Over the weekend, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple Glasses likely won’t launch until late 2027. But the report also mentions Apple’s planned strategy for its glasses, and it has me way more excited for the product.
Apple Glasses will focus on winning over traditional eyewear market, per report
Smart glasses are a nascent industry that’s had some success, but it still largely unproven.
With Apple Glasses, however, it sounds like Apple has its sights set on a much bigger market.
Mark Gurman writes at Bloomberg:
The far bigger prize is traditional eyewear. Following the watch playbook, Apple is aiming for the broader glasses opportunity. The idea is to compete with products sold between roughly $200 and $500, a segment that includes EssilorLuxottica SA (Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol, Oliver Peoples and Chanel), Safilo Group SpA (Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss) and Warby Parker Inc. […]
How is Apple going to approach this enormous market? I’m told that the company believes its strong brand, industrial design and iPhone integration will lead people seeking new regular glasses to spring for an Apple pair instead.
If this is indeed Apple’s goal with glasses, I think it’s very good news for the product.
Why? Because it means Apple Glasses will need to be a great pair of normal-looking glasses first, and a tech product second.
Why Apple’s direction with glasses is more than just a marketing decision
The prospect of AI-powered smart glasses might excite a small number of tech enthusiasts. But for the vast majority of consumers, I suspect they’re more leery of such a product than interested in it.
Put AI and cameras into a wearable that’s supposed to stay on the face all day, and you immediately scare a sizable portion of the population.
But if Apple aims to disrupt the traditional eyewear industry, it will have to do two things:
- Design a great pair of glasses that people would consider wearing without any added tech
- Ensure the added tech doesn’t harm the first goal
When I first bought an Apple Watch, I was surprised to find that telling the time was one of my favorite features. In hindsight, that sounds silly. But I was approaching the product as a tech enthusiast, focused on all the other exciting features.
Apple, meanwhile, knew that it needed to make Apple Watch a great watch before it could succeed as a tech product.
Similarly, based on Apple’s reported strategy for Apple Glasses, the product needs to be a great pair of glasses first and foremost.
That means glasses can’t look scary or too much like a tech product. They also can’t require charging every few hours. The goal of making a great pair of glasses will inform tech decisions.
This might mean Apple Glasses lack some cool features found in competing products. But that’s okay, because targeting the general glasses wearer requires making glasses everyone is comfortable with—both wearers and those around them.
I’ve been cautiously optimistic about Apple Glasses before now. But after this latest leak, I’m actually very excited about the product. Some might argue that this is just a marketing issue—but Apple’s direction in marketing will absolutely shape the design of the product itself.
If Apple can deliver a pair of glasses that truly can feel just like glasses, but with some added tech benefits, that sounds much more like a winner than a pair of overly complicated, creepy AI glasses.
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