The Apple Vision Pro headset hasn’t exactly been a stunning success. It’s not because it doesn’t work. In fact, it works great, amazing even. But it has its shortcomings, including its size, weight, and price. But it seems that Apple is looking beyond the Vision Pro. According to a recent report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is exploring multiple display-free glasses, which could be announced as soon as the end of 2026 in time for a release next year.
Apple exploring multiple types of display-free glasses
Now, it’s an important distinction that Apple is looking into display-free glasses. The Vision Pro has a display built into it, allowing it to function like a mixed-reality device. However, Gurman’s report suggests Apple’s next approach would be more akin to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses.
This means that it acts more like a video recording tool rather than a wearable with a display that can be used to overlay information like maps, messages, and so on. Gurman claims that Apple has four different frame styles in testing. This includes a version that looks like the glasses Apple CEO Tim Cook is wearing. There are also options with larger oval or circular frames, a smaller one that looks more refined, and a large rectangular version.
It’s an interesting approach because unlike Meta, Apple seems to be approaching this using their own design, as opposed to using a design created by other brands. The report also claims Apple is interested in using acetate. This should result in glasses that are stronger and more durable compared to traditional plastic frames.
What else can we expect?
Aside from the physical design, the report also claims Apple will use an oval camera lens with a surrounding lighting element. This is a different approach compared to current smart glasses with circular camera modules. The larger lens is also said to make it more obvious when the device is in recording mode.
This seems to align with Apple’s privacy approach, where they want other users to be aware of what’s going on. Apple is also planning to integrate Siri with its smart glasses.
As some of you might have heard, Apple is developing an upgraded Siri that runs on a custom Gemini AI model from Google. We haven’t seen it in action yet, but we’ll probably get a sneak peek at WWDC 2026 in the coming months. However, we’re a bit skeptical. Apple’s attempts with Siri and AI in general have been kind of meh. But hopefully, this time round Apple will surprise us all.
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