Apple’s AR glasses could slip to 2026, says analyst

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“Design issues” mean the lighter AR headgear may have to wait, analyst claims

Apple Glasses
(Image credit: Techweartrend)

While Apple is still expected to release its first VR/AR headset next year, the bigger step to mainstream adoption — the Google Glass-style AR glasses — may have slipped two years according to one analyst.

In an email to MarketWatch, Haitong International Tech Research’s Jeff Pu wrote that Apple Glasses could now be up to four years from making their first appearance.

“We now expect the AR Glass to be postponed to 2025-2026, due to design issues,” Pu wrote. This is significant as just five months ago Pu stated that the AR glasses could be announced as soon as 2024.

The term “design difficulties” is, of course, a bit of a catch-all. It could cover anything from making the glasses aesthetically pleasing and light enough for extended wear, to ensuring they have enough battery life to be useful and don’t overheat. 

But it’s striking that nearly a decade after Google Glass became available to ‘Explorers’ in the US, companies are still struggling to make the form factor work, despite the considerable technological improvements we’ve seen in the intervening years.

Apple’s vision

Despite this possible setback, make no mistake: embracing Augmented Reality remains a top priority for Apple. 

It’s also a personal enthusiasm for CEO Tim Cook, who talks up the medium at every opportunity. It is, according to him, both a “critically important part of Apple’s future” and “the next big thing” that will “pervade our entire lives”.

The medium is something that the company reportedly sees as replacing the iPhone in a decade. That’s quite an ambition considering there are over a billion active iPhones in the world, not to mention the mix of apathy and downright hostility which met Google Glass when it first emerged. 

But if any company can mainstream a weird-looking product, it’s Apple. Let’s not forget that AirPods’ quirky design was originally met with mockery. Now they’re pretty much everywhere and a healthy revenue raiser for the company. 

The first step on this path, and an early test to Apple’s marketing power in this space, will be the AR/VR headset, which is expected early next year. Although it’s expected to be a very different product to AR glasses that can comfortably be worn everywhere, some of the augmented reality ideas will likely be shared between the two devices. 

While the iPhone has AR elements already, it will be fascinating to see how the world reacts to a product where AR is the main attraction, rather than a sideshow.

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Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.