RUMOR
Apple’s smart glasses are still on track, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, with a reported unveil at WWDC in June 2027 and a consumer release by the end of 2027. The catch is that the first pair, codenamed N50, may not be AR glasses at all. And a new Apple patent about prescription lenses does not say what some headlines want it to say.
What we know
Road to VR reported on July 27, 2026, citing Bloomberg’s Gurman, that Apple is set to unveil its first smart glasses at WWDC in June 2027. Bloomberg reports the codename is N50, consumer release is expected by the end of 2027, and the glasses have two camera sensors.
AppleInsider’s September 27, 2026 write-up of Gurman’s newsletter repeats the end-of-2027 goal, with the glasses releasing “in some form.” The same report says a revamped Vision headset is on “life support,” with a possible launch in late 2028 or early 2029 if it goes ahead at all. That fits an October 2025 Macworld report, via The Gadgeteer, that Apple paused a Vision Pro redesign to prioritize glasses.
Then there’s the patent. On October 13, 2026, Apple was granted US 12,761,113, which describes auto-detecting attachable prescription lenses during setup. That’s it. The patent record says nothing about who the glasses are for, so the idea that Apple’s glasses will mainly appeal to prescription wearers is not supported. AppleInsider points out that patents do not guarantee a product, and plenty of Apple patents never ship.
What is rumored
Bloomberg’s Gurman reported in May 2026, via MacRumors, MacTrast and Thurrott, that N50 will have no in-lens display. Instead, he describes oval cameras, multiple frame styles and pricing aimed at the $200 to $500 range. He says Apple is building toward true AR later in the decade. Gurman has a proven Apple track record, but his glasses timeline has slipped repeatedly, from late 2026 to early 2027 to late 2027. Apple has confirmed none of this.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects Ray-Ban-style Apple glasses to enter mass production in Q2 2027, with 3 to 5 million or more shipments that year. That comes via The Gadgeteer, citing AppleInsider coverage, so it is a secondary summary rather than Kuo’s original note. Kuo is a well-known supply-chain analyst, but his timing calls have a mixed record.
What we don’t know yet
Apple has not announced any glasses. We don’t know the final price, the frame lineup, what the cameras will do, how they pair with an iPhone, or whether “in some form” means a slimmer launch than planned.
We also don’t know when real AR glasses arrive. In January 2025, Gurman reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the move, that Apple canceled a Mac-tethered AR glasses project with displays after poor executive reviews. Apple did not comment. That spawned “Apple AR glasses aren’t happening” headlines, but Gurman’s own follow-up said the long-term standalone AR goal “remains intact.” So the claim that Apple gave up on AR entirely does not hold up. Back in June 2023, Gurman put true AR glasses at least four years out, if ever. That window is still wide open.
What it means
If Gurman is right, Apple’s first glasses are a camera-and-audio wearable in the Ray-Ban Meta mold, not a Vision Pro you can wear to the grocery store. For XR fans, that’s a step sideways, not forward. No display means no spatial apps, no overlays, nothing you’d call mixed reality.
What it does signal is a strategic shift. Apple seems to be putting headset work on the back burner and betting on cheap, everyday frames first, with display tech saved for later. The prescription patent is a sensible engineering detail for any glasses product, not a sign of who Apple is targeting.
My take: plan around WWDC 2027 as the earliest reveal, treat the no-display spec as likely but unconfirmed, and keep expectations for actual Apple AR glasses parked until later in the decade. Given how often this timeline has moved, I wouldn’t bet on any date until Apple says it on stage.
