Apple is apparently going full steam ahead with the development of its first smart glasses. And it appears the company is betting on a far more rewarding and well-knit software experience to set them apart from rivals. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple’s first smart glasses, which are expected to be unveiled at WWDC next June, will let users talk to Siri and get work done in their apps.
Apple has already started laying the foundation with iOS 27.3, which brings precise voice control over Apple’s own apps through Siri, with support for third-party apps set to arrive next year. Instead of asking developers to build custom glasses apps or rely on third-party AI agents, Apple’s approach means developers simply have to enable Siri interactions in their existing iPhone apps. Once that’s done, users will be able to interact with those apps through their smart glasses and perform a variety of tasks, such as placing orders or making reservations.
For the basic smart glasses features, Apple plans to rely on its own apps, and among them is Visual Intelligence. Visual Intelligence is Apple’s take on an AI model taking a peek at the world around you through the cameras and answering your questions. For example, on the iPhone, you can point the camera at any object around you and ask contextual questions, get help with translation, or identify items. On the glasses, Bloomberg says Apple envisions uses like identifying buildings or asking what to cook based on the ingredients in your fridge.
In addition to Visual Intelligence, the glasses will also deliver iPhone notifications and let users respond to messages, translate conversations in real time, manage calendar entries, create reminders, control music playback, and even talk to their smart home devices.
“Among the uses envisioned inside Apple: making restaurant reservations through an app like OpenTable or booking a car through Uber or Lyft. Other possibilities include ordering coffee through a Starbucks integration, shopping on Amazon or purchasing movie tickets through an app like Fandango,” says the report.
Interestingly, Apple is also reportedly working on its own AI agent system, one that would handle more complex tasks on users’ behalf, much like OpenAI’s dots, Meta’s Muse, Grok Bot, and Claude Duet. That work, however, isn’t specifically tied to the glasses, and for now, Siri AI is set to be the centerpiece of the experience.
The Bloomberg report notes that third-party apps won’t run directly on Apple’s debut smart glasses, at least on the first-generation product. Instead, the apps will stay on a paired iPhone, with the two devices working together to handle requests. Moreover, the glasses will only be compatible with recent iPhone models, and there won’t be any Android support. Given the system requirements for Siri AI, I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple prioritizes iPhone models with at least 12GB of RAM and a powerful processor with a beefy Neural Engine to handle tasks driven predominantly by Siri AI.
Currently in development under the code name N50, the glasses reportedly run a pared-down version of visionOS 28, the software originally designed for Apple’s Vision Pro headset. Another notable feature is Wi-Fi support, which means users could keep listening to audio over Wi-Fi even after walking away from their iPhone, though the glasses won’t operate as a fully standalone device.