Apple shelves Vision Pro overhaul for development on Meta glasses rival

Apple is reportedly shifting its focus from overhauling the Vision Pro headset to developing a pair of smart glasses that will rival Meta's Ray-Ban AI glasses.

The news comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, known for having his finger extremely close to the pulse of what is happening inside Apple. Gurman wrote in a recent Bloomberg piece that Apple has "hit pause" on the development of its planned overhaul of the Vision Pro headset, which included the company creating a cheaper, lighter version of the original headset.

The cut-down version of the Vision Pro was slated for release sometime in 2027, but now it appears plans have changed. It appears Apple has recognized the potential of smart glasses technology, particularly in the form factor of sunglasses, as Gurman reports the company is working on at least two types of smart glasses.

The first is internally dubbed N5 and will be capable of pairing directly with an iPhone and won't feature its own display. The N50 is expected to be unveiled as soon as next year and is slated for release, presumably, alongside the iPhone generation released in 2027, which will be the iPhone 19.

As for the second pair, the Bloomberg reporter states these will be the direct competitor to Meta's Ray-Ban Display, as they will feature their own internal display similar to what Meta has designed. The second pair is scheduled for release sometime in 2028, but now the company has reallocated more resources to its development in hopes of speeding up the time to unveiling.

Gurman adds that Apple's version of smart glasses will heavily rely on voice activation and artificial intelligence integration. A new chip is expected to power the devices, and they'll include speakers for music playback, cameras for recording, and will connect to a phone.

Notably, Apple is still planning a refresh of the Vision Pro, but it won't come with any major redesigns, except for a more powerful chip.