Cupertino, California, April 14, 2026, 05:08 PDT.
Apple is testing at least four frame styles for its first smart glasses and lining up a 2027 challenge to Meta’s Ray-Ban lineup, reports published over the weekend said. The options run from Wayfarer-like rectangles to slimmer frames resembling those worn by Chief Executive Tim Cook.
The timing matters. Apple is pushing deeper into one of the few AI hardware categories that has shown clear consumer traction, after Vision Pro struggled to win broad adoption and after some Siri upgrades were delayed into 2026. Screen-free glasses — meaning no digital images projected into the lens — would also be a lighter, cheaper bet than full augmented reality, which overlays graphics on the real world.
Meta already has the lead. Global smart-glasses shipments reached 9.6 million units in 2025, with Meta taking about 76.1% of the market, IDC research director Ramon Llamas told Reuters, which cited expectations for shipments to rise to 13.4 million this year. Meta widened that push on March 31 when it unveiled two new $499 Ray-Ban prescription models.
Apple’s reported answer leans hard on design. Bloomberg and follow-up reports said the company is making the frames in-house, using acetate rather than standard plastic, testing finishes such as black, ocean blue and light brown, and opting for vertically oriented oval camera lenses with surrounding indicator lights instead of Meta’s round camera look.
The glasses described in the reports would not carry a display. Instead they would use cameras, microphones, speakers and other sensors to take photos and video, handle calls, play music, relay notifications and support Siri and visual tools that interpret what the wearer is looking at, while working alongside the iPhone and other Apple devices.
That would put Apple closest to Meta’s current Ray-Bans, not to bulkier headsets. Snap said last week that its Specs unit would use Qualcomm chips in consumer smart glasses due later this year, while Google and Warby Parker said in December they planned lightweight AI glasses for 2026 as part of a broader push that also includes models with in-lens displays.
Analysts say the contest may turn on style and software as much as raw hardware. “This shift means success will hinge not just on technology but on fashion and comfort,” IDC’s Jitesh Ubrani said in December, while Francisco Jeronimo of IDC told Reuters in January that “success will depend less on breakthrough hardware innovation, but more on ecosystem integration and software value.” IDC
Even Meta is pitching the market as bigger than a gadget niche. “Billions of people wear glasses or contacts for vision correction,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last month as Meta launched the new prescription models. Llamas, in IDC’s December outlook, said “Meta has a strong start, but both Apple and Google bring expertise, applications, and an installed base of users.” Reuters
But the path could still twist. Reuters reported in May 2025 that Apple had been targeting the end of 2026 for a launch, earlier than the 2027 timing now being cited, and the glasses’ reported reliance on Siri comes after Apple said some assistant upgrades would be delayed until 2026. IDC has also warned that battery life, privacy concerns, thin app ecosystems and the challenge of proving everyday usefulness could slow adoption.
For now, the latest reports suggest Apple is narrowing its first move: not full AR eyewear, but a lighter AI accessory meant to sit beside the iPhone. That sets up the next phase of the smart-glasses race as a test of comfort, design and ecosystem discipline — and whether Apple can make a face-worn computer feel ordinary enough to wear all day.
