Allegedly because of Meta: Apple wants to build display glasses right now
Possibly in response to Meta's unveiling of Ray-Ban Display, Apple is said to launch a lightweight version of Vision Pro. Display glasses are coming.
Meta Ray-Ban display: screen integrated on one side.
(Image: Meta)
The “Vision Air” that has been circulating in the rumor mill as a lighter and cheaper version of the Vision Pro, planned for 2027, will allegedly not be coming after all. Apple, possibly in response to Meta's Ray-Ban display with its integrated screen on the right-hand side, is now said to be pursuing smart glasses with a display after all.
Resources reallocated
This was reported by the financial news agency Bloomberg. According to the report, Apple has initially paused the project to free up resources for a “more urgent project.” Apple has been working on augmented reality devices in the form of glasses for many years. The Vision Pro is supposedly only an interim step. However, the company is apparently only making slow progress. Meanwhile, Apple was said to be planning smart glasses without a display but with a speaker and voice control, as we know them from the regular Meta Ray-Bans (and now also Oakleys). It is conceivable that these will also come before then. Overall, however, Apple is behind Meta, which wants to bring the Ray-Ban Display to the market as soon as possible.
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The now paused project for the “Vision Air” is internally called N100. The device was supposed to be half the weight and half the price of the Vision Pro. Last week, however, the company announced internally that it wanted to withdraw people from the project and speed up work on the glasses. At least two variants are reportedly planned. “N50” is a model without a display that is to be shown next year and launched on the market in 2027, writes Bloomberg, citing informed sources. At the same time, a pair of glasses with a screen is to be launched, which was initially planned for 2028 but is now set to appear earlier. It remains to be seen how closely this corresponds to the idea of “real” AR glasses. These would need two screens in both lenses.
Siri to help
With or without a display, Apple's glasses should rely “heavily” on interactions via voice and AI—two areas in which Apple is considered to be lagging behind the competition. The company is currently working on a new version of the Siri voice assistant, which had already been postponed. This system is intended to lay the foundation for other devices such as glasses, cameras, speakers, and smart displays. The Apple glasses are to contain a special chip, play music via speakers, and have a camera.
Apple is said to have always planned to follow the Vision Pro with a more compact and lighter model, but the project was cancelled in favor of a larger modification. Now the “Vision Air” has also been postponed for now. Smart Glasses connected to the Mac, internally called “N107,” are also not planned. What is still to come, however, is a Vision Pro 2; this was recently leaked in a database of the US authority FCC. It is said to have an M4 or M5 chip and a slightly more comfortable headband. The high price (4000 Euro at least for the Vision Pro) will probably not change much.
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