Apple Is Reportedly Planning To Launch AI-Powered Glasses, a Pendant, and AirPods
- Reference: 0180819532
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/02/17/2249254/apple-is-reportedly-planning-to-launch-ai-powered-glasses-a-pendant-and-airpods
- Source link:
> Apple is reportedly aiming to start production of its smart glasses in December, ahead of a 2027 launch. The new device will compete directly with Meta's lineup of smart glasses and is rumored to feature speakers, microphones, and a high-resolution camera for taking photos and videos, in addition to another lens designed to enable AI-powered features.
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> The glasses won't have a built-in display, but they will allow users to make phone calls, interact with Siri, play music, and "take actions based on surroundings," such as asking about the ingredients in a meal, according to Bloomberg. Apple's smart glasses could also help users identify what they're seeing, reference landmarks when offering directions, and remind wearers to complete a task in specific situations, Bloomberg reports.
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> The company is reportedly planning to develop the frames for the smart glasses in-house, instead of partnering with a third-party company like Meta does with Ray-Ban and Oakley. Prototypes of the glasses use a cable to connect to a battery pack and an iPhone, but Bloomberg reports that "newer versions have the components embedded in the frame." Apple reportedly wants to make its smart glasses stand out by offering a high-quality build and advanced camera technology. The company is still working on AI-powered smart glasses with a display, though their launch "remains many years away," Bloomberg says.
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> Apple's plans for AI hardware don't end there, as the company is expected to build upon its Google Gemini-powered Siri upgrade with an AirTag-sized AI pendant that people can either wear as a necklace or a pin. This device would "essentially serve as an always-on camera" for the iPhone and has a microphone for prompting Siri, Bloomberg reports. The pendant, which The Information first reported on last month, is rumored to come with a built-in chip, but will mainly rely on the iPhone's processing power. The device could arrive as early as next year, according to Bloomberg.
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-17/apple-ramps-up-work-on-glasses-pendant-and-camera-airpods-for-ai-era
[2] https://www.theverge.com/tech/880293/apple-ai-hardware-smart-glasses-pin-airpods
We're going to get a bunch of stupid accessories (Score:4, Insightful)
During the ram shortage because they are going to have a drop in sales and they're going to try to make them money up somewhere.
Years and years ago there was a shortage of the ROM chips Nintendo used for the NES. During the shortage we got a bunch of stupid accessories like the power glove and the U force and a couple dozen other even sillier ones that existed to sell something when there weren't enough games on the shelves.
So expect electronics manufacturer is to push a bunch of silly stuff that doesn't need a lot of ram.
Oh and also expect a fuckload more market consolidation because a lot of smaller players are going to go out of business. And that's going to mean higher prices of course. Even after the ram shortage ends.
No more build your own (Score:2)
I suspect this is the beginning of the end for building your own rig for most folks.
Manufacturers prefer locked down, soldered RAM machines for obvious reasons. Microsoft would be happy with fewer, more predictable builds they could lean on people over. Businesses already mostly treat machines as "no user serviceable parts" inside.
That leaves gamers, nerds and hardware hobbyists (but I repeat myself).
Parts of the gamer segment can be peeled off in various ways. Nerds are forced to retreat to Ebay and ot
Followed by... (Score:2)
Followed by AI-powered butt-plugs, can-openers, napkins, keychains, and anything else they can cram 'AI' into.
whatever (Score:3, Funny)
> instead of partnering with a third-party company like Meta does with Ray-Ban and Oakley
You mean Luxotica.
Anyhoo this is probably the least surprising non-news I've ever seen. The pope still wears a funny hat, too.
I just don't see the pendant.. (Score:2)
As a concept, the pendant comes up short, as it wouldn't know where your head is pointed, let alone tracking gaze.
Glasses I can see, though in both cases the "glass hole" phenomenon seems a risk, folks not liking being constantly recorded... Further, so far I've always had to not only make sure the viewfinder is just so, but also crop to let the software know exactly what I'm talking about, centering on the subject is frequently not enough.
Wearable Pendant (Score:2)
Is the another kind of pendant?
Reason for Bluetooth 6.0 support? (Score:2)
I think the augmented reality glasses will likely need a good amount of wireless bandwidth to connect to an iPhone. This explains why the iPhone 17 with the N1 I/O chip supports the new Bluetooth 6.0 standard, which may allow for this higher bandwidth connection.
Just what we need... (Score:3)
AI pods telling us "You'll hurt your ears at those listening levels, so I turned it down for you."
Re: (Score:2)
"Thanks Dadbot."
"Mombot, can I turn this up higher?"