Apple delays launch of smart glasses due to privacy

According to Gurman, the teams working on the glasses within Apple’s Vision hardware group and in other areas of the company treat privacy as their “No. 1 priority.” To address these issues, Apple is reportedly developing new privacy features in hardware and software that are not available in current products.

Privacy features under study

• On the software side, Apple should adopt protections similar to those of Meta: disable recording if the system detects that the recording indicator light has been tampered with, according to Gurman;
• The company would also be evaluating versions with reduced functionality;
• One of the options would be to launch glasses without any camera;
• Another alternative would be to offer a model with a full camera system, but without the ability to take photos or record videos;
• Both possibilities were reported by Gurman.

Apple revised schedule

Apple’s smart glasses were initially expected to debut later this year. The deadline was postponed, and the launch is now expected for the end of 2027, with a presentation scheduled for the next edition of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), also in 2027, according to Gurman.

While the product does not hit the market, Apple and consumers can follow the privacy debate surrounding Meta’s AI glasses, which were recently the target of a class action lawsuit related to privacy allegations.