Apple smart glasses delayed to late 2027, reports

Apple smart – Apple’s rumored smart glasses—camera-equipped and reportedly without a heads-up display—have reportedly slipped from a late 2026 target to late 2027 after development snags. The shift comes as two of the most-followed leakers, Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo, app

He’s been saying it for months. Then, with just a new report, the timeline for Apple’s smart glasses suddenly loses its footing.

Apple’s camera-equipped smart glasses—rumored to arrive without a heads-up display—have been discussed for an end-of-2026 launch window. But in the latest update, Apple is now said to be aiming for a late 2027 release instead. The change is reported via the Bloomberg newsletter “Power On. ” which says Apple is pushing back the launch to late 2027 after hitting some development snags.

Mark Gurman. the reporter behind “Power On. ” had earlier framed the glasses’ schedule in ways that made a late 2026 window feel increasingly settled. In 2024, his initial reports around codenamed N50 glasses suggested a 2027 launch window. Then, in January 2025, he said Apple smart glasses development had run into “massive hurdles” that could take years to clear. In May 2025, he shared that Apple was targeting a late 2026 launch.

That late 2026 window is the one he repeated frequently afterward, including as recently as February and April 2026. The difference this time is that the new report adds a delay—something that hadn’t been clearly hinted at about mass production timing, even with those earlier struggles mentioned.

Gurman has also been clear on what the first version is unlikely to include. Apple’s smart glasses don’t have an AR display, he’s said. And the AR additions—those would arrive later. with Gurman now also repeating the idea that they’re “by the end of the decade. ” which. given it is 2026. isn’t far away.

The push into design and feature details is where the story turns from “when” to “what.” In today’s report. Apple is described as trying to stand out with distinct hardware choices—“oval-shaped cameras. ” “unique colors. ” and “multiple frame styles.” The idea also appears to be iterative: future versions could be positioned as a health device. potentially including AR features that could help people see.

That’s a striking ambition for a product whose first rumored batch still doesn’t include a display—meaning the early hardware pitch is reportedly closer to something wearable that captures and supports than a traditional in-eye AR experience.

The confusion gets sharper when you compare today’s update with another leaker who has stayed in the conversation for years, but with a less relentless drumbeat.

Ming-Chi Kuo. described in the report as having been in play since 2023 and being highly accurate about Apple timelines. had been pointing to a different release path. His timeline has been largely consistent with a late-2027 launch window. In June 2025. Kuo reported that Apple was aiming to ship three to five million smart glasses—framed as Meta Ray-Ban-like in approach—during the second quarter of 2027.

That supply-chain angle matters. The reporting notes that Kuo’s strength is supply chain knowledge and that he has had shipping estimates to back his claims. It’s also why. in this latest moment. Gurman’s earlier late-2026 guidance stands out: if Kuo’s logistics track has been pointing toward 2027. it’s curious that the internal picture had reportedly sounded closer to 2026.

The story doesn’t force one side to be wrong. It lays out a plausible way both could have been right—at least for different slices of the same plan. If. for example. Kuo heard from supply chain teams that an initial order was set for 2027. while Gurman heard from the internal group—near Apple’s Vision Product Group—that the team’s goals were for the end of 2026. then delays could have emerged late. As deadlines were missed and supply chains shifted. the internal goals might have been adjusted toward what the supply side had earlier signaled. That would align the leakers’ timelines without requiring either to be suddenly incorrect.

Still, it’s hard to ignore that Gurman has not been perfect when it comes to the Vision Product Group.

The report points to a specific miss: as Daring Fireball noted. in January 2025 Gurman said he didn’t believe there would be a new headset from Apple that year. Later. in April 2025. Gurman said a lighter Apple Vision product could ship by the end of 2025 or early 2026 and suggested the M5 refresh had been abandoned. The unchanged M5 model shipped in October 2025 instead.

None of this proves today’s delay is accurate beyond the reporting. But it does explain why the shift is landing with a little more tension than it might have otherwise.

There’s another wrinkle that sits behind the scenes: Apple’s other folding iPhone plans. which the report says are pushing for a fall release while repeatedly facing production issues. yet are reportedly not being delayed. With that contrast in mind. the idea that Apple’s smart glasses timeline can move suddenly—about eight months after earlier targets—feels uneven in the story’s own framing.

As Apple heads toward WWDC on June 8, the hope for clarity is natural. But because the first rumored smart glasses model won’t include a display, the report suggests there may be unlikely to be any direct sign of them in visionOS 27.

The bigger uncertainty is that N50 is only one piece of a larger wearable puzzle. The report says Apple has several glasses-related products in development beyond the N50, and that none of those projects’ details—or their release timing—are known.

So the most honest version of where things stand is also the most uncomfortable: smart glasses could still be split across windows. with one product arriving at the end of 2026 and another in 2027. depending on which part of Apple’s sprawling supply chain and internal teams are being described. The report even frames it like different leakers may be describing different “elephants.”.

Time will decide whether the new late-2027 target holds. For now. the story’s center of gravity has clearly shifted—along with the question many people will be asking as wearable AR ambitions ramp up: when the next Apple glasses finally arrive. will it be the plan the company started with. or the one it could make work?.

Apple smart glasses N50 Mark Gurman Power On Bloomberg Ming-Chi Kuo Vision Product Group visionOS 27 wearable AR camera glasses no HUD