Apple's Internal Survey About Smart Glasses Hints at Future Product Plans
Apple is surveying its employees about smart glasses as it continues to consider releasing its own version of Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple has launched an internal study of products that are on the market, and is currently gathering feedback from Apple employees.

In an email sent out to employees, Apple's Product Systems Quality team called for participants for "an upcoming user study with current market smart glasses." According to Gurman, it is common for Apple to use focus groups when it is deciding on whether to enter a new market. Using employees for the focus groups allows Apple to keep its plans secret, something that wouldn't be possible with recruiting the public.
While a product is several years away, Apple is mulling making smart glasses that are similar to the Meta Ray-Bans. Meta's glasses have a camera and integrated AI so that users can ask questions about what's around them.
Apple could potentially design a simple set of glasses with a camera, Siri integration, and built-in speakers for listening to music, plus there could be included health capabilities. The glasses would essentially be an upgraded version of the AirPods with additional capabilities.
Smart glasses that integrate just a camera, speakers, and AI would be easy for Apple to produce, and it could be a way to boost wearable profits while work continues on augmented reality glasses. Apple has not been able to make AR glasses due to high costs and technical limitations that the company has not yet been able to overcome.
Gathering feedback from employees about Meta's glasses and other similar devices could provide Apple with valuable information on what features customers prefer.
Popular Stories
Apple is planning some of the "biggest iOS and macOS redesigns in its history," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman reiterated that iOS 19 will have a visionOS-like design with more transparent interfaces:The new interfaces will adopt the design principles introduced in visionOS, the software for Apple's Vision Pro headset. That includes greater...
If you've been following iPhone rumors over the last few years, you may remember reading reports that Apple flirted with the idea of introducing a super high-end "Ultra" model that would either replace its Pro Max device or sit above it in Apple's smartphone hirearchy. These reports appeared in the pre-launch iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 rumor cycles, but ultimately came to nothing. Now though, the...
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device.
Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
Apple prototyped a larger ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air with a 6.9-inch display, but ultimately decided not to go ahead with the device because of fears that it could be susceptible to bending, according to a new report.
Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, writing in his latest Power On newsletter:
When it first started work on the phone, it prototyped a device with a 6.9-inch screen — matching...
In an investor research note today with British bank Barclays, analyst Tim Long said Apple's first foldable iPhone could have a starting price in the $2,300 range in the United States, which would make it by far the most expensive iPhone model ever.
If the first foldable iPhone starts at $2,299, that means it would cost nearly twice as much as the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which starts at $1,199.
...
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today shared some new details about the rumored iPhone 17 Air.
In his Power On newsletter, Gurman said he was told that the device may start at roughly $899 in the U.S., which means that it would occupy the same price point as the iPhone 16 Plus. This would make sense, as it has been widely rumored that the Air model will take over the Plus model's spot in the iPhone...
The iOS 18.3.2 update that Apple released last week appears to have broken iCloud Mail for some users. There are multiple complaints on Reddit and the MacRumors forums from users who say that iCloud Mail is not able to push new iCloud emails to their iPhones after the iOS 18.3.2 update.
Affected users say that despite having the correct settings enabled, new iCloud emails are not showing up...
Apple considered launching the iPhone 17 Air without a USB-C charging port, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said that while Apple ultimately decided against making the iPhone 17 Air its first iPhone model without a charging port, the idea is still on the table for future iPhone models.
He said the iPhone 17 Air will "foreshadow a move to...