Last week, unconfirmed reports claimed that Apple had decided to postpone developing a full-fledged successor to its Vision Pro mixed reality headset, in favor of a cheaper version of the device, for a possible launch in late 2025. Now there's word that the company has restarted the development of augmented reality-based glasses.
Way back in 2019, unconfirmed rumors claimed Apple was working on AR glasses for a launch in 2023, In 2022, other rumors claimed those Apple AR glasses would launch in 2024.
Now that the first Vision Pro MR headset has been available for sale since February, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, in his Power On newsletter, claims today that Apple has "renewed efforts to develop AR-only glasses."
Having said that, Gurman, using unnamed sources, says that the development of those products is still in its early stages at Apple. He said that according to his own sources in the company, Apple doesn't think this new product will be ready in a few years.
AR glasses are seen by many as a way to offer smartphone-like features in a wearable headset that doesn't offer the bulk of a traditional MR headset like the Vision Pro or the devices in the Meta Quest family.
There are the Meta Ray-Man Smart Glasses that you can buy right now that include a built-in camera that connects to your smartphone. Meta has hinted it is working on a more advanced AR glasses product for the future.
There's also XREAL, who have developed a family of AR glasses, which again connect to smartphones. This past week, the company announced the XREAL Beam Pro, a smartphone-sized Android tablet made specifically for its AR glasses that it will launch in July. It will be interesting to see what Meta and XREAL come up with for future AR glasses even as the team in Cupertino will likely be working on their own product for the next several years.
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