Apple is planning to reveal its first smart glasses at WWDC next June, expected to launch by end of 2027, with a strong focus on privacy features to differentiate from Meta's smart glasses, including on-device processing and no facial recognition.
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<img alt="" data-caption="Meta’s AI glasses have been the focus of controversy. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/268640_RayBan_Meta_Gen2_AKrales_0011.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
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Meta’s AI glasses have been the focus of controversy. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge </figcaption>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-07-26/apple-glasses-may-debut-at-wwdc-2027-privacy-camera-features-versus-meta-ms1v7lta?srnd=undefined">Mark Gurman</a>, Apple is planning to reveal its first smart glasses at WWDC next June, with an expectation that they'll launch by the end of 2027. Part of the hold-up may be around the company's efforts to get its privacy features and messaging in order. Smart glasses in general, and Meta's in particular, have ignited controversy over their ability to stealthily capture photos and videos. As Gurman points out:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The company has spent more than a decade making privacy one of its defining product messages. Simply entering the same category as Meta risks undermining that reputation, regardless of how Apple's approach differs.</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Apple …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/971101/apple-smart-glasses-privacy">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Apple is banking on privacy to set its smart glasses apart
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/971101/apple-smart-glasses-privacy](https://www.theverge.com/tech/971101/apple-smart-glasses-privacy)
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They’re expected be revealed next June at WWDC\.
They’re expected be revealed next June at WWDC\.
by
Jul 26, 2026, 7:36 PM UTC
[](https://www.theverge.com/authors/terrence-obrien)
Terrence O'Brien
is the Verge’s weekend editor\. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths\.
According to[Mark Gurman](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-07-26/apple-glasses-may-debut-at-wwdc-2027-privacy-camera-features-versus-meta-ms1v7lta?srnd=undefined), Apple is planning to reveal its first smart glasses at WWDC next June, with an expectation that they’ll launch by the end of 2027\. Part of the hold\-up may be around the company’s efforts to get its privacy features and messaging in order\. Smart glasses in general, and Meta’s in particular, have ignited controversy over their ability to stealthily capture photos and videos\. As Gurman points out:
> The company has spent more than a decade making privacy one of its defining product messages\. Simply entering the same category as Meta risks undermining that reputation, regardless of how Apple’s approach differs\.
Apple is likely to rely on on\-device processing and skip out on more controversial features like facial recognition or an always\-on\-recording similar to Meta’s “[super sensing](https://www.theverge.com/tech/963138/meta-smart-glasses-recording-super-sensing-ai)\.” Gurman also believes Apple will avoid using customer recordings to train AI models\.
Other hardware and software privacy features are also reportedly in the works\. It’s also possible that Apple could eventually release a version of its smart glasses without a camera, or with a camera that is exclusively for sensing and won’t be able to capture video or photos at all, similar to what is rumored for Apple’s[AI\-enabled AirPods](https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/25/24082760/apple-smart-glasses-airpods-cameras-smart-ring)\.
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- Terrence O'Brien
## The Verge Daily
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A WIRED feature examining the privacy concerns around camera-equipped smart glasses, especially Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, and how companies like Google, Samsung, and Apple are approaching the issue.
Apple is reportedly planning to compete in the smart glasses market with a strategy similar to its approach with the Apple Watch, targeting mainstream consumers and taking on established eyewear brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban, rather than luxury players.
WIRED analysis reveals Meta secretly embedded face-recognition code called 'NameTag' into its AI app on millions of phones, capable of identifying people captured by Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses cameras, despite the company publicly claiming it was still 'thinking through' such a feature. The dormant system converts faces into biometric faceprints and checks them against an on-device database, reviving technology Meta claimed to have abandoned in 2021.
Even Realities Technology, a Chinese smart-glasses maker founded by an Apple veteran, raised $150 million from Tencent and Meituan to become a unicorn, competing with Meta in the AI wearable market. The company's G2 glasses prioritize user privacy by not including cameras, focusing on heads-up display features.
Meta is reportedly developing 'super sensing' smart glasses that continuously record audio and take photos every few seconds, using AI to query the captured data, raising significant privacy concerns.