Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses reached over 7 million units sold in 2025, while Google confirmed its own smart eyewear at I/O 2026 with Gemini-powered frames and partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Apple’s entry into smart glasses follows competitors that already legitimized the category. Apple’s N50 smart glasses are positioned as an iPhone accessory, with cameras, microphones, and speakers plus Apple Intelligence inside a conventional frame, but without a display, pass-through video, or an external battery. Apple reportedly redirected engineering resources from a Vision Pro sequel, canceling Vision Air (N100) and restructuring the Vision Products Group. A late 2026 reveal and 2027 launch are expected, with early shipments projected at 3 to 5 million units.
"Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses sold over 7 million units in 2025, a number that would have seemed improbable two years earlier when the category barely existed outside enterprise pilots and conference demos. Google confirmed its own entry at I/O 2026, with Gemini-powered frames and eyewear partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster already in place. The market Apple is entering has already been legitimized by its competitors, which is an unusual position for a company that typically defines the categories it enters."
"The N50 is the product that absorbed the engineering resources originally aimed at a Vision Pro sequel. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman confirmed in May that no headset successor is in active development, and that the Vision Air, a cheaper model codenamed N100, was canceled last year to redirect talent toward smart glasses. Apple restructured the Vision Products Group, splitting engineers across hardware and software divisions, with many redeployed to the glasses program, to Siri, and to camera-equipped AirPods."
"The glasses carry cameras, microphones, speakers, and Apple Intelligence inside a conventional eyeglass frame with no display, no pass-through video, and no external battery, functioning as an iPhone accessory in the same way AirPods or Apple Watch do. A late 2026 reveal and 2027 commercial launch is the expected window, with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo projecting 3 to 5 million units shipped in the first year."
"Four frame styles are in testing, two rectangular and two oval, built in premium acetate with colorways including black, ocean blue, and light brown (the images shown here are just a concept mocked up by designer Oleh Koval back in 2018). Apple initially experimented with embedding electronics into esta"
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