A new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman unveils exciting details about Apple’s ventures into wearables, hinting at a future filled with intriguing possibilities: AI-powered smart glasses, camera-equipped AirPods, and even a health-monitoring smart ring.
Apple explores smart glasses for augmented reality experiences
Smart glasses
One of the most intriguing developments is Apple’s exploration of smart glasses, envisioned as a blend between AirPods and augmented reality devices. These smart glasses would offer advanced AI features and built-in cameras, potentially revolutionizing how users interact with their surroundings. While not quite the full AR experience, these glasses would serve as a step towards that goal, aligning more closely with offerings like Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses.
True augmented reality spectacles — ones that would meet Apple’s standards for visual quality, performance, battery life and size — are likely still several years away. But a less ambitious product could still be functional, as Amazon and Meta have shown with their second versions of the Echo Frames and Ray-Ban Smart Glasses.
After the initial versions of those products flopped, the latest iterations have sold better than the companies expected. It seems that consumers are increasingly comfortable with using smart glasses for taking video, playing music and giving voice commands to chatbots. And Meta is already rolling out features to its glasses that will enable the device to identify objects and answer questions based on what a wearer is looking at.
How could Apple approach the market? Well, the company has had early discussions about creating glasses that would serve as an AirPods replacement — but with beefier batteries, more sensors and broader AI capabilities.
AirPods with cameras
Imagine AirPods as wireless earbuds and intelligent companions equipped with cameras. Apple’s engineers have reportedly been investigating the integration of low-resolution camera sensors into AirPods, paving the way for enhanced functionality and AI assistance in daily routines. This innovation could provide users with a new way to interact with their devices and surroundings, reminiscent of features seen in Meta’s wearable technology.
Smart ring
While not as actively pursued as other ventures, Apple has also toyed with the idea of a smart ring focused on health and fitness tracking. This concept, though still in its early stages, holds the potential to offer users a more discreet and lightweight alternative to the Apple Watch, syncing seamlessly with their iPhones for comprehensive health monitoring.
For now, the ring idea is just that — an idea. The company isn’t actively developing such a device, but there are certainly people within the walls of Apple’s campus promoting the concept.
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Apple could tie the ring to its Health and Fitness apps and sell it is as an iPhone accessory. It won’t generate as much money as a smartwatch, but Apple can court a new type of customer (and even theoretically offer it as a subscription). Finally, an Apple ring owner would be less likely to ditch the iPhone for an Android device.
While these concepts remain largely speculative at this stage, they offer a glimpse into Apple’s ambitious vision for the future of wearables. With a track record of turning innovative ideas into reality, it’s not far-fetched to envision a world where smart glasses, camera-equipped AirPods, and health-monitoring smart rings become integral parts of our daily lives.
(via Bloomberg)
