Apple smart glasses will be an Apple Intelligence product: will compete with Meta Ray-Bans

Apple is still hard at work on its new smart glasses codenamed N50, with a new report teasing that the device "isn't close to being ready yet" but the idea is to turn glasses into an Apple Intelligence device.

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In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman writes that Apple's new smart glasses will analyze the surrounding environment, feeding information to the wearer, but Gurman notes that "it will stop well short of true augmented reality". Apple's also developing camera-equipped AirPods that have been long rumored, that "will do much the same thing".

Apple's goal is to make augmented reality glasses that act similar to how the Vision Pro headset works, and it could be one of the biggest projects the company is working on right now.

Gurman writes: "Speaking of smart glasses, Apple continues work on its own version, code-named N50. This device isn't close to being ready yet, but the idea is to turn glasses into an Apple Intelligence device. The product will analyze the surrounding environment and feed information to the wearer, though it will stop well short of true augmented reality. Of course, Apple is also developing camera-equipped AirPods that will do much the same thing. So why would Apple need both products? There is a sizable group of consumers who don't want something in their ears all day".

He continues: "The true battle will come later this decade, when more powerful AR devices are ready. But it's still shocking that Apple has been so slow to offer a competitor to the current Meta glasses, which have been a hit. After all, this is a company that already has one foot in the fashion world (thanks to the Apple Watch). It also has unmatched expertise in miniaturization, and the AirPods lead the earbuds category. This feels like an area it could have dominated. Instead, Apple blew it to a social-networking company".