Roadmap to Smart Glasses: What Apple is said to be planning for VR and AI glasses

Pants pocket, wrist, bridge of the nose: In addition to smartphones and smartwatches, Apple also hopes for smart glasses as a future draft horse. The manufacturer is working on “at least seven projects”, according to the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo; Five of them would have a specific schedule. For a long time it has been emerging that Apple is driving in this area in two tracks: in addition to a classic VR headset, the company also develops “smart glasses”.

Apple Glasses probably at the end of 2026 at the earliest

The first “Apple Glasses” are similar to the already available Ray-Ban Meta Glasses-i.e. classic glasses or sunglasses without a display function. The focus is on music playback, telephony/messaging, camera and AI functions. The control takes place by language and possibly also gestures. According to Kuo, Apple’s first smart glasses are only ripe for mass production in spring 2027, other observers already expect an introduction in late 2026.

Right Extended Reality Glass with a transparent display are at Apple According to the information of the analyst only planned for the second half of 2028. These glasses therefore rely on a reflective LCOS microdisplay (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) and use optical wave ladder to project the image into the field of vision.

The Smart Glasses market currently seems to be recorded. Metas Ray-Ban glasses are considered a sales success, the offer has recently been expanded by an Oakley model. Google will soon also start with Android XR, in a network with its own hardware partners and glasses manufacturers. With these smart glasses, the core element is the control of voice commands and AI assistants-an area in which Apple is currently struggling massively. The company had to postpone promised Siri renovations to 2026.

Vision Pro 2 and Vision Air in the distant future

According to Roadmap, Apple also states to VR headsets: In the current year, the group wants to launch a new vision Pro with M5 chip, Kuo writes. Except for the chip upgrade, the device remains practically unchanged, accordingly only small quantities are planned. A vision per 2 with major changes is therefore only to be expected at the end of 2028.

In autumn 2027, according to Kuo, Apple plans to introduce a significantly lighter “vision air” to a lower price point. The innovations of Visionos 26 underline that the company focuses on important basic work. These include, for example, widgets and digital windows that can be firmly anchored in physical space, as well as a significantly improved “persona” of the carrier for video conferences.