Apple is developing its own chips to rival Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses

Apple is reportedly advancing work on its first smart glasses, designed to rival Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta AI eyewear, with a focus on integrated cameras, microphones, and artificial intelligence capabilities. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant is developing a custom low-power chip for the upcoming device, which could launch within the next two years.

The smart glasses, which may hit the market by 2026 or 2027, are expected to include features such as photo and video capture, real-time translation, and potentially AI-driven environmental awareness, similar to Meta’s Visual Intelligence system. These capabilities suggest Apple could offer features like object recognition, product information lookup, and navigation assistance.

The chip powering the glasses is reportedly based on the System in Package (SiP) used in the Apple Watch, chosen for its compact design and superior energy efficiency compared to chips found in iPhones or iPads. Apple has further customised this chip to handle multiple cameras and enhance battery life, both crucial for wearable devices. Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC is said to be the key production partner, with mass manufacturing expected to begin by 2027.

Meanwhile, Apple is also designing next-generation chips for its Mac lineup, expected to be branded as M6 and M7, as well as processors for AI servers to support its growing Apple Intelligence platform. The firm has already begun integrating AI features into iPhones, offering functions like message summarisation, email drafting, and ChatGPT integration.

With Meta having established a lead in the smart glasses space, Apple’s efforts mark a serious attempt to challenge that dominance, not just through hardware, but through deeper integration of silicon, software, and AI.