Apple is reportedly launching its own AI smart glasses next year, per a recent Bloomberg report. While Apple is very much so late to the category, I do think there are a number of great value adds Apple could bring to the table – which I’ll be outlining here.
I bought a pair of Meta Ray-Bans during Black Friday last year, and I’ve got to say – they’re a lot cooler than I expected them to be. They’re excellent for taking quick photos and videos without needing to pull out your phone, asking quick questions, and using them as discrete headphones. As someone who bikes a lot, I really do appreciate the fact that I can listen to audio without fully obstructing my ears.
Per the report, Apple’s AI smart glasses will have cameras, microphones, and speakers – just like Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses. Bloomberg outlines that the glasses will have Siri access, Visual Intelligence capabilities, take phone calls, play music, translate conversations, and give turn-by-turn directions. Apple is also working on custom silicon to power these smart glasses.
Feature suggestions
It all sounds very promising, but I have three specific feature requests that I think would make Apple’s glasses a much better product than what Meta Ray-Bans can offer.
- Deep integration with Siri, personal context
- Higher quality cameras
- Notification management
The first point is a bit of a no brainer. Obviously, Meta AI doesn’t have deep understanding of who I am or anything on my device, so its capabilities are quite limited. That said, if Apple could figure out how to make useful AI features that actually work, it’d be really awesome to talk to a personalized version of Siri through glasses, and have little interactions without needing to pick up an iPhone or whatnot.
Second, it’d be really great to see better cameras on glasses. Obviously, there’s a bit of a size constraint – but the picture and video quality on Meta Ray-Bans isn’t great. On top of that, Meta adds a ton of post processing, and it ends up looking incredibly soft and artificial. Apple could easily make improvements in this regard.
Last but not least, notifications. Meta Ray-Bans do offer notification management on Android, but you can’t utilize it on iOS. I think it’d be really nifty if Apple’s glasses synced with your Focus mode and only read you notifications from apps that you specifically want to hear on your glasses, such as Messages. It’d definitely go a long way in terms of making display-less glasses useful as an independent product category.
Wrap up
With all three of these features, I could absolutely see myself picking up a pair of Apple AI smart glasses. At the end of the day, the way they work with my iPhone could be a huge value proposition. Hopefully they aren’t too expensive.
If the idea of Meta Ray-Bans interests you in the meanwhile, they are currently on sale for 20% off from their typical $299 starting price – making them available for just $239 over this weekend. They’re quite affordable for what they are.
What do you think of the concept of Apple AI smart glasses? Let us know in the comments.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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