- Apple has seven virtual reality -devices in the works, claiming a report
- It includes both smart glasses and Vision Pro-style headset
- The first device, however, is first launched 2027
Apple’s Vision Pro-headset has not yet proven to be the success story that Apple hoped for, while much more light smart glasses like Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers have proven to be more popular. But now a fresh report has wasted the beans about how Apple hopes to follow up on the Vision Pro – and how it can eventually displace Meta’s glasses from their high perch.
The news comes from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who published a new report claiming Apple is currently working on seven different main devices. It is far more than many people who were previously realized and suggest that Apple has not been postponed by Vision Pro’s matches.
In particular, KUO believes that the first of these devices to get a real traction will be Apple’s Ray-Ban Meta competitors. According to KUO, they could send 3-5 million units in 2027, the first year they are sold. It could push the total market sales of Augmented Reality (AR) glasses to over 10 million units a year, KUO says, suggesting that Apple’s specifications could sell as hot cakes and eat significant market share.
Apple Vision Series and Smart Glasses Roadmap (2025–2028): Smart Glasses,June 29, 2025
Although Apple may be a little late for the party, Kuo does not think that its rivals will score many significant successes.
This is because while Apple is struggling with the “AI -powered operating system and software” aspect (which we have recently seen with Siri), it gives its “robust hardware development features and ecosystem integration” a great advantage. It could mean that Apple’s AR glasses turn out to be a hit, despite other companies coming there first.
Seven products under development?
All in all, KUO says Apple is working on seven different main -mounted products. Five of them have a solid release time line, he believes, while two still need to be determined.
Three of the upcoming devices will be fully headset like Vision Pro. It includes a Vision Pro with the M5 chip to be launched around the third quarter of 2025. It only comes with a new chip and no other changes, which means it remains a niche product, says Kuo.
There will then be a light “Vision Air” sheath in the third quarter of 2027 with a lower price, 40% lighter frame and an iPhone chip on the inside. Then in the second half of 2028 we should see another generation Vision Pro with a new, lighter design, a Mac chip and a lower price.
On the Smart Grosses page we see the aforementioned Ray-Ban style specifications in the second quarter of 2027. Here you get “audio playback, camera, video recording and AI-environmental sensing” plus “voice control and gesture recognition” but no viewing functionality.
In the second half of 2028, Apple launches a pair of smart glasses that add the display features missing from its beam-ban-eaque specifications. KUO also says there is a “additional variant” of this product under development with a “later production time line and lower visibility.”
Finally, Apple is also working on a “display accessory”, KUO believes, but its release date is less secure. It has apparently been paused since the fourth quarter of 2024 and is “under review of relocation and specification reading.”
It would include a “bound connection to displaying content from Apple devices” (like an iPhone), but Apple has put it on wait because it lacks a real competitive advantage of other products. KUO believes it is possible that Apple can restart production, but there is no estimate of when it may be.
All in all, it seems that Apple has a wide slate of reality devices under development in its secret laboratories. But if you were hoping for a quick follow-up of Vision Pro-or the quick arrival of a cheaper headset you are out of luck. With the first of these products that are not launched until 2027, we still have something waiting to do.
