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Apple Glasses are coming, but not how you might expect. In this interview, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman joins Tom's Guide's Mark Spoonauer to break down the latest insights on Apple’s real plan for AI wearables, including display-less smart glasses, AirPods with cameras and even a wearable AI pendant.
We get into the expected timeline (hint: 2027), the features Apple is betting on, and why everything hinges on a completely revamped Siri powered in part by Google’s Gemini models.
If you’ve been waiting for Apple’s next big thing after Vision Pro, this is the closest look yet at what’s actually coming... and what could still go wrong.
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0:00
Easily one of the most anticipated gadgets of the next few years are going to be Apple Glasses
0:07
But what form will they take and what other AI wearables could be coming
0:11
The best person to answer this question is Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, and we have him here today
0:16
And Mark, welcome to the program here. Mark, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it
0:21
So let's talk about Apple Glasses, because I think that no one else has reported on this rumored device than yourself
0:29
And I think that probably the first question that people are going to have is, what are they and when can we expect them
0:37
Yeah, my strong belief and from everything that I've been told is Apple is going into the display list smart glasses game
0:46
They will release this product likely in the first half of next year
0:50
So 2027. And the idea is to build basically what Meta has done and what some of these other smart glasses makers have done
0:58
but at an Apple fit and finish in an Apple quality. You've seen Apple come into product categories late or after many of its competitors
1:06
its peers in Silicon Valley, in China and elsewhere, and bring a different quality level to it
1:12
You know, you're going to see that with the foldable phone later in the year, right
1:16
Foldables have existed for a very long time. Apple's functionality will be very similar
1:21
The concept will be very similar. but you're going to see some Apple details like improved durability and less visible crease in the display
1:30
And with the smart glasses, the idea is to come in with a product that has, you know, different fit and finish level, different materials
1:36
and obviously integrated heavily into the Apple ecosystem, pairing with your iPhone, using Siri, using visual intelligence
1:46
having higher end camera systems, using Apple developed computer vision. So differentiating in some key ways from the Meta product, but also being very similar to the product from Meta and Google and from other companies
1:59
Yeah, I guess that's probably my first question then after that is like you mentioned design, like the fit and finish
2:05
Obviously, that's going to help maybe the quality of the cameras, I think, as you've reported on before
2:09
Are they enough to make these glasses stand out? Well, the Apple brand is so strong, so keep that as one factor
2:19
The other factor is that while the iPhone is compatible with competing wearables, compatible with the meta smart glasses, the way that Apple limits interoperability, even with the new regulations from the EU and elsewhere, means that no third-party product is going to play as nicely with the iPhone as smart glasses developed by Apple
2:40
Just like even though there's new features to pair with third-party smart watches, nothing plays as nice with the iPhone in the watch space as the Apple Watch
2:48
And so you're going to see that as another factor. And then, of course, on top of that is branding, Apple design, Apple style, the way Apple is going to try to upsell people who buy an iPhone and try to get them to buy smart glasses to work with their iPhone at the time of purchase
3:04
They have a lot of ingredients to sell a lot of these smart glasses, I think
3:08
What about use cases, though? Because I think a lot of people think, OK, well, is it just like a smartphone on your face? Obviously, it's much more than that. It's meant to be actually just more like an accessory to your smartphone
3:18
In your reporting, you do mention some of those use cases like navigation or if you're at a store, maybe you see something on the shelf and it reminds you like, hey, you need to pick this up or you put this on your reminder list
3:30
What are some use cases that you've been hearing in terms of why would people want to wear these glasses
3:37
Yeah, that's exactly right. The use cases at this point are to make this device an accessory to your iPhone
3:43
Some people working on the Apple wearables have called these devices sort of the eyes and ears to the smartphone for the AI and cloud era
3:53
The computer vision cameras, obviously, you're going to be able to take high resolution pictures
3:58
And the frame point of taking pictures from the smart glasses, taking video from the smart glasses gives you some unique standpoints and features from a creativity standpoint for photography and videography
4:10
The other thing is Siri. They need to get this new Siri out the door in order to make these smart glasses functional or usable in any proper way
4:19
We'll see how good their visual models are. But in terms of overall features, you're talking about many of the same things that Meta and others have been doing for years with their smart glasses
4:28
In addition to capturing media, looking at something and asking what it is
4:32
I've talked about visual reminders. One cool potential use case is walking down the street, using the built-in speakers in the smart glasses to be told where you're going in turn-by-turn directions and maps
4:43
And rather it tell you to make a left in 400 feet, it says make a left by the gray hotel or the white minivan or whatnot
4:52
So getting that more, getting more context by using those cameras. Obviously, you'll do phone calls, you'll do music
4:58
They're going to be AirPods essentially with more battery life and health sensors and functionality
5:03
So it's an accessory. It's not going to change the world. But until Apple is able to figure out a way to do augmented reality glasses you know with displays at normal cost at normal battery life at normal processing power this is the reality
5:20
Yeah, I mean, obviously Vision OS glasses are on the horizon. But in the meantime, as you mentioned, like these glasses, the display less glasses don't happen or won't be well received without a new and improved Siri
5:33
And we both know that it's been delayed for literally years at this point
5:37
So how vital is the new Siri and visual intelligence for these new glasses
5:43
And what can you tell us about how far along that is at this point
5:47
Yeah, it's actually wild. The new Siri is likely not going to launch until September iOS 27 timeframe, which means
5:55
it's going to launch over two years, about two and a quarter years after it was introduced
6:02
About two years after it was initially supposed to launch. So definitely not a good look for Apple. Obviously, they've partnered with Google here
6:11
What they've done is they've taken the Gemini model and they've taken the core infrastructure, the core technology in that model, popped open the hood of its existing Apple Foundation models and brought some of that technology into it
6:23
It's sort of like you take two cars, you have a low-end car and a high-end car, and you take parts of the high-end car's engine and stuff it into the low-end car's engine to give that a better engine in that lower-end car
6:36
That's sort of what Apple's doing here by taking some of that Gemini technology and putting it in its foundation model infrastructure
6:43
Now, of course, as Siri glasses, and that's really what they are, or an accessory for Apple intelligence and that new Siri interface
6:52
you're going to have to rely heavily on those models to work properly. And so the real risk for Apple wasn't necessarily Siri no longer working well on the iPhone, the Mac, the iPad, their existing devices
7:02
it's that they're not able to launch their next range of devices without this functionality
7:08
The smart glasses are one example. There's AirPods with cameras they've been working on
7:12
So these AI-ified earbuds, you've got a pin or a pendant that you can wear on your shirt
7:18
or around your neck as a necklace. And then they've been working on these smart home devices for several years
7:25
including a smart home hub, basically a device geared towards competing with the Amazon Echo Show
7:30
and what people call bringing Siri to life. They've been trying to launch that for two years now, and you can't do that without the new Siri
7:37
And so we'll see that in the fall. You have to wonder if they have to redesign it at a certain point
7:43
But yeah, I guess we'll come to that later. We were talking very briefly about Gemini and how important that is to the new model
7:50
and that it is going to be under the hood for the new Siri. So how much of a help will it be that the new Siri will be Gemini-powered, whether it's on your phone or on your face
8:02
You know, everything I've heard is that Apple has figured out and cracked the code on this new Siri thanks to those Gemini models
8:10
They've been running behind quite a bit. They initially wanted to get this Gemini Siri out as part of an announcement in February and then release it to customers by the end of March
8:19
Right. That was postponed into May and now postponed into September. It feels like a replay of when they thought they got Siri right a year ago after some of the initial delays
8:28
But at this point, I do believe it'll launch as part of iOS 27. They have no choice but to get it out at this point
8:34
They've burned so many bridges with customers and developers, a lot of marketing spend on this
8:39
So they're going to have to bring that to market. So I do think it's going to be effective
8:44
Just to be clear, so this Gemini partnership that they're paying, you know, a billion plus a year for, this is to get that model technology
8:52
So it's not like when you go into Siri by default, it will run Google services or run the same interface and conversational abilities as Gemini
9:02
But what Apple is doing is they are revamping their own Siri interface for iOS 27, coming out with a Siri app, revamping Siri to operate like a chatbot, like Gemini
9:15
And then they're also coming out with a new feature called extensions, which means if there are third-party chatbots on the App Store that you like and the developer wants to do this, they can get an entitlement so you can enable those chatbots to work within the Siri interface
9:30
It's basically what Apple has allowed with ChatGPT since 2024 as part of Siri and Apple intelligence, but opening it up to any third-party chatbot via the App Store
9:39
Sure. All right. So a quick follow-up then. And so is it your understanding that obviously it's not going to be called Gemini, but will the new Siri have a Gemini Live type feature where you're having a real time conversation with that chat bot while you're wearing the glasses
9:56
That is the intent. I don't think it's going to be as spectacular as what you've seen from the open AI voice mode or the chat GPT live voice mode that you mentioned
10:06
But there is going to be back and forth conversational ability in Siri for the first time for sure
10:11
Okay, so let's talk about the competition. I mean, we touched on what's happening with Android XR and Gemini
10:18
and I've had a chance to demo some of those early glasses and have been very impressed with even the early capabilities especially when you integrate services like Google Maps But then you also have MetaRayBan which is clearly the leader right now Google not shipping anything and neither is its partners but they will be
10:33
So when you look at the landscape, both Meta now and what Google and Samsung are going to be bringing to the table
10:40
where do you feel like the Apple will stack up against the competition? I have to tell you, if you look at the past when Apple has ruled out new products like the Apple Watch
10:51
like the AirPods, they come into these existing markets and they basically vanquish them
10:57
They weren't able to do that with the car. Obviously, the Vision Pro is a huge flop and a
11:01
major miss. It cost them tens of billions of dollars over a decade and what have you
11:07
I do feel, though, that Apple has the proper ingredients to pull off the smart glasses
11:12
If the voice assistant works, if it plays as nicely with the iPhone as it should be as an
11:18
Apple product. If the designs look great and effective, I think they're going to quickly begin
11:23
outselling Meta and Google. The one leg up that Google's going to have is partnership with big
11:29
brands like Warby Parker. The leg up that Meta has is that first mover advantage
11:36
the compatibility with Android and iOS. And also, I went to LensCrafters the other day to get
11:42
normal glasses. They're marketing these MetaSmart glasses through Ray-Ban very well. And so Apple's going to be competing its brand with big glasses brands like Warby Parker, Ray-Ban, Oakley, obviously XR Luxottica
11:59
And so let's see how they stack up. I think Apple's going to do quite well. But overall, my take is that the glasses category is being held back by the lack of AR
12:08
I don't think the non-display glasses are particularly useful. I think the meta Ray-Ban displays are a taste of where things are going
12:17
But hopefully those come sooner than I think they will, because displays are really the
12:22
future of this glasses category. No, I would agree. Right. Like, well, these are like stepping stones
12:27
But in terms of how these glasses are going to be sold, I think what's really interesting
12:30
is that it seems like Apple is going to be going all alone and not partnering with the
12:35
likes of LensCrafters or Warby Parker or others. And there's been recent reporting about some of the challenges that they had rolling out
12:42
the Vision Pro because they didn't have enough training for the people in their stores. Is it a little bit of a gamble to put all of their eggs in the Apple store basket if that's indeed what they're doing
12:54
I don't think it's a gamble. I think the Vision Pro, the fundamental problems of the Vision Pro came down to the price, $4,000 with a tax and some accessories
13:05
You add it all up, you can get to $4,500, $5,000 if you get all the accoutrement around it and AppleCare and what have you
13:14
a fully enclosed device, wearing something like a helmet or a visor around your head
13:20
the limited applications, limited appeal for so many different reasons. So I think the smart
13:24
glasses is a completely different category. So many people, billions of people potentially could
13:31
use these things across people who need prescriptions, right? It could help you from
13:36
that standpoint. People who want to use it for accessibility purposes and people who just want
13:40
the next hot new gadget or an earbuds replacement or something for fitness tracking or what have you
13:46
So I do think these things are going to be successful. And I think while the retail stores may have not done anything to sell the Vision Pro
13:57
I don't think it necessarily hurt sales of the Vision Pro because I didn't think it was going to sell well to begin with
14:03
In terms of the Apple stores with the smart glasses, I think it's going to be very much
14:07
a net positive. Okay. Okay. So what about the privacy issue though? Because when it comes to marketing
14:12
I think there's already starting to be a little bit of a backlash around the Meta glasses
14:17
especially with people like filming and other people may not know that it's happening. Do you have any understanding of how Apple is going to address privacy in the smart glasses space
14:28
Oh, I think what's going on with Meta. First of all, let me say, I'm not sure Meta is getting a
14:33
fair shake on this. I think some of their Cambridge ytica and other baggages is
14:38
holding them back in the privacy realm. Obviously, they do some things that people don't like and
14:43
they have to work on that. But I do think they're being held back a bit and I think there's been a
14:48
lot of controversy there that's not 100% fair. But that being said, this is amazing for Apple
14:54
Apple has been learning over the last several months exactly what the issues are, exactly what
14:59
customers don't want, exactly how meta has messed up so they can attack them right from the forefront
15:04
and say, they do this, this, and that, we do the exact opposite across all of these different
15:09
marks. So I think the controversy for smart glasses is actually an opportunity for Apple
15:15
Okay. And then before we segue to the other AI wearables that Apple is supposedly working on
15:21
what is your most up-to-date timetable for vision OS slash AR glasses coming from Apple
15:27
Yeah, I don't anticipate AR glasses, Vision OS glasses from Apple before 2028 at the earliest
15:36
I think it could be even later in the decade I don think they going to do it until they can get it right And they are meaningfully away at this point Okay Well that just another Siri away So we good Right There you go So what about these other AI wearables that you reported on
15:52
including the AirPods with cameras? Because I think when a lot of people hear that, they're like
15:56
why would I want cameras on my AirPods? So maybe just explain that real quick in terms of
16:00
what the benefits would be. And is that actually coming this year? Yeah, the camera AirPods Pro, this is not about taking pictures or capturing video
16:10
These are low quality IR cameras, so to speak, to measure the surrounding world
16:17
So the same things I explained that you can do not in terms of media capture on smart glasses
16:23
So understanding the world around you, looking at things, helping give context for visual reminders
16:30
helping give context or turn-by-turn directions. Those are what cameras on the AirPods would enable
16:37
And so you'll see people who want to buy the glasses. You'll see people who want to buy the AirPods
16:41
You maybe will see people who want to buy both. But these were the original sort of Apple AI wearable that they were looking at
16:49
And so I expect those to launch as well in the next year or so
16:52
and be a complement and an alternative to the glasses. Do you see it being as like a third tier of AirPods
16:59
like AirPods Ultra, or do you think they slot in where the AirPods Pro are now
17:04
You know, it will be a bit more expensive to get the cameras into the AirPods. And there may be some
17:11
people who don't want AirPods with the cameras built in. And so I think it would make a lot of
17:17
sense to me that maybe these will initially, and again, I'm speculating here, it would make sense
17:21
to me for these to be another tier on top, maybe something like you said, an AirPods Ultra
17:27
And then, you know, eventually I think the Pro and Ultra lines will probably converge
17:32
Okay. And then what about the AI pendant? So what do you know about this product
17:36
And do you feel like it's still in development? Absolutely. The pendant is designed to be worn as a necklace
17:43
So there'll be accessories to wear it around your neck. There'll be accessories to be able to pin it on your person, on your shirt, on your sweater, on your jacket or what have you
17:50
And again, this is an eyes and ears product. Maybe there are people who don't want to wear AirPods
17:56
Maybe there are people who don't want to wear smart glasses, but you still want to be able to feed that contextual data to your iPhone, to the cloud for Apple intelligence and for Siri
18:05
So that's the alternative product for you. I don't think this will be nearly as successful as the AI AirPods or the smart glasses
18:13
But if Apple wants to capture as much data as possible for context and for AI, obviously
18:18
they'll tout this in a privacy centric manner as their differentiator. they have to hit all the major wearable categories. So it seems like they knew they were running
18:25
behind here. And so they're throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it. Okay. So last question for me is like, how does this all come together? So if Apple is going to
18:34
be rolling out smart glasses, like, cause I think the initial reporting is like, maybe they
18:38
tease it this year, but then it wrote like it's produced next year, but then maybe that's slipping
18:42
at this point. Do you see that like Apple doing like a special event around AI devices and wearables
18:49
and smart glasses or do you see it like as an add-on to what else they're doing? Like
18:53
what's your sense on how like this will all come together? You know, the plan for some time has been to introduce the smart glasses in September
19:00
October timeframe of this year, and then roll them out early in 2027. If you look at what they've got
19:08
for the tail end of 2026, they don't have that much at this point. And so you kind of want the
19:15
smart glasses in there. Like at this point, I don't think rolling out minor tweaks to the 17
19:20
Pro and Pro Max with the 18 models, the foldable phone, the touch MacBook Pro and the smart home
19:26
device, like it screams for something more, especially in this AI moment. And so I'd be
19:31
pretty surprised if they did not introduce them before the end of the year, even if it's going to
19:35
take several months for them to actually reach customers. And the other thing is you really want
19:39
these, if you're Apple, to be introduced before the holiday season, because you don't want one
19:44
more cycle for Meta to get momentum selling these glasses, especially given they're going to be very
19:50
giftable. And you want to sort of pull the rug out from under Google and Warby Parker and some of
19:55
the other brands who are launching their glasses at the end of the year. I believe Samsung as well
19:59
So from a marketing standpoint, I'd be pretty surprised if they didn't do an introduction
20:03
before the end of the year. Yeah. So they may be late to the category
20:07
but they at least want to tip their hand in terms of what they're working on. Yeah, because they don't have any smart glasses on the market right now
20:13
They're not going to cannibalize their own sales. The only risk is them cannibalizing everyone else's sales
20:18
And, of course, that's a big positive for Apple. Okay, well, we have a lot to look forward to, hopefully, from Apple when it comes to wearables
20:25
And I just wanted to thank you, Mark Gurman, for joining us. Thank you, sir
20:29
All right, thanks a lot. All right, if you like what we've been talking about today
20:33
make sure you like and subscribe to Tom's Guide. And stay tuned for all of our updates around wearables and all things Apple
20:39
For Tom's Guide, this is Mark Schoonhour
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