Earlier this week, Mark Gurman at Bloomberg outlined fresh details about Apple Glasses, with a special focus on design. Here’s why it sounds like Apple is truly playing to its strengths with the forthcoming product.
Previous reports on Apple’s upcoming smart glasses have given us a great idea of what the product will do. Rumored features include deep iPhone integration, cameras for photography and visual intelligence, a voice-first interface with iOS 27’s new Siri, and more.
But this week, we got our most detailed update yet on what Apple Glasses might look like.
Mark Gurman writes at Bloomberg:
Apple’s design team has whipped up at least four different styles and plans to launch some or all of them, I’m told, as well as many color options. The latest units are made from a high-end material called acetate, which is known to be more durable and luxurious than the standard plastic used by many brands.
Here are the designs in testing:
- A large rectangular frame, reminiscent of Ray-Ban Wayfarers
- A slimmer rectangular design, similar to the glasses worn by Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook
- Larger oval or circular frames
- A smaller, more refined oval or circular option
Apple is exploring a range of finishes, including black, ocean blue and light brown. As with AirPods and the Apple Watch, the goal is to create a design that is instantly recognizable. Apple refers to this as the “icon” internally. One notable detail under consideration is the camera system: vertically oriented oval lenses with surrounding lights, a departure from the circular design seen in Meta’s products.
Competing smart glasses products all tend to look pretty good. And that’s no surprise, since companies like Meta have partnered with glasses experts: Ray-Ban, Oakley, and more.
Apple designers are making smart glasses without such outside partners. Which I believe is the exact right move, since Apple’s design team has repeatedly proven its ability to create iconic designs.
And doing so with smart glasses will be no small feat, especially with several distinct styles planned.
But Apple’s current wearables shows this is very much in the company’s area of expertise.
AirPods and Apple Watch are great examples of Apple’s ability to create iconic looks. And both even offer multiple distinct models.
Whether you’re talking about AirPods Pro, AirPods, or AirPods Max, every AirPods model has an “instantly recognizable” quality to it.
The same goes for the Apple Watch. Designs for both Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra were distinct from the start. And despite competitors’ attempts to copy Apple, those designs remain iconic.
Headphones and watches have been around for a long time. Yet Apple managed to design tech versions that evoke familiarity while standing apart as distinctly Apple.
And it sounds like the company will lean on this strength with Apple Glasses too.
I’m not surprised Apple wants to create a glasses design that’s instantly recognizable. But doing this across potentially four or more different looks is a big ask. I’m excited to see how Apple delivers.
Maybe the use of acetate, the unique camera setup, or some other design feature will help Apple unite its various glasses offerings while also making them stand out from third-party alternatives.
Apple’s design team has had a lot of turnover since the original AirPods and Apple Watch launched. Most notably, Jony Ive was still around for those early models.
But perhaps as early as this fall, we’ll get to see what Apple’s current design team has in store.
What are your thoughts on Apple’s reported design plans for Apple Glasses? Let us know in the comments.
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