Apple smart glasses have been the subject of rumors since 2020. From being iPhone-compatible to having OLED microdisplay density, things were pretty interesting. But so far, none of them had happened.
A new report suggests that the Cupertino giant is exploring the new smart glasses market and asking employees to give insights on whether the technology will work or not.
Internal Study About Smart Glasses
As 9to5Mac finds, influential tech analyst Mark Gurman claims that Apple has started internal focus groups under the Product Systems Quality team to figure out how the employees feel about smart glasses.
According to sources with knowledge of the subject, Gurman indicated that the company is interested in knowing the perspective of the employee on smart glasses. This is not a new thing for Apple because the company often conducts internal focus groups before entering a new market.
In doing so, Apple is able to collect critical feedback on its plans and yet stays within its discretion, unless of course information happens to leak out.
Response to Competitors Including Meta
This is the latest move as competition for smart glasses continues to grow. For instance, Meta has already achieved much with its Ray-Ban smart glasses, which come with an in-built camera that allows the user to take pictures and record videos. These glasses also feature phone calls, audio stream, and AI assistant among other functionalities.
Meta just recently added voice messaging services and notification capabilities to their device.
At the latest gathering, Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg unveiled new smart glasses, promising immersion in augmented reality capabilities. As this would only heighten the competition in that arena, it remains a strategic positioning by Apple, considering how nascent this market remains.
Following this line of approach, an overtly cautious approach would be maintained towards Vision Pro, Digital Trends says.
Apple is Hesitant on Smart Glasses
Despite exploration, Apple is going slow on smart glasses. The company still grapples with problems the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset has not reached the level of commercial success anticipated.
The Vision Pro is far from perfect: from its pricing to its composition. Some people are interested in this size of smart glasses, especially if a more compact model is developed.
Gurman writes, "The development of a smart glasses product will undoubtedly be a sensitive affair with Apple at least in the beginning."
Assuming that the employee focus groups bring in sufficiently positive responses to be gone into more depth Apple can still be years and years away from such a product launch. That would have given it sufficient time by then to fully establish itself along with products that future consumers will buy in huge quantities.
Smart glasses from Apple seem likely to usher in a much-needed change in the technology terrain. It could be this fact because the company had first-hand experience of enjoying brand loyalty, and it already boasts much expertise in its hardware engineering, which has a pretty good footing about it.
Smart glasses happen to be a product development segment that the company has decided to engage in, thereby making this a pretty bright prospect for the company in such business lines.
