Apple is reportedly gauging employee sentiment on smart glasses, signaling a potential foray into this emerging market. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a reputable Apple analyst, revealed that the tech giant has initiated focus groups with employees to gather feedback on existing smart glasses. This suggests Apple is actively researching the viability of developing its own smart glasses product.
Apple’s Product Systems Quality team, part of the hardware engineering division, is spearheading these focus groups. A leaked email invitation to select employees at Apple’s California headquarters highlights the company’s commitment to user-centric product development. The email emphasizes the importance of testing and developing products that resonate with users, framing the study as crucial for understanding the current smart glasses landscape.
This internal research aligns with Apple’s typical approach to exploring new markets. Focus groups offer valuable insights while maintaining secrecy, although leaks, like this one, can occur. The move indicates Apple is seriously considering entering the smart glasses arena, potentially challenging competitors like Meta.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, with features like photo/video capture, calling, audio playback, and AI assistant integration, represent a current benchmark in the market. Recent updates have further enhanced their functionality with voice messaging capabilities. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also teased the development of more advanced augmented reality smart glasses during a September event.
Apple’s exploration of smart glasses comes as its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, a significantly more expensive and complex device priced at $3,499, faces market challenges. This context suggests Apple will proceed cautiously with any smart glasses venture, especially given the current niche market for such devices.
Gurman predicts that even with positive internal feedback, a potential Apple smart glasses product is still “years away” from launch. This underscores the exploratory nature of the current research and the lengthy development process typical of Apple products.
