It seems like every big tech company is getting its feet into the AI wearables game, and Apple is joining in. According to reliable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, a trio of Apple wearables is in the works, arriving anywhere between later this year and late next year.
The three reported devices are glasses, a pin, and more advanced AirPods. All of these have been reported on previously in various stories, but Gurman's latest update suggests how they'll work in tandem with each other. That's exactly what I was expecting: In fact, I wrote about it a few weeks ago in a story about all the AI and wearable reports that were popping up.
Gemini could be the key piece
Apple's recent deal with Google to have Gemini power its next wave of Apple AI always suggested wearables to me, because Gemini's camera-enabled and live modes are key to Google's upcoming wave of glasses coming later this year.
Apple could be using Gemini to leap ahead in camera and context-aware live AI functions that could make these new wearables work.
Glasses: Display-free for now
The AI glasses in Gurman's report are more like existing display-free Meta Ray-Bans, equipped with cameras, microphones and speakers. According to Gurman, two camera sensors will split photo/video and sensory awareness duties. The designs and frames may be Apple-made, something I expected could be the case based on every one of Apple's other products. Apple also has its retail stores where you could try on these glasses and get them sized.
I'd expect a similar set of features on them to what Meta and Google are already bringing: recording, assistive features like guidance, translation and audio captioning, and audio features that would make them work like glasses-shaped AirPods.
The glasses are expected next year, but if that's the case, I'd expect Apple to give an advance preview of them this year in a similar move to what they did with Vision Pro and the original Apple Watch.
It's always made sense for Apple to make glasses, considering its excellence in camera and audio tech. And as I said before, the pieces for glasses are already distributed in a variety of Apple devices, in a sense.
Infrared cameras on AirPods could give them an interface that will let them work with glasses and pins.
Anna Gragert/CNETAirPods: Infrared cameras for gestures, maybe more
The AirPods update expected later this year looks like it'll be focused on adding infrared cameras to the AirPods Pro 3 design. These cameras should work for gesture tracking, not taking pictures: it'll probably work a bit as the Vision Pro's near-range hand tracking does, and likely will work in the dark too.
If these do arrive in 2026, they'll be Apple's first piece in the next wearable puzzle. They'll push out some of the AI functions on AirPods, most likely, and allow some simple hand gestures that could control music or interact with workouts. They could also be a way of testing hand tracking technology that could land on the glasses, too.
The Humane AI pin was a failure, but Apple could be reviving the idea as an iPhone accessory.
Photo by Scott Stein/Retouched by Viva TungA pin too, maybe?
Gurman emphasizes that a camera-enabled AI pin is also in the works, also with a release in 2027 ... although there's also a chance this pin might not happen at all. This mirrors a report from The Information earlier this year.
Most other tech companies have been gravitating to pendants and pins lately, judging by announcements made at CES in January. Pins could be more versatile to wear, and maybe they're a bit of a hedge in case everyone doesn't like the idea of glasses. Maybe Apple doesn't actually make all three. Or maybe they do. The report sounds less certain on the pin's arrival than on glasses and new AirPods. Apple's pin clearly sounds like an iPhone accessory rather than an independent device like the failed Humane AI Pin, focusing on assistive camera and audio functions (and maybe a hand-tracking interface).
None of these devices would have displays, but down the road, Apple could find a way to blend a lower-cost Vision headset in a more glasses-like form with these types of smaller wearables. Or maybe Apple's figuring out ways to explore new interfaces on wearables first before solving for a new wave of wearable displays beyond Vision Pro.
Odds are we won't hear anything about any of this until at least Apple's WWDC developer conference in June, but I'm now extremely curious how much of these plans might emerge then … considering Google could also be readying its lineup of glasses soon too, with Google I/O on deck for late May.
Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
