Apple is surveying its own employees about smart-glasses idea

Apple is asking its labor really they consciousness astir smart glasses arsenic nan tech elephantine considers entering nan fledgling market, according to nan latest study from nan salient Apple tipster Mark Gurman.

Citing group pinch knowledge of nan matter, Gurman said connected Monday that Apple has started gathering feedback from labor successful attraction groups organized by nan company’s Product Systems Quality team, which is portion of Apple’s hardware engineering division.

In a leaked email to prime labor based astatine nan company’s office successful California, nan squad wrote: “Testing and processing products that each tin travel to emotion is very important to what we do astatine Apple. This is why we are looking for participants to subordinate america successful an upcoming personification study pinch existent marketplace smart glasses.”

Gurman said it’s not different for Apple to usage soul attraction groups erstwhile considering whether to participate a caller market, arsenic it tin summation valuable feedback while keeping its plans secret, though arsenic successful this case, there’s ever a chance that specified activities whitethorn leak.

This is conscionable nan latest in a drawstring of reports suggesting that Apple is moving person toward nan thought of building a brace of smart glasses designed to return connected Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, which person a built-in camera for taking photos and videos, and besides fto wearers make calls, perceive to audio content, and inquire an AI adjunct questions. A caller update added nan expertise to nonstop sound messages, and person nan instrumentality publication retired incoming ones. At a typical arena successful September, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that his squad is processing a brace of smart specs pinch immersive augmented-reality capabilities for early release.

Considering really Apple is struggling to make a success of its larger and clunkier — and pricey astatine $3,499 — Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, nan institution is judge to workout a awesome woody of be aware erstwhile moving up pinch immoderate scheme for smart glasses, particularly arsenic nan marketplace for nan instrumentality continues to beryllium beautiful niche.

And arsenic Gurman said successful his report, if nan feedback from labor is affirmative capable to punctual Apple to prosecute nan project, its smart glasses are still apt to beryllium “years away” from launch.