Report Reveals Apple’s Secretive Imaginative and prescient Merchandise Roadmap

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared a detailed roadmap of the corporate’s Imaginative and prescient and sensible glasses plans till the top of the last decade.

Apple apparently has a minimum of seven tasks in growth, together with three “Imaginative and prescient” units and 4 sensible glasses merchandise. Kuo says that 5 of those merchandise have “confirmed” growth timelines, whereas two stay to be confirmed. Here is what to anticipate:

2025

• Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional (M5): A refreshed first-generation Imaginative and prescient Professional. That includes the M5 chip with no different modifications, the brand new machine won’t be thought-about to be a “second technology” mannequin. Mass manufacturing is scheduled for the third quarter of 2025 and Apple is anticipating to ship 150,000–200,000 models this yr. It should seemingly stay a distinct segment product. The second technology mannequin is solely designed to keep up market presence and assist ecosystem growth, in addition to scale back stock of extra parts within the provide chain.

2026

• No new Imaginative and prescient or sensible glasses merchandise to be launched.

2027

• Apple Good Glasses: Much like Meta Ray-Bans, Apple’s first sensible glasses product will supply a number of body and temple materials choices for a extra customized look. It should function voice management and gesture recognition, however there will probably be no show. Key options embrace audio playback, images and videography, and AI-powered environmental consciousness. Some customers will use the sensible glasses to exchange their AirPods or iPhone digital camera in sure conditions. Mass manufacturing is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027, with Apple anticipating shipments of three to 5 million models within the launch yr. It should seemingly be the primary Imaginative and prescient or glasses product to realize important gross sales quantity.
• Apple Imaginative and prescient Air: That includes all-new design that’s “considerably lighter,” with over 40% weight discount in comparison with the Imaginative and prescient Professional. This weight discount will probably be achieved by changing glass with plastic, utilizing magnesium alloy, and lowering the variety of sensors on the machine. It should comprise Apple’s ethereum flagship ‌iPhone‌ processor of the time, somewhat than an M-series chip. It should come at a “considerably lower cost level” than the Imaginative and prescient Professional. Mass manufacturing is scheduled for the third quarter of 2027.

2028

• Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional (second technology): Apple’s true second technology Imaginative and prescient Professional headset will debut a wholly new design with a considerably lowered weight. It should function a strong, Mac-grade processor and a lower cost level. Mass manufacturing is projected to start within the second half of 2028.
• Apple XR Glasses: Whereas the product will function voice management and gesture recognition like the corporate’s first sensible glasses, this extra superior model will add a colour Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) show with waveguide optics. AI will apparently be essential to the machine’s success. Mass manufacturing is scheduled for the second half of 2028. A number of different manufacturers are anticipated to launch related merchandise earlier than Apple to ascertain early market presence, however as a result of nature of this class of units as early expertise, these merchandise will in all probability stay area of interest choices over their first few years of existence.

2029 and Later

• Apple XR Glasses (second technology or variant): A unique model of Apple’s XR glasses launched in 2028, with a later manufacturing timeline. Little is understood about this machine at current.
• Show Accent (growth paused): An all-new sort of machine that makes use of a tethered connection to show content material from Apple units like iPhones and Macs. It options show expertise from Birdbath optics with electrochromic dimming. The machine was initially scheduled to enter mass manufacturing within the second quarter of 2026, however its growth was paused within the fourth quarter of 2024 as a result of Apple questioned its aggressive benefit over different present merchandise. Apple’s model had a weight of 120–130 grams, versus a sub-100 gram weight of rivals. Apple is at present reviewing the product for “repositioning and specification refinement,” and a mission restart is feasible.

Kuo believes that Apple has appreciable aggressive benefits in its plan to supply a spread of Imaginative and prescient and sensible glasses merchandise, resulting from its strong {hardware} growth capabilities and distinctive ecosystem integration. The primary problem dealing with the corporate stays AI-powered options and software program. See Kuo’s full report for extra info.