Apple is reportedly worried about smart glasses, too - Yahoo Tech

What the report says

Yahoo Entertainment, citing Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, reported that Apple has pushed back plans for its long-rumored smart glasses and is now expected to introduce them at its 2027 Worldwide Developers Conference. The article says Apple had earlier been expected to show the product this year, with a consumer release to follow in 2027, but is taking more time to refine the device and its positioning.

A central concern, according to the Yahoo report, is the public perception of camera-equipped glasses after Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses gained attention — and criticism — over privacy and social-use concerns. Meta is described as the current leader in the category and recently introduced three lower-priced designs. But the article notes that some users worry the glasses make bystanders uncomfortable, and that courts in several jurisdictions have limited their use; New York was cited as the first state to ban smart glasses in all courtrooms statewide.

For Apple, the reported challenge is to compete in a growing wearables segment while avoiding associations with covert recording, harassment videos or facial-recognition concerns. Yahoo says Apple is likely to lean heavily on its privacy reputation, potentially avoiding features such as training AI systems on users’ glasses recordings or using facial recognition.

The article also cites reporting from Business Insider, Wired, The New York Times and The Information about Meta’s handling of smart-glasses content and facial-recognition work. Meta disputed Wired’s account, saying no such consumer feature had shipped and pointing to safeguards intended to protect people nearby.