Apple Mulls AirPods With Camera, Smart Glasses to Compete With Meta: Report

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.

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.

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.

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 — 24×7 heart rate monitor, a blood oxygen sensor, a sleep monitoring tracker, and other fitness tracking capabilities.