AIBRIEF
Per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is sliding the reveal to Apple's June developer conference (WWDC) and pushing on sale to before end of 2027, citing privacy around face mounted cameras.
Apple is reportedly sliding its smart-glasses reveal from a fall 2026 window to a June WWDC unveiling, with on-sale pushed to before the end of 2027. Per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, as reported by CNET, the holdup is privacy: a category-level problem Apple can't fix with software alone.
Meta's Ray-Ban glasses include an LED that lights up when recording, but wearers have found ways to block it without disabling the camera, and Meta says it will deactivate cameras in that case; the indicator is also hard to see in sunlight. New York State court buildings and courts in California and Wisconsin already ban the devices, along with some comic conventions and Royal Caribbean restrooms and casinos. Instagram has said it will pull content and possibly ban accounts that post smart-glasses video.
Gurman reports that Apple's Vision hardware group is prioritizing privacy: AI processing is expected to run on-device rather than going to Apple servers, facial recognition is unlikely, and the glasses will likely include a hardware recording indicator similar to Meta's. Apple declined to comment.
The report runs through one on-the-record source, Gurman via CNET; the exact on-sale date, price, and final design remain unannounced.