Main points
- Apple is developing new AI wearables, including smart glasses, a camera pendant, and AirPods with advanced AI features that will integrate with the iPhone and an updated Siri.
- The company also plans to release a smart home display with a new Siri, an updated HomePod, and other AI-powered devices for automation and security.
Apple is betting on AI glasses and new wearables / Unsplash / Vista Wei
Apple Inc. has ramped up development of three new wearable devices — smart glasses, a camera pendant and AirPods with enhanced AI capabilities. All of them will be connected to the iPhone and work around an updated Siri that takes visual context into account.
According to sources, the company is accelerating the transition to hardware products with deep integration of artificial intelligence – a direction in which Meta Platforms and OpenAI are also actively working. All new Apple gadgets will depend on the iPhone and will have cameras of different levels – from basic sensors for analyzing the environment to full-fledged modules for photos and videos. This is reported by Bloomberg.
What will Apple's new AI devices be like?
The most advanced product will be glasses codenamed N50 . The company plans to start production in December, and a public release could take place in 2027. The device will be positioned as an answer to the Meta camera glasses. It will receive two cameras – one high-resolution for shooting, the other for computer vision, similar to the technologies in Vision Pro .
The glasses will not have a display. Interaction will occur through microphones, speakers and cameras – users will be able to make calls, listen to music, take photos and interact with Siri . The assistant will analyze what a person sees and carry out requests in real time – for example, it will recognize objects, read text from a poster and add an event to the calendar or remind about a purchase when the user looks at the corresponding shelf.
Apple initially tested electronics in third-party frames from popular brands, considering partnerships like Meta with EssilorLuxottica or Google with Warby Parker . But it eventually decided to develop its own frames in different sizes and colors. The new prototypes already have all the components built into the case, while earlier versions were connected by a cable to the battery pack and iPhone.
According to NDTV , the second direction is a pendant with a camera that can be attached to clothing or worn around the neck. Inside the company, it is called the “eyes and ears” of the iPhone. The device does not have a display or projector, unlike the Humane AI Pin, and will largely rely on the smartphone for data processing. In terms of power, it is closer to AirPods than to the Apple Watch. There is discussion about whether the pendant will receive a speaker for a full-fledged dialogue without headphones.
AirPods with cameras could be released as early as this year. Apple has been exploring the concept since 2024 and is gradually adding AI features, including a live translation mode. The cameras in the headphones will have lower resolution and will be used primarily to improve AI performance , rather than for taking pictures.
In parallel, the company is preparing a new version of Siri for iOS 27 with a chatbot-like interface. To do this, Apple plans to use models created in conjunction with Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company. Despite stable iPhone sales, Apple is still catching up with competitors in the field of AI, and Siri modernization has repeatedly encountered delays.
Its previous entry into the new category, the Vision Pro headset , wasn't a massive hit. So the company is betting on lighter wearables that will keep users in the Apple ecosystem. In the future, Apple also plans to create glasses with a full AR display, but such a product remains a distant goal.
In addition to wearable gadgets, the company is working on AI devices for the home – a smart display with a new Siri , a version with a larger screen and a robotic arm, an updated HomePod, and a compact sensor for security and automation.
What else can we expect from Apple in the near future?
Apple is set to unveil several new Mac and related products in the coming weeks, with the main new releases including several laptops and at least one new external display.
The most interesting is the budget MacBook with the A18 Pro processor. This is a model with a display slightly smaller than 13 inches, which, according to preliminary data, will receive several color variants of the case. Such a move may mean Apple's attempt to more actively enter the segment of more affordable laptops and attract a new audience. In addition, an update to the MacBook Air line with the M5 chip is being prepared. It is expected that this model will receive mainly technical improvements without significant changes in design. The company also plans to introduce a MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max processors. They will be a continuation of the series after the basic version of the M5, which appeared in the fall of last year.