped elephant in the room

Apple’s smart glasses will land directly in territory that Meta has been cultivating for years with its Ray-Ban smart glasses.

Whether Apple’s pattern of entering and redefining product categories holds for smart glasses depends on several factors, including pricing relative to Meta’s offering and the quality of Siri’s real-world AI performance. Apple’s design choices — making the glasses look as normal as possible across multiple frame styles and colors — suggest the company is acutely aware of the social acceptance hurdle around face-worn cameras.