Apple is planning to launch smart glasses before the end of next year according to a new report, but they’ll rival the Meta Ray-Ban glasses rather than the forthcoming Android XR specs.

In a new Bloomberg report, sources say Apple is preparing to launch glasses with built in cameras, mics and speakers much like the fashionable and well-selling Meta shades.

Bloomberg sources said the glasses, that can take calls, play music and offer turn-by-turn directions and live translation skills will “analyze the external world and take requests via the Siri voice assistant.”

A person familiar with the project told Bloomberg that the glasses will be a more premium version of the Meta product. The source said “better made” but that’s also likely to mean much more expensive than Meta’s consumer friendly Ray-Ban specs.

The big question is whether the new version of Apple’s Siri will be ready in time to add a little generative AI nous.

The report said (via 9to5Mac):

People working on Apple’s smart glasses remain concerned that its AI failings may undermine the new product. The Meta Ray-Bans and upcoming glasses running the Android operating system benefit from the strength of Meta’s Llama and Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence platforms.
Today, Apple uses Google Lens and OpenAI for analysis of the real world via the iPhone’s Visual Intelligence feature. The company will likely want to roll out its own technology for that with the upcoming hardware

Bloomberg

Opinion

After what we saw from Android XR at Google I/O, I can’t help but think that this half measure from Apple is going to feel underwhelming. Would the company be better off ditching this and going all out with the AR smart glasses whenever they may arrive?