Apple has postponed the reveal of its first smart glasses to WWDC in June 2027, with sales anticipated later that year, according to Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman.
The device, codenamed N50, was initially scheduled for late 2026 with an early 2027 launch, but the new timeline delays this by about six months.
Gurman notes that Apple’s Vision hardware group and related teams consider privacy their top priority and aim to distance the launch from criticism faced by Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses.
Apple has not issued any public statements regarding N50. Gurman’s projected timeline for the device has already shifted once this year.
Apple Delays Smart Glasses Over Privacy Concerns
In May 2026, Gurman shifted the launch window from 2026 to 2027, initially citing concerns about the readiness of Apple’s Visual Intelligence AI system for a first-generation device. His July 26, 2026 report now attributes the six-month delay to ongoing privacy work.
These two factors are separate: the initial delay was due to AI readiness, while the current postponement is attributed to privacy-related hardware and software work that Apple has not disclosed publicly.
Gurman reports that Apple has tested three camera configurations for the glasses: one with a camera subject to new privacy restrictions, a second that allows the camera to provide visual input only to Siri and Apple Intelligence without permitting image saving or sharing, and a third that omits the camera entirely.
Gurman states that the most likely outcome is a camera with enhanced privacy restrictions. He notes that removing photo and video capture would eliminate a key feature that contributed to Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses’ sales.
Apple has not yet decided whether the glasses will include a functional camera, leaving this question unresolved less than a year before the planned reveal.
Apple Plans Privacy Protections Ahead of WWDC Reveal
One planned protection is similar to a change Meta implemented for its Ray-Ban glasses on July 7, 2026, which automatically disables the camera if tampering with the recording indicator light is detected.
This update followed reports of users disabling the LED to record discreetly. Apple is developing a comparable tamper response for its glasses.
Apple also plans to use on-device processing, as with Apple Intelligence in other products, ensuring captured data remains on the device by default. Gurman reports that Apple intends not to use customer recordings to train its AI models, which differs from Meta’s approach.
By choosing WWDC instead of a fall hardware event, Apple provides developers with several months to create apps and integrations before the glasses become available to consumers.
Apple typically reserves its September keynotes for new iPhones. Gurman notes that, in contrast, Meta enabled third-party apps and games for its Ray-Ban Display glasses only after the hardware was released, while the WWDC reveal offers developers advance preparation time.
Meta’s Privacy Scrutiny Raises Questions for Apple
Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses faced scrutiny in February 2026 after Swedish journalists reported that contractors at Sama, a Nairobi-based outsourcing firm working for Meta, had reviewed footage from Ray-Ban Meta users, including recordings from private spaces. The contractors stated the footage was used for AI training.
While Meta’s privacy policy discloses that recordings may be reviewed by human staff, this information is not prominently featured in the company’s marketing.
On March 4, 2026, consumers Gina Bartone of New Jersey and Mateo Canu of California filed a class-action lawsuit, Bartone v. Meta Platforms, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit names Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica, Ray-Ban’s parent company, as defendants, alleging they misled consumers about the privacy of their footage.
The United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office contacted Meta the same week, stating that “devices processing personal data, including smart glasses, should put users in control and provide approIn July 2026, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced that the platform would remove accounts posting videos that use smart glasses to secretly film and harass individuals, following a surge in prank and pickup-artist content recorded with Meta’s devices.
“If you’re posting content that is taking advantage of people and harassing them… we’re going to take the content down,” Mosseri said. Meta has not disclosed the criteria for enforcing this rule or how violations are identified.olations are detected.
Since Apple has not publicly acknowledged N50, key details rely on Gurman’s reporting rather than official company statements.
Apple has not confirmed the WWDC 2027 timing, the inclusion of a camera, or the specific privacy features for the first-generation device. As Gurman’s timeline has already changed once in 2026, the reveal window may shift again before June 2027.
