Apple ditches Vision Pro successors, bets everything on smart glasses arriving in 2027 and 2029

Kuo: Apple's Vision Pro Successors Off the Table as Focus Shifts to Smart Glasses

Incoming Apple CEO John Ternus signed off on a major revision of Apple's Vision Pro and smart glasses plans, consolidating Apple's work in the category. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Ternus nixed plans for a second Vision Pro and a lighter Vision Air. Kuo says there are only two smart glasses products in development, including the AI smart glasses that Apple is creating to rival the Meta Ray-Bans and a display-equipped set of AR smart glasses. "I think removing the Vision Pro line was the right call, as Apple shifts resources toward smart glasses with greater mass-market potential," writes Kuo. Kuo says that the Vision products roadmap that he shared in June 2025 is no longer a useful reference because of the major changes that Apple has made to its plans over the last year. Kuo's product timeline originally featured seven products, but now it features just two that are still relevant. Kuo believes the AI smart glasses will ship in 2027, while the display-equipped augmented reality glasses with "optical waveguides" won't come out until 2029 at the earliest. Optical waveguides pair a micro-display with waveguides that guide the image to the user's eyes. Lenses remain transparent, so the virtual content looks like it's overlaid on the real world view. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman weighed in on Kuo's report and said the Vision Air was discontinued in October 2025, the display glasses meant to pair with a Mac were sunset in January 2025, and AI smart glasses will launch at the end of 2027. While Kuo does not believe Apple is working on any version of a Vision Pro, Gurman claims Apple has a Vision Pro 2 "in testing" but the category is "on ice." Earlier this week, Gurman also said Apple is working on a cheaper, lighter Vision Pro, but the device is unlikely to launch before late 2028 or 2029. John Ternus is set to take over as Apple's CEO on September 1, 2026. Current Apple CEO Tim Cook will remain on as Executive Chairman.

AppleInsider.com

Apple's head-mounted hardware plans are slowly being cut, reportedly by new CEO John Ternus himself, with Vision Air said to be killed off alongside Display glasses. The Apple Vision Pro was supposed to be the first salvo in a new platform for Apple to dominate. However, Apple has reportedly made some moves to curtail its ambitions for the head-wearable future. In an X post on Wednesday, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF Securities has admitted that his Apple headset and glasses roadmap from one year ago is no longer a useful reference. Instead of many products on the horizon, it's been pruned down to just two smart glasses. Minutes later in reply, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman chimed in, explaining that the Vision Air was killed off back in October 2025. Display glasses were also off the table in January 2025. What's left are two more glasses, with AI glasses expected at the end of 20257. The other, the full-blown AR smartglasses referred to as Apple Glass, is apparently due at the end of the decade. And, reportedly, Apple's incoming CEO John Ternus is at the center of the scheduling and possible cancellations.

Apple May Have Just Killed the Vision Pro

The company will reportedly release display-free audio/AI glasses in 2027, followed by AR display glasses in 2029. Pour one out for the Apple Vision Pro. According to industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has scrapped plans to release a new version of its VR/AR headset for the foreseeable future. Apple's CEO-in-waiting, John Ternus, reportedly signed off on the company's decision to focus only on smart glasses instead. The company has also supposedly canceled development on the Vision Air, a rumored lighter version of the Vision Pro. Instead of new AR headsets, Apple is reportedly developing two different lines of smart glasses: audio- and AI-focused spectacles comparable to the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, and AR-focused smart glasses akin to the Meta Display glasses. According to Kuo, Apple's audio/AI glasses are expected to hit the market in 2027, while the wave-guide-powered display models won't arrive until 2029. That sounds like a long time to wait to me, given recent rapid developments in the market. The long history Apple smart glasses rumors Apple has never officially announced plans to develop any kind of eyewear, but according to sources with solid track records, releasing smart glasses is a major priority for the company, and has been for some time. This Bloomberg post from 2016 predicted Apple glasses that would wirelessly connect with iPhones, an initiative that has apparently been scrapped as well. Apple Vision Pro: Too expensive, too limited, but extremely cool As I'm a relatively recent adopter of the Apple Vision Pro, news that an improved version may never come out is a bummer for sure. At over $3,500 for the base model, it's obviously too expensive for most people (Apple lent me mine), and it doesn't actually do that much -- a small pool of users offers little incentive for developers -- but there's no denying the Vision Pro's tech is often jaw-droppingly impressive. There's so much possibility with this thing, even if it hasn't been fully realized. As Kuo points out in his post announcing the Vision Pro's cancellation, Apple dropping the Vision Pro and shifting resources toward smart glasses makes sense (people actually seem to want smart glasses), but it's still a drag. Maybe the technology will eventually exist that can put Vision Pro-level experiences in a pair of sunglasses, but it probably won't be here in 2029. What does this mean for the future of full VR/AR devices? With both Meta and Apple pulling resources out of their flagship VR headsets -- the former is also refocusing on smart glasses -- the dream of mass adoption of VR seems dead. But that doesn't mean there's no future for the technology. Full-immersion virtual reality seems to be returning to its roots. Between 1989, when the very first VR gear hit the market, and 2021, when the Metaverse was announced, virtual reality was the domain of early adopters, hobbyists, futurists, and people with a real need for it. Maybe there aren't enough of them to make Apple or Meta money at scale, but I think there are enough niche uses for the technology to support smaller companies putting resources into VR. I hope so, anyway.

Apple to Scrap Vision Pro Successor and Focus on Smart Glasses | PYMNTS.com

The company has two different versions of smart glasses on its agenda, according to the report. Apple is expected to ship display-less AI glasses in 2027. Kuo described this product as being similar to Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses, the report said. The company is expected to then ship display-equipped smart glasses in 2029. This product will incorporate both augmented reality and mixed reality, per the report. Kuo said in the report that incoming Apple CEO John Ternus signed off on the decision to drop a Vision Pro successor and that Apple is shifting its resources toward "smart glasses with greater mass-market potential." Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS' request for comment. PYMNTS reported in February 2025 that a new generation of smart glasses had emerged and that several companies, including Meta, Amazon and Google, were betting on this product category to be the next popular connected wearable. New AI-powered smart glasses present a game-changing alternative to bulky augmented reality/virtual reality headsets, the report said. The new smart glasses are encased in traditional frames of various styles, so users don't look out of place in public, but they carry serious electronics to power AI capabilities like online searches and translations. It was reported in January that Meta and eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica were considering doubling their capacity to produce Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses from 10 million to 20 million and, if demand continues to grow, to 30 million. A week before that report, Meta said that it was pausing its planned global expansion of the smart glasses to the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada due to "unprecedented demand and limited inventory" in the United States. Meanwhile, it was reported in February that Apple was accelerating its development of AI-powered smart glasses, a pendant and AirPods. The devices will be built around the company's Siri digital assistant and will be linked to the iPhone, in an effort to keep users within the Apple ecosystem, according to the report.

Kuo suggests Apple smart glasses with display delayed to 2029 By Investing.com

Investing.com - Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has pushed back the launch of its display-equipped AR/XR smart glasses to 2029, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, citing his latest supply chain checks. The device, which will use optical waveguide technology, was previously expected earlier. Kuo said Wednesday that Apple's roadmap for extended reality products has changed significantly from a year ago. Only two smart glasses products now remain visible in the company's development pipeline. The analyst said Apple's next CEO, John Ternus, approved a major overhaul of the product line that removed the Vision Pro line. Kuo said the shift happened some time ago but he was late updating his projections. Apple's display-less AI glasses, similar to Ray-Ban Meta, remain on track to ship in 2027, according to Kuo's supply chain checks. He said the company is redirecting resources toward smart glasses with greater mass-market potential. Ternus will succeed Tim Cook as Apple's chief executive, though the company has not announced a transition date. Kuo said he believes removing the Vision Pro line was the right decision. Apple Inc stock is down 2% amid the news. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Apple may ditch Vision Pro successors to focus on smart glasses, claims analyst

Gurman says a Vision Pro 2 exists in testing but the headset category is "on ice" at Apple Apple's spatial computing ambitions look very different today than they did a year ago. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo posted on X this week, saying that the XR roadmap he published in June 2025, which originally featured seven products, is no longer a useful reference. Most of those products have been shelved. What remains is a two-product plan: a pair of AI smart glasses expected in late 2027 and a display-equipped augmented reality headset pushed to 2029 at the earliest. Kuo attributes the overhaul to John Ternus, who takes over as Apple CEO on 1 September 2026 from Tim Cook, who will remain Executive Chairman. The decision to consolidate Apple's XR roadmap was reportedly signed off by Ternus and, according to Kuo, happened some time ago. "I think removing the Vision Pro line was the right call, as Apple shifts resources toward smart glasses with greater mass-market potential," he wrote. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman filled in some of the timeline on the products that did not make it. The Vision Air, a lighter version of the Vision Pro headset, was discontinued in October 2025. A separate set of display glasses designed to work alongside a Mac was killed in January 2025. Gurman also confirmed that the AI glasses have slipped from early 2027 to the end of the year. The two analysts diverge on one point. Kuo says Apple no longer has a Vision Pro successor in its roadmap. Gurman says a Vision Pro 2 does exist in testing, but that the headset category as a whole is "on ice" at Apple. The original Vision Pro, which launched in early 2024 at $3,499, was widely regarded as an impressive technical achievement that struggled to find a mainstream audience. The pivot toward AI glasses, which are expected to compete directly with the Meta Ray-Bans and other AI glasses, reflects a reorientation of where consumer demand for wearable technology is actually heading.