By the Metaverse Watcher newsroom. Updated Friday, November 13, 2026. This tracker will be updated as new reports land.
Apple has NOT announced smart glasses. Everything known about them comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and the supply chain. Those reports now line up: Apple’s first glasses, codenamed N50, are expected to be unveiled at WWDC in June 2027 and to reach customers by late 2027. This page collects what has been reported about the release date, price, features and design, rates how reliable each claim is, and compares the expected product with the smart glasses you can buy today.
Quick Answers
| Question | Current best answer | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Release date | Reveal at WWDC (June 2027), customer shipping by late 2027 | Reported (Bloomberg); not confirmed by Apple |
| Price | No credible price reported | Unknown |
| Display | NONE on the first model | Reported by Bloomberg and Kuo |
| Cameras | Likely yes, with privacy features; one sensor for capture, one for computer vision | Reported; Apple has also tested camera-free prototypes |
| Codename | N50 | Reported by Bloomberg |
| Chip | Custom chip based on the Apple Watch’s S-series silicon | Reported by Bloomberg |
| Needs an iPhone? | Expected to work as an iPhone accessory, like AirPods or Apple Watch | Reported |
| Prescription lenses | Likely, but not specifically reported | Inference from Vision Pro’s Zeiss inserts |
Apple Smart Glasses Release Date
The release window has moved more than once, which is worth keeping in mind with every new report:
- May 2025: Bloomberg reported Apple was aiming to launch glasses by the end of 2026, as MacRumors’ roundup records.
- Mid-2025: Ming-Chi Kuo said he expected the glasses to enter mass production in the second quarter of 2027, with no display.
- May 31, 2026: Gurman’s Power On newsletter pushed the launch toward the end of 2027, replacing an earlier plan to reveal the glasses in late 2026 and ship in early 2027 (Engadget).
- July 26, 2026: Gurman reported Apple now plans to unveil the glasses at WWDC 2027 and ship them in late 2027, with privacy as a central theme (MacRumors, Road to VR).
- September 27, 2026: Gurman repeated the end-of-2027 target and said the first pair has no display. We covered that report in Apple smart glasses target end of 2027, no display.
- November 11, 2026: A Chinese supplier referred to Apple’s glasses on an earnings call (details below).
Our read: WWDC 2027 is the most specific date in circulation, but a June reveal with a fall or holiday ship date is a long gap by Apple’s standards. Apple used the same pattern for Vision Pro, which it announced at WWDC 2023 and shipped in February 2024. If the glasses slip again, the most likely result is a later ship date rather than a missed reveal.
The Supplier Report: What It Does and Doesn’t Confirm
On November 11, MacRumors cited a Securities Times report on the earnings briefing of Quick Intelligent Equipment, a Chinese maker of manufacturing and machine-vision inspection equipment. Some English-language coverage calls the company TCB Devices. The company said it had taken part in “Apple’s AI glasses and new smart earphones projects,” and expects the work to lift demand for its inspection equipment.
Rumored Apple Smart Glasses Mentioned in Supplier’s Earnings Briefing
— MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) November 11, 2026
What it confirms: an Apple glasses program has reached the stage where outside equipment suppliers are building production and inspection tooling for it. What it doesn’t confirm: a date, a price, a spec or a product name. As Phandroid noted, suppliers have an incentive to mention big-name customers to investors, so treat it as a signal, not proof.
Apple Smart Glasses Price
No credible price has been reported. Anyone quoting a specific number is guessing. What can be said is where the glasses would land in today’s market:
| Product | US price | Display | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray-Ban Meta Audio (no camera) | $349 | No | On sale since Oct 13, 2026 |
| Android XR glasses (Google, Samsung, Warby Parker, Gentle Monster) | From $395 | No | Pre-orders opened this week |
| Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 | $449 | No | On sale |
| Apple smart glasses (N50) | Not reported | No (reported) | Reported reveal June 2027 |
Prices come from our earlier coverage: Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 and Ray-Ban Meta Audio pricing from Meta Connect 2026, and Android XR pricing from this week’s XR Week in Review. MacRumors suggests the AirPods-to-Apple Watch range would make sense for Apple, but that’s analysis, not reporting. A display-free Apple product priced far above $449 would need a strong privacy or ecosystem argument to justify the gap.
Features: What Apple’s Glasses Are Expected to Do
Across the Bloomberg reporting summarized by MacRumors and Road to VR, the first model is described as a camera-and-audio wearable built around Siri, much closer to Ray-Ban Meta than to an AR headset:
- Cameras: two sensors are reported, one for photo and video capture and one for computer-vision tasks. Gurman has also said Apple considered cameras that help AI features without recording photos or video, and has prototyped camera-free designs. A camera-equipped model with strong privacy protections is still the most likely result.
- Audio: speakers and microphones for music, calls and Siri-announced notifications.
- Visual intelligence: answering questions about what you’re looking at, identifying landmarks, plants and objects, and live translation, similar to Visual Intelligence on the iPhone.
- Controls: touch gestures on the frame (for example, tap to take a photo) plus voice.
- Privacy: Gurman describes privacy as “priority No. 1” for the teams involved, with new hardware and software protections in testing. A recording indicator light is widely expected but not specifically reported.
- Health and fitness: possible later through software, not expected at launch.
The privacy angle matters beyond marketing. Camera glasses already draw scrutiny over bystander recording, a theme in our smart glasses privacy analysis. An Apple product designed for those rules from the start could change how employers and venues treat the whole category.
Design: Frames, Colors and Materials
Apple is said to be testing at least four frame styles: a large rectangular frame similar to Wayfarers, a slim rectangular design, large oval or round frames, and a smaller oval shape. Acetate frames and colors including black, ocean blue and light brown are reported.
On prescriptions, Apple already sells Zeiss optical inserts for Vision Pro, so prescription support is a reasonable expectation but not a reported fact. If you need corrective lenses now, our guide to the best smart glasses for prescription wearers covers what each current model supports.
Chip, iPhone Pairing and Battery
Bloomberg reports Apple is building a custom chip for the glasses based on the Apple Watch’s S-series silicon, designed for low power use. Most heavy processing, including AI requests, is expected to run through a paired iPhone, which makes the glasses an accessory rather than a standalone computer. No battery figures have been reported. The Apple Watch chip lineage suggests Apple is putting all-day standby ahead of on-device processing.
What About a Display and True AR Glasses?
NOT in the first generation. Reporting points to a later model with an in-lens display, possibly in 2028 or 2029. MacRumors cites reports that such a model could switch between a visionOS-style interface when paired with a Mac and a lighter one with an iPhone. Apple’s work on a lighter, cheaper Vision headset was reportedly paused in 2025 to move engineers to glasses, and the next full headset, codenamed N224, is described as on life support. We covered that in Gurman: Apple’s next Vision Pro is on life support.
Apple Glasses vs the Competition
| Apple N50 (reported) | Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 | Android XR glasses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Availability | Late 2027 (reported) | Now | Pre-order now |
| Assistant | Siri with visual context | Meta AI | Gemini |
| Display | No | No | No (first audio models) |
| Frame partners | Not reported | EssilorLuxottica (Ray-Ban, Oakley) | Warby Parker, Gentle Monster |
By late 2027, Apple would enter a category with at least two generations of Meta hardware and a full year of Android XR glasses already on the market. Its advantage is distribution: an installed iPhone base and Apple Stores for try-ons. Its risk is arriving after buyers have already picked an assistant. See our upcoming smart glasses 2026–2027 tracker for every confirmed launch in the meantime, and our best smart glasses of 2026 list if you want to buy now.
Should You Wait for Apple’s Glasses?
- Wait if you’re fully committed to iPhone, care most about privacy controls, and don’t need glasses before late 2027.
- Buy now if you want camera glasses this year. Ray-Ban Meta works well with iPhone today, and a product that may arrive around 12 months from now, at an unknown price, is a weak reason to skip one.
- Consider audio-only if you mainly want open-ear audio and an assistant. Ray-Ban Meta Audio at $349 drops the camera, which addresses the main privacy objection now. Our Ray-Ban Meta vs Oakley Meta vs Meta glasses comparison explains the range.
How Reliable Are These Reports?
Gurman has a strong track record on Apple hardware, though Apple’s glasses timeline has already slipped twice in his own reporting. Kuo’s supply-chain notes have matched Bloomberg on the 2027 window and the lack of a display. The November supplier mention is the first public reference to the program from a company in Apple’s supply chain. We will update this page when Apple makes an announcement or when a credible report changes the date, price or spec. Until then, treat every row marked “reported” as a target that can still change.
Sources: Bloomberg / Mark Gurman (February 17, May 31, July 26 and September 27, 2026 reports, via Bloomberg, Engadget, MacRumors and Road to VR); MacRumors Apple Glasses roundup; PCMag; Securities Times via MacRumors (November 11, 2026); Phandroid (November 12, 2026); Metaverse Watcher pricing coverage.