The Fruity Cargo Cult Apple may unveil smart specs in 2027, but Apple marketing is terrified that it might be blasted by the same privacy fallout from the release of Meta’s specs
According to the Verge, Job’s Mob could show off its first smart glasses at WWDC in June 2027, according to Bloomberg. The device, internally codenamed N50, is expected to reach consumers towards the end of 2027 if the timetable holds.
But that is much later than many in the Tame Apple Press had expected, as their deep throats had told them to expect a late-2026 introduction and an early-2027 launch.
Apparently, the problem is not the technology but Apple’s fear that its fanboys will use their shiny toys to film women they fancy in public places. This is exactly what happened with Meta’s specs.
Job’s Mob’s engineering and marketing teams are apparently spending more time polishing the product and working out the privacy sell. The difficulty is that it is not the user’s privacy which is the issue.
Meta has already shown how quickly camera glasses can turn into a social mess with its Ray-Ban Meta kit. An underground market emerged for accessories and services that covered or disabled the recording light on Meta’s glasses, allowing users to perv in peace
Meta later said it had made changes to the camera if the recording light was tampered with. Instagram has started removing accounts that used the glasses to film and harass strangers.
Two pickup-artist accounts with more than 1 million followers each were taken down, although that does not unfilm anyone.
Apple has a problem in that it has been flogging privacy as a brand virtue, so wandering into face-mounted cameras used to harass women on the underground is going to be a move away from this.
Sources inside the fly saucer have said that Job’s Mob considered glasses without cameras, plus a version where cameras analyse surroundings but cannot record photos or video.
That could still support object recognition, navigation, Siri, calls and music playback without turning every wearer into a bargain-bin surveillance node.
Job’s Mob is expected to favour on-device processing, avoid facial recognition, keep recordings out of AI training, and use a more visible camera light.
Removing video capture would make the glasses less creepy, but it would probably make them less useful too.
Apple has to keep the features people want without inheriting Meta’s battered reputation for filming first and apologising afterwards.
