Apple is working on a chip for smart glasses, report claims

Apple is working on a bunch of specialized chips, and it shows how serious the company is about AI. It also indicates that Apple hasn't given up on its own version of smart glasses.

According to a new Bloomberg report, Apple is developing chips for wearable devices, including its first-ever smart glasses. We're not talking about the company's Vision Pro mixed reality headset, but something akin to Ray-Ban's Meta smart glasses, which wear like normal glasses but are equipped with speakers, cameras, and some basic AI capabilities.

This particular chip is based on the processor used in the Apple Watch, only it's been customized to make it even more power efficient. It will also be able to control the "multiple cameras" that Apple plans to build into its smart glasses.

The chip should be ready for mass production by the end of 2026 or sometime in 2027, meaning that's roughly when Apple could launch the smart glasses.

Apple is reportedly working on two different versions of the smart glasses, one simpler, lightweight, and similar to the Ray-Ban Metas, and the other having AR capabilities.

Apple is also working on several new chips for Macs, including the ones that will likely launch under the names M6 and M7. There's also a "more advanced" Mac chip being developed, but for that one we know nothing besides the codename: Sotra.

Finally, Apple is working on specialized chips for AI servers, coming in 2027. These servers will be the ones remotely processing Apple Intelligence requests from customers — right now, according to the report, Apple uses its high-end Macs chips for that purpose, such as the M2 Ultra.

Ultimately, this means the AI requests would be completed faster, and would open up the path for more powerful AI capabilities down the road.