Apple's Smart Glasses Pushed to 2027 Reveal as Company Debates Cutting the Camera

Apple's smart glasses project has slipped again. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the device was initially scheduled to debut this year, but the timeline has been pushed back. Gurman reports Apple is now expected to reveal the glasses at WWDC in 2027, with a release following by the end of that year.

The holdup, per Gurman's reporting, is privacy. Teams developing the glasses within Apple's Vision hardware group and elsewhere in the company reportedly see privacy as "priority No. 1," and Apple is said to be working on several new hardware and software-related privacy features not available on any of its current products.

What Apple is reportedly considering

On the software side, Gurman reported that Apple will likely disable recording if it suspects the indicator light meant to signal recording has been tampered with — a safeguard similar to one Meta already uses on its own glasses.

Apple is also reportedly weighing more conservative hardware options. One would offer smart glasses with no camera included at all. Another would keep a full camera system in place but strip out the ability to actually take photos or video.

Why this fits Apple's reputation

Apple has built a reputation around emphasizing user privacy, and it makes sense the company would move carefully on a new hardware category built around a face-worn camera. Until Apple's plans are finalized, the industry can watch how the privacy conversation plays out with Meta, whose AI glasses have recently been named in a class action lawsuit, according to Gurman's reporting.

The tradeoff nobody's resolved yet

Gurman's reporting frames Apple's camera decision as an unresolved internal debate rather than a finalized design. A version with no camera, or a camera that can't capture anything, would address the privacy concerns Apple's teams are reportedly focused on — but it's not yet clear which approach, if any, Apple will ship.

Timeline reality check

Apple's smart glasses were initially scheduled to debut this year. That timeline has since been pushed back. Per Gurman's reporting, the current plan points to a reveal at WWDC in 2027, followed by a release by the end of that year.

Apple has not issued a public statement confirming Gurman's timeline or the specific camera options under discussion, and the company has a long-standing policy of not commenting on unreleased products. Until Apple confirms otherwise, the WWDC 2027 target and the camera-limiting options remain reported plans, not announced product decisions.