Apple Reportedly Weighing Smart Glasses Push

Apple is reportedly exploring the viability of entering the smart glasses market.

The tech giant has launched an in-house study of currently available products, Bloomberg News reported Monday (Nov. 4).

According to that report, the project — code-named Atlas — began last week and centers around getting feedback from Apple workers on smart glasses, sources told Bloomberg.

The sources said further focus groups will be held in the near future, overseen by Apple’s Product Systems Quality team, part of the company’s hardware engineering department.

“Testing and developing products that all can come to love is very important to what we do at Apple,” the group wrote in an email to select employees based at the company’s headquarters. “This is why we are looking for participants to join us in an upcoming user study with current-market smart glasses.”

PYMNTS has contacted Apple for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

The Bloomberg report notes that Apple has faced challenges in creating a successful “face-worn” device. The company’s Vision Pro headset, which launched in early February, is viewed as too unwieldy — and too costly at nearly $3,500 — to go mainstream.

Last month brought the news that production on the Vision Pro had been significantly reduced. A source at Luxshare, the device’s assembler, told Reuters that Apple had told the company “that it might need to wind down its manufacturing in November,” while another source said their factory suspended production of Vision Pro components in May.

Other reports indicate Apple could be pivoting, possibly developing a more affordable version of the Vision Pro aimed at a wider base of consumers.

If Apple were to enter the smart glasses market, it would compete with the likes of Meta, which recently launched a long-term partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, aimed at advancing smart eyewear technology.

As noted here in September, the partnership expands the boundaries of smart eyewear technology, building on the success of past Ray-Ban Meta glasses and setting the stage for further innovations in wearables, with artificial intelligence (AI) in the mix.

“The introduction of AI-powered eyewear from leading tech companies is poised to transform consumer shopping habits both online and in-store,” PYMNTS wrote last month.

“Experts anticipate these glasses will offer immersive virtual shopping experiences, allow for real-time price comparisons and integrate digital catalogs directly into users’ vision. As retailers and brands race to adapt, this technology is set to blur the boundaries between digital and physical retail spaces.”