Apple Tests Four AI Glasses Designs to Rival Meta Ray-Bans
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- Apple is testing four AI smart glasses designs with rectangular and oval frames in multiple colors, featuring a unique camera system with vertically oriented oval lenses (Bloomberg/Mark Gurman)
- The glasses are targeted for a 2027 launch and will use acetate frames, per iClarified's summary of the leak
- Digital Trends highlighted that Apple is pursuing in-house design rather than the fashion-brand partnership model Meta used with Ray-Ban and Oakley
- Yair Savlevi cautioned on X that Meta has already fit significant tech into small frames, warning Apple faces a multi-step gap and questioning whether consumers actually want the product
- Michael Miraflor called for a physical camera-disable switch and tamper-proof recording indicators, arguing hardware-level privacy protections are underrated by smart-glasses makers
- Colin Hughes stressed that for prescription-lens wearers, fit, adjustment, and optician support are "the product," warning that fit struggles could kill sales regardless of features
- Robert Scoble surfaced the contrarian view — prominent in replies to Gurman — that consumers may not actually want camera-equipped glasses at all
Why it matters: Apple is entering a smart glasses category where Meta has shipped multiple Ray-Ban generations, and the reported in-house acetate-frame approach signals a bet on premium materials and proprietary design rather than a Ray-Ban-style fashion partnership. With a 2027 target, Apple has roughly two years to close Meta's tech gap while answering prescription-fit, hardware-privacy, and basic consumer-demand questions that the coverage largely glosses over.
