Apple’s upcoming AI smart glasses are starting to sound a lot more exciting

Source: 9to5Mac

Apple AI Glasses Rumors

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Apple will be “accelerating” the development of three upcoming AI wearables: smart glasses, a pendant, and AirPods with cameras. These three products are all meant to integrate Siri deeper into our everyday lives, and I’ll be focusing on the glasses aspect of it.

Obviously, Apple has always had an ambition to make glasses. The idea of Apple making AR glasses has been in the rumor mill for ages. For now, that’s on pause – and Vision Pro will have to do. In the meanwhile, the company is pursuing AI glasses, similar to Meta Ray‑Bans.

Meta Ray‑Bans have been a hit since they launched towards the end of 2023. Despite Meta’s reputation for privacy concerns, many people have been excited to have a pair of glasses with cameras. At their core, they have cameras, microphones, and speakers – allowing users to talk to Meta AI about their surroundings, listen to music, or take photos and videos.

Starting last year, we began to hear that Apple was working towards releasing its own version of Meta Ray‑Bans in the coming year. Now, development has advanced significantly.

Apple is reportedly integrating two camera lenses: one for computer vision, and another for taking photos and videos. The company has also figured out how to embed all of the components in the frame, after initially planning to rely on an external battery.

Apple Has a New Trick Up Its Sleeve

When talking about products that rely on voice for communication, it’s easy to think about how it might not always be practical to speak out loud. This is why I largely don’t use any of the voice‑assistant features on my Meta Ray‑Bans.

Recently, Apple acquired a new startup for $2 billion: Q.ai.

While we don’t know many details about this company, we do know it specialized in machine‑learning systems for interpreting silent voice input. Right now, if you want to speak to a voice assistant, it has to be fairly audible. Even whispers can be hard for certain models, especially in noisy environments. This acquisition could change that.

Q.ai also researched systems for interpreting micro‑facial movements, enabling them to understand speech without any audible sound.

If these technologies come together, Apple Glasses could become incredibly appealing and might make people take voice assistants more seriously.

Wrap Up

Ultimately, Meta Ray‑Bans will likely be much cheaper than Apple’s AI glasses. However, if Apple can deliver next‑level speech‑recognition technology, many users may be willing to overlook the price difference. While a concrete release date isn’t known, a launch within the next year or so seems plausible.

What do you think of Apple’s AI glasses? Are you excited for them, or will you be skipping? Let us know in the comments.