Apple May Challenge Meta Ray-Ban Dominance With Multiple Smart Glasses

Apple is coming for Meta's lunch money in the smart glasses space and part of its strategy is to release multiple styles of frames and different color options, according to a new report. The pending launch also represents a shift in Apple's original strategy for its Vision Products Group, which previously had hoped to have AR glasses by now.

This comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and the latest edition of his weekly PowerOn newsletter. In it, he states that Apple originally wanted to release three distinct vision products, including an augmented reality headset that would be tethered to an iPhone, a premium mixed reality headset, and AR glasses.

The original roadmap, now viewed as ambitious, had the tethered headset releasing in 2020, the mixed reality headset in 2021, and AR glasses by the middle of 2022. Instead, Apple ended up scrapping the tethered headset and releasing its mixed reality Vision Pro device in 2024 (along with a refreshed model in 2025). Looking ahead, it's also pivoting away from AR glasses to focus on smart glasses instead.

Like Meta's current smart glasses with Ray-Ban and Oakley collaborations, Apple's smart glasses will feature similar capabilities, enabled users to capture photos and videos, field phone calls, play music, and more. But unlike Meta, Apple is not planning to join forces with the likes of Ray-Ban or any other company, choosing instead to lean on its own in-house designs.

The challenge for Apple is that it is arriving late to the party, though it intends on being fashionably late by offering no less than four different frame styles and at least four color options. According to what Gurman's been told, Apple is planning a version of its smart glasses with a large rectangular frame similar in style to the Ray-Ban Wayfarers, a slimmer model that looks similar to the glasses that Apple CEO Tim Cook currently wears, a third model with large oval or circular frames, and a fourth option with smaller oval or circular frames. Some of the color options being evaluated include black, ocean blue, and light brown.

Apple's also said to be focused on a more premium feel, with its glasses being made from acetate rather than standard plastic found on some competing designs. And it's other edge will be the tight integration with iPhone, complete with an overhauled Siri that will be arriving with iOS 27.

Though the category is far from new at this point, Apple has had repeated success putting its own stamp on existing product types, and it hopes to replicate that with its first generation smart glasses. The time is ripe for Apple to make a move too, with services like TikTok creating a big demand for creators. Even something as simple as scooping Italian ice from a mobile cart (shout out to Brooklynice) or popping kettle corn at events (a la Popcorn Nate) can generate millions of likes and hundreds of thousands of followers