Apple Glasses: four designs, acetate, and Apple’s bet to slow Meta down in 2027

Mark Gurman pulled the thread again. In his April 12 Power On, the Bloomberg journalist confirmed that Apple has four smart glasses designs in testing, all made of acetate, with a timeline targeting late 2026 or early 2027 for the announcement and public sales in 2027. A week later, Apple confirmed that Tim Cook will step down as chief executive on September 1, 2026, and that John Ternus —head of hardware engineering— will take over as CEO. The two announcements are not a coincidence. Apple is late to a category that Meta has already normalized, and it needs a product under the new CEO that does not feel defensive.

What Apple Glasses are (and what they definitely are not)

First things first: they are not Vision Pro. They are not AR either. They have no display and do not project anything onto the lenses. They are regular glasses with cameras, microphones, open-ear speakers, and sensors, designed to work as an iPhone accessory. All the intelligence lives on the phone; the glasses are the sensor.

The commercial name has not been confirmed yet. The press calls them "Apple Glasses" or "Apple smart glasses"; the internet still carries "Apple Glass" from Jon Prosser’s 2020 leaks, but Apple never registered it. The internal codename is N50, renamed N401 according to Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple is still working on AR glasses with an integrated display, but that second generation would only enter production in 2028. The first batch is deliberately simpler. It is the opposite bet to Vision Pro: instead of a USD 3500 standalone device that replaces a monitor, a lightweight accessory that sits on top of the iPhone you already own.

Four styles and the acetate bet

Gurman describes four frames in testing. Two rectangular ones —a large Wayfarer-style frame and a slim metallic one similar to what Tim Cook wears in public— and two oval designs, one large and one small. Apple is considering launching several at the same time instead of betting on a single model. The colors under evaluation: black, ocean blue, and light brown.

The frame material is the most interesting decision. Acetate, not injection-molded plastic. The premium eyewear industry —Persol, Oliver Peoples, Ray-Ban’s higher-end lines— has used acetate for decades because it retains color better, can be polished when scratched, and ages with a finish that ABS plastic cannot match. The downside: it is heavier and more expensive to machine. The fact that Apple is absorbing that cost confirms the positioning: this is not a gadget shaped like glasses; these are premium glasses with technology inside.

The cameras are the other detail. Instead of the circular lenses on Meta Ray-Ban, Apple is going with vertical oval lenses with an indicator LED around them. It is a direct nod to the privacy criticism Meta has been carrying: if the LED is on, you know the camera is recording.

Features: Visual Intelligence and iPhone dependence

What the leaks confirm: hands-free photo and video via voice, open-ear audio for calls, music, and podcasts, and a strengthened Siri capable of interpreting visual context. Visual Intelligence is the centerpiece. Gurman’s concrete example: you walk through a supermarket, the glasses detect a product you have on your reminders list, and Siri prompts you to add it to the cart. The same goes for walking directions: instead of looking at the iPhone, Siri narrates directions referenced to real buildings that the camera identifies.

The caveat is important. This entire ecosystem lives or dies on Apple Intelligence finally working. The recurring criticism over the last twelve months is that Apple’s AI layer remains the weakest link in the stack. Without a competent Siri 2.0, Apple Glasses are expensive glasses with a camera.

Apple vs Meta Ray-Ban: the 2027 battle

Meta got there first. Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 starts at USD 379, and Meta Ray-Ban Display —with a monocular HUD in the right lens and a Neural Band sEMG on the wrist for gestures— has been on sale since September 2025 at USD 799. Apple is announcing a product without a display that arrives a year and a half later.

Three data points hurt. Weight: according to Kuo, Apple Glasses would weigh between 120 and 130 grams versus 70 for Meta Display. Display: the first-generation model does not have one; Meta’s top-end model does. Distribution: Meta already has an installed base, retail presence at Best Buy and Sunglass Hut, and a year and a half of iteration on a real product.

Apple offsets that with native iPhone integration, a base of more than one billion active iPhones, real build quality with in-house acetate, and the strategy Gurman describes as pulling the rug out from under them: announcing before holiday shopping 2026 to freeze Apple buyers who were about to choose Meta. If it works, it turns "I have an iPhone, I’ll buy a wearable" into "I have an iPhone, I’ll wait for Apple Glasses."

The CEO change reinforces the timing. Ternus takes over on September 1, and his first job outside Apple was designing VR headsets in the late 1990s. That the first new-category product under his tenure is a head-worn wearable is no accident.

Conclusion

Apple Glasses are the sensible move after the Vision Pro stumble. Instead of once again pushing a future category the market was not asking for, Apple is accepting entry into an existing category that a competitor has already validated. That guarantees nothing. Apple arrives heavier, without a display, a year and a half later than Meta, and success depends on Apple Intelligence finally being good enough by 2027. If it is, Apple Glasses could be the next AirPods. If it is not, they are Vision Pro all over again —but this time with a competitor already in pole position.