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Apple’s first smart glasses are coming together

By · Via The Verge · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Prototypes internally known as N50 run on a simplified version of visionOS powered by a chip adapted from older smartwatches. A tiny, flat MagSafe-style charger roughly the size of a Tic Tac lets users recharge the frames while actively wearing them. Although tied to a paired iPhone for most third-party applications, the device includes built-in Wi-Fi to maintain standalone functionality like audio streaming.

Key points

  • Apple plans to unveil the non-augmented reality smart glasses at next year's Worldwide De…: Apple plans to unveil the non-augmented reality smart glasses at next year's Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
  • Integrated Wi-Fi provides the hardware with limited independence from a paired iPhone for…: Integrated Wi-Fi provides the hardware with limited independence from a paired iPhone for tasks like music playback.
  • Hardware shipments are scheduled to commence later in the year following the initial summ…: Hardware shipments are scheduled to commence later in the year following the initial summer conference announcement.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Apple’s smart glasses are among the worst-kept secrets in the tech world. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the company’s first model, which will lack augmented reality features, will be announced at June’s WWDC next year. They likely won’t ship right away, however, with Gurman saying only that “glasses shipments would begin before the end of the year.”

Apple’s first smart glasses are coming together

The company’s Siri AI-powered eyewear is set to be announced at WWDC next year.

The company’s Siri AI-powered eyewear is set to be announced at WWDC next year.

Key to their success will be the newly revamped Siri AI, which is adding fine-grained control over apps. By adding those features now and letting developers add support on the iPhone first, it’s hoping that its smart glasses will be able to hit the ground running.

The prototypes, dubbed N50, are currently running a pared-down version of visionOS and a new processor based on its older smartwatch chips. They also have a MagSafe-like charger Gurman describes as “flat, rectangular” and “roughly the size of a Tic Tac,” which can…

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