Smart glasses from Apple & beyond

Ongoing developments may change how we see the world forever

- DAVID CROOKES

APPLE'S ENTRY INTO the spatial computing market has been a success — from a technical perspective, at least. While take-up has been on the low side (with around 500,000 units sold so far fewer than Apple's projections), Vision Pro has given us a glimpse of the future, and one that more consumers might tap into soon.

For some time, Apple has been rumored to be working on augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, which to the untrained eye will look much like ordinary specs. If current estimates hold, we could be wearing them as soon as 2027, by which time the smart specs (possibly called Apple Glass) would be rivaling similar products in what's shaping up to be a new tech battleground.

Google, for example, in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm, has developed an extended-reality operating system called Android XR for use in headsets and glasses. Integrated with Gemini AI, it will let users issue verbal instructions to translate conversations, read messages, search for information, navigate, and interpret their surroundings.

Meta's current AI glasses — stylish affairs created by RayBan — already do much of this, enabling wearers to make calls, take photos via a builtin camera, send messages, and get descriptions of items in their vicinity. The big difference is that Apple's glasses look set to launch with a broader range of advanced features, according to expert analysis.

PASSION PROJECT

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, is said to be fully invested in the development of smart glasses and keen to outsmart Meta, which has been developing a pair of augmented reality (AR) smart glasses called Orion. These specs will allow people to make hands-free video calls, manipulate digital 3D objects in the real world, and develop recipes based on ingredients that the glasses detect in a refrigerator or on a worktop.