Mixed News pegged SEPTEMBER 28 reporting to Mark Gurman’s SEPTEMBER 27 Bloomberg Power On newsletter: Apple wants its first SMART GLASSES out in some form by the end of 2027, and that first pair is expected to ship with audio, a camera, and smart features — but NO DISPLAY.
AppleInsider summarized the same newsletter the day it landed. Apple has announced NEITHER glasses nor a headset revision, so the calendar is an internal TARGET, not a ship date. A date Apple has not committed to is a date that can still MOVE.
Display-Free First, Screen Later
Bloomberg’s account, as Mixed News and AppleInsider relay it, puts a display for video feedback in a LATER glasses release, not the first one. That matches older supply-chain notes from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (JUNE 2025) that listed “No display functionality” for Ray-Ban-style Apple glasses aimed at mass production in 2Q27, with audio, camera, video recording, and AI environmental sensing as the core FEATURES.
Glasses without a screen are not a fallback in 2026 — they are the VOLUME product. Counterpoint Research counted 263% growth in AI glasses shipments in the first half of 2026, with 96% carrying NO DISPLAY. That is the CATEGORY a first Apple pair would enter.
Meta Already Owns the Price Band
Meta already OWNS that PRICE BAND: Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 at $449 in the US, and camera-free RAY-BAN META AUDIO at $349 from OCTOBER 13. A first Apple pair would have to answer those prices with PRIVACY positioning and ecosystem GLUE — not with an AR HUD Apple has not yet SCHEDULED for launch.
Separately, Meta’s META VR GLASSES are priced at $1,299.99 for spring 2027, with a wired PUCK that carries COMPUTE. On the reported timeline those glasses would still reach buyers roughly 18 MONTHS or more before Apple’s revamped headset.
N224 Remains the Longer Wait
Gurman’s newsletter also revisits the Vision Pro team’s “completely revamped headset,” codenamed N224. Engineers are exploring FOUR CONCEPTS, including one that moves components into a separate puck. Some senior staff reportedly prefer an all-in-one design after Vision Pro’s tethered battery experience. The project is described as on “life support,” with a speculative LAUNCH in late 2028 or early 2029 if it ships at all.
That leaves a clear SPLIT for readers: Apple’s nearer rumor is a DISPLAY-FREE glasses SKU aimed at end of 2027; the heavier SPATIAL computer remains years further OUT. No NAME, price, or final SPEC has been published for the glasses. Until Apple puts a product on a stage, the only Apple headset a buyer can purchase remains VISION PRO.
Sources: Mixed News (September 28, 2026); AppleInsider / Malcolm Owen (September 27, 2026); Mark Gurman, Bloomberg Power On (September 27, 2026, via those reports); Counterpoint H1 2026 AI glasses figures as cited by Mixed News.