Apple Exploring Smart Glasses, AirPods With Camera, Advanced Sensors and AI: Report

Apple is currently not actively developing a rumoured smart ring with health tracking features.

Written by Manas Mitul, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 27 February 2024 12:21 IST

Apple Exploring Smart Glasses, AirPods With Camera, Advanced Sensors and AI: Report

Photo Credit: Meta/Ray-Ban

Meta launched its smart glasses in collaboration with Ray-Ban last year

Highlights

Samsung showcased the Galaxy Ring at the ongoing MWC 2024
Apple's smart glasses would be cheaper than the Vision Pro headset
Apple's smart ring would pair with its Health and Fitness apps

Wearable fitness tracking devices come in all shapes and sizes, from bulky smartwatches to sleek fitness bands, but their ring form factor seems to be at the cusp of taking off. Samsung just showcased its Galaxy Ring at MWC 2024, said to offer a range of health tracking features. Apple, too, patented a smart ring with haptic feedback and pressure-sensitive input in August last year. But the iPhone maker hasn't started active development on the device, according to a new report from Bloomberg. In fact, Apple could be considering a pair of new smart glasses to compete with Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, and smarter AirPods with cameras and advanced sensors.

In his latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple intends to expand its lineup of wearables, currently limited to AirPods, Apple Watch, and the newly launched Vision Pro headset. The company's plans include a smart ring, a pair of smart glasses, and new AirPods equipped with cameras and smart features.

While Apple has explored making a smart ring with similar health tracking features to an Apple Watch, the Cupertino, California-based tech giant isn't actively developing one, according to Gurman. The ring, however, would be a lower-cost alternative to an Apple Watch that could pair with Apple's Health and Fitness apps and sit comfortably in the Apple ecosystem, providing users yet another reason to not switch to Android.

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Samsung's Galaxy Ring was showcased earlier this week at MWC 2024
Photo Credit: Samsung

The company has also reportedly held talks about developing smart glasses akin to Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses that launched last year. According to Gurman, the smart glasses could also include cameras, speakers, and health sensors. The glasses could replace AirPods, with audio capabilities, bigger batteries, more sensors and AI features. Apple's smart glasses would also come at a lower price point than the Apple Vision Pro, which sells at $3,499.

Meta AI on Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Can Now Understand What You’re Seeing

Additionally, Apple is also reportedly mulling putting cameras and smart capabilities on an already popular product — AirPods. Gurman said that Apple started investigating the possibility of packing its earphones with advanced AI and health sensors and cameras last year. The cameras could be used to collect data, which would be further processed to aid people as they go about their daily routines.

While Apple is exploring developing these wearable devices, they may not necessarily make it to market. The company is also said to be working on a foldable device larger than an iPhone and a new version of the HomePod with a touch display.

Apple Smart Ring Spotted in Development via New Patent: How It Could Work

Samsung's Galaxy Ring, on the other hand, will likely debut in the second half of 2024. The smart ring was first teased Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17 and was showcased this week at MWC 2024. The ring is expected to come with health tracking features present on the Galaxy Watch — 24x7 heart rate monitor, a blood oxygen sensor, a sleep monitoring tracker, and other fitness tracking capabilities.

Apple unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, at its annual developer conference, along with new Mac models and upcoming software updates. We discuss all the most important announcements made by the company at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Apple, Apple Watch, Smart Ring, Galaxy Ring, AirPods, AI, Smart Glasses, Meta Ray Ban Smart Glasses, Meta Smart Glasses, Meta, Samsung

Manas Mitul

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In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More