{"id":23182,"date":"2026-09-08T18:11:57","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T17:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/?p=23182"},"modified":"2026-09-08T22:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T21:07:07","slug":"apple-glasses-are-coming-and-i-think-they-could-be-huge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/08\/apple-glasses-are-coming-and-i-think-they-could-be-huge\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Glasses Are Coming, And I Think They Could Be Huge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s one Apple product I keep thinking about while everyone gets ready for tomorrow\u2019s iPhone event<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple Glasses.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Not Vision Pro<\/a>. Not another headset. Not some enormous piece of technology strapped to your face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actual glasses<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while they probably won\u2019t be part of tomorrow\u2019s announcements<\/a>, the idea of Apple finally entering the smart glasses market is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple is reportedly working on its first pair of lightweight smart glasses, with the current plan pointing towards 2027<\/strong>. Unlike Vision Pro<\/a>, these aren\u2019t expected to have displays. Instead, they\u2019re being designed around cameras, microphones, speakers, sensors and Apple\u2019s increasingly important AI capabilities. (9to5Mac<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words: they could look like normal glasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what makes them interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Apple doesn\u2019t need to reinvent glasses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meta has already shown that people are willing to wear connected glasses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest Ray-Ban smart glasses<\/a> can sit on your face all day \u2014 without<\/em> making you look like you\u2019ve just stepped out of a science-fiction movie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They can play music, capture photos and videos, interact with AI and provide information without requiring you to constantly pull out your phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple has obviously been quietly watching products like Meta Orion<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
PopularMechanics<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But Apple\u2019s version could be much more deeply integrated into its \u201cit just works\u201d ecosystem.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine putting your glasses on in the morning and simply asking Siri: \u201cwhat am I looking at<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sign in another language? Translate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something you\u2019ve never seen before? Ask what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need to remember where you saw something? Let the glasses handle it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want directions, music or a quick answer? You don\u2019t necessarily need to reach for your iPhone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That feels much closer to the future Apple has been trying to build with Vision Pro<\/strong> \u2014 except without requiring you to wear a computer on your face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the design could be the real Apple moment.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports suggest Apple is testing multiple frame designs rather than creating one instantly recognisable piece of futuristic eyewear. There are apparently several shapes in development, including rectangular and circular\/oval designs, with different finishes also being considered. (9to5Mac<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Apple Watch succeeded partly because Apple understood that it wasn\u2019t just selling technology. It was selling something people were going to wear every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glasses are even more personal<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have to look good<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have to feel normal<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, perhaps most importantly, you have to actually want to leave the house wearing them<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple could be very good at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a problem Apple can\u2019t design its way around \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Privacy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Smart glasses with cameras are fundamentally different from an iPhone camera. You can see when someone is holding up a phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might not notice a camera built into someone\u2019s glasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That concern is already becoming increasingly serious around today\u2019s smart glasses, with privacy and covert recording becoming a major part of the conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple knows this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if there\u2019s one company that can\u2019t afford to ignore the issue, it\u2019s Apple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
SunglassesHut<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The company will need to make it incredibly obvious when the glasses are doing something that affects the people around you \u2014 while convincing users that their own data remains private.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That could become just as important as the hardware itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The really exciting part comes later<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first Apple glasses reportedly won\u2019t have displays.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And honestly?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m fine with that<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because I think the first generation could be the beginning rather than the finished product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple is also reportedly working on a much more ambitious generation of glasses with displays and augmented-reality capabilities, but that appears to be considerably further away. Current reports point towards 2029<\/strong> for those devices. (9to5Mac<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the Apple Glasses I really want to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glasses that eventually become a genuine computer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps Apple has finally realised that the road there doesn\u2019t begin with putting a screen in front of your eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It begins with making people comfortable<\/em> wearing the thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if Apple can make smart glasses feel as normal as AirPods<\/a> or an Apple Watch<\/a>, they could quietly become one of the company\u2019s biggest new product categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

So no, I don\u2019t<\/em> expect Apple Glasses tomorrow<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But every time Apple holds an event going forward, I will be in a room no-doubt wondering; how much longer do we have to wait.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s one Apple product I keep thinking about while everyone gets ready for tomorrow\u2019s iPhone event. Apple Glasses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2786,174,3558,3543],"tags":[3587,4,3586,3545,3564,2848,2653,3584,3375,3588,3585],"class_list":["post-23182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple-blog","category-blog","category-future","category-vision-pro","tag-ai","tag-apple","tag-apple-glasses","tag-cameras","tag-ecosystem","tag-glasses","tag-holographic-displays","tag-hud","tag-ios","tag-sensors","tag-smart-glasses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23182"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23214,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23182\/revisions\/23214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}