Apple’s first smart glasses may have been pushed back partly because of the growing privacy controversy surrounding Meta’s AI-powered smart glasses.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has shifted its expected launch from late 2026 to 2027, with privacy now becoming one of the company’s biggest priorities as it works on the device.
The company is reportedly developing new safeguards to address concerns about wearable cameras and prevent the kinds of privacy issues that have drawn criticism of competing smart glasses.
Apple has had the advantage of watching how privacy issues unfold around competing smart glasses before bringing its own product to market.
Meta’s AI glasses have faced criticism over how easily wearable cameras can capture people who may not realise they are being recorded.
Meta is also facing proposed class-action lawsuits alleging that sensitive footage captured by its AI glasses was sent to human contractors for review. The allegations include private footage containing nudity and other sensitive information. Meta has disputed claims that its privacy protections are inadequate.
Instagram, which is owned by Meta, also recently started banning accounts using Meta Smart Glasses in creepy and deceptive ways such as prank videos.
Camera-equipped smart glasses create an obvious privacy problem because people nearby may not immediately know whether they are being recorded.
For Apple, the issue is particularly important because privacy has become a major part of how the company positions its products.
Apple is reportedly developing new hardware and software privacy protections specifically for the glasses, including measures that are not currently available on its other products.
The company is expected to favour processing information directly on the device where possible.
Apple is also reportedly considering avoiding facial recognition, continuous environmental recording and the use of customer recordings to train AI models.
Apple is also expected to use safeguards similar to those Meta has introduced for its smart glasses.
Meta glasses include an indicator light that signals when the camera is recording. The company has introduced protections designed to prevent recording when the system detects that the indicator has been covered or tampered with.
Gurman reports that Apple is considering comparable protections for its own glasses as it works to make it difficult for users to secretly disable recording warnings.
Apple has reportedly experimented with several approaches to the camera problem.
One prototype removes the camera system entirely.
Such glasses could still provide hands-free access to AI, audio, phone calls, and other features without raising the same concerns about secretly photographing or recording other people.
Another option would include cameras but prevent users from taking photographs or recording videos.
Instead, the cameras would work as sensors for AI features, allowing the glasses to understand objects and places around the wearer without functioning as a conventional wearable camera.
Apple is reportedly most likely to include cameras in the final product, but with stronger privacy controls around their use.
Apple is currently expected to introduce the glasses during WWDC 2027 and begin shipping them before the end of that year.
The product is reportedly known internally as N50. Apple has not officially announced the device, its features, or its release date, meaning the development plans could still change before launch.
If the reported plans remain in place, privacy could become one of the main ways Apple tries to differentiate its smart glasses from Meta and other competitors.
Get the latest tech news, telecom insights, and product launches wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.