Apple’s AR smart glasses are nowhere close to launching, insider claims

Google and Samsung surprised the tech world late last week with an announcement we expected to drop during the Galaxy S25 event next month. Samsung teased Project Moohan, its answer to the Apple Vision Pro spatial computer, while Google announced the Android AR platform that will power Project Mohan and other XR devices.

More importantly, both companies mentioned that future smart glasses will run on the same platform. Google actually showed off one such pair a day earlier during its Gemini 2.0 announcement. At the time, I thought the Project Astra glasses (pictured above) were similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses. But the first hands-on experiences with Google’s AR smart glasses detailed the extra augmented reality functionality that the Meta headset lacks.

It’s unclear when Google will launch a version of the Gemini-ready AR smart glasses, but Google isn’t the only company working on such a product. Apple is also developing AR smart glasses of its own, and we now have an idea of when to expect them. Don’t get too excited, though, because the first-gen product won’t be here for at least three years, with an insider saying it might take even longer.

In his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman addressed several of Apple’s upcoming devices, which will soon extend Apple’s ecosystem of products.

He focused on the foldable iPad that Apple might launch in the coming years but also addressed speculation about the AR smart glasses that are rumored to be in development. The wearable isn’t coming anytime soon, as Apple has to solve a “difficult formula: getting a lightweight design to market with suitable battery life and compelling displays — all at a price that won’t break the bank for consumers.”

Gurman speculates that Apple will take “another three to five years to get the approach right, as surprising as that may sound given the momentum we’re seeing from Meta Platforms Inc., Google, Xreal Inc., and other AR players.”

Let’s remember that Apple routinely takes longer to deploy products or product features that rivals might have already developed. The foldable iPhone, coming as soon as 2026, is one of the best examples. By the time it’s released, Samsung’s foldable devices will likely have reached the ninth generation.

As for the AR smart glasses landscape, we’re still in the very early days. I’m looking forward to AR glasses with AI capabilities that can complement the iPhone and then, ultimately, replace it. I think the Vision Pro is the key stepping stone in that direction.

In the meantime, the Google AR smart glasses might be the most compelling of the upcoming crop of AR glasses, but even that one isn’t a commercial product. It’s obviously critical to get the AR component right, not just the AI.

On that note, Gurman seems to somewhat contradict Wired’s hands-on experience with Google’s product. The Bloomberg reporter said the AR glasses “don’t yet feel like polished products ready for market.”

Then again, Apple could always release smart glasses before the AR experience is ready. Gurman also said Apple is also considering a stepping-stone version of smart glasses without true AR that might launch in the coming years.