Apple CEO 'Hell Bent' on Launching True AR Glasses Before Meta

Apple CEO Tim Cook is determined to bring true augmented reality glasses to market before Meta can achieve the same feat. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Cook has made the glasses a top priority for the company, with a person with knowledge of the matter stating that it's the only thing he's really spending his time on from a product development standpoint. The goal is to create lightweight spectacles that users can wear all day and which overlay graphics on the real world. The upcoming new versions of Apple's Vision Pro mixed reality headset are a stepping stone towards this ultimate decade-long goal. Meta is also developing true AR glasses, and has already prototyped a version of the device it envisions bringing to mass market, dubbed Orion. However, it will take many years for true AR glasses to be ready, with several technologies still needing to be perfected, including high-resolution displays and a tiny battery that can provide all-day power. In the meantime, Apple is said to have discussed the possibility of making similar non-AR smart glasses to compete with Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, which have reportedly been a surprise hit. Apple is also working on adding AI-enabled cameras to the Apple Watch and AirPods over the next couple of years. The company has been conducting user studies at its offices to gauge the appeal of features and interfaces for the AR glasses, and is working on a version of visionOS that will run on glasses. The development of AR glasses has been a long-term goal for Apple, with rumors about Apple's work on AR glasses dating back almost 10 years, and the Vision Pro headset is what Apple built because the technology doesn't yet exist for the kind of augmented reality glasses that Apple is aiming for.