Apple’s AR glasses are coming, but they could be too late for Mac fans

Mac fans received some bad news a week or two ago. No, it wasn’t that the upcoming MacBook Air has been canned or that prices are doubling on the MacBook Pro. It was that Apple had canceled a plan to release a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses that would pair with a Mac, giving users a brand-new way to use their computer in 3D space.

Sure, it sounds like a pretty niche device. But it could have been an interesting stopgap between the Vision Pro — with its big, bulky design that’s ill-suited to long-term use — and a proper pair of AR glasses that don’t need to be connected to your home computer.

Instead, they’re gone, and the question now is simple: what’s next for Mac users?

Well, we can get some sort of idea from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter. There, the journalist explains that John Ternus, the project’s chief, “doesn’t want another flop on his hands.” That means “Apple’s long-term goal of standalone AR glasses remains intact, and the company will keep working on underlying technology — like screens and silicon — to help make such a device more feasible.”

In other words, it sounds an awful lot like we’ll have a long wait on our hands before Apple releases its AR glasses. If you want a virtual workspace, complete with as many floating windows as you can manage, your only option is the Vision Pro — and with Apple not expected to launch its glasses until 2027 at the very earliest, things will likely stay that way for years to come.

That’s a problem because while the Vision Pro has many benefits for Mac users — not least its expandable workspace, impressive processing power and superb visuals — it’s still a flawed option for anyone pairing it with one of Apple’s computers.

Take the most basic issue: its size and weight. Considering work is one of its main uses, anyone who wants a virtual workspace will need to use it for hours at a time. Yet countless people have reported that doing so results in uncomfortable neck strain and large prints left on your face. That’s one area where a pair of AR glasses would have a clear advantage.

We’ve heard intermittent rumors that Apple is working on a lighter follow-up to the Vision Pro, and it could even launch this year. But it’s unlikely to depart too far from the Vision Pro’s established form factor, so I’m not expecting its weight savings to be substantial. Without even a stopgap AR glasses project on the way, we’re going to have to put up with the discomfort for a while longer.

Picking up the pace

Perhaps this shouldn’t be too surprising. After all, Apple is well known for taking its time and trying to make the best product it can, rather than rushing to market with a half-baked device that quickly falls flat. Yet perhaps that approach is not the optimal one this time around.

For one thing, the Vision Pro took years of refinement and untold sums of money to develop, yet it is undoubtedly, as Gurman put it, a “flop” that hasn’t sold in anything like the numbers that Apple was likely hoping for. Sometimes, slow and steady doesn’t win the race.

And there’s another issue. While Apple is pacing itself and trying to perfect everything about its AR glasses, its rivals are already hitting store shelves with popular products of their own. We’re not just talking about risky upstarts and minnow companies either — Meta has released its own AR glasses that have won plenty of plaudits.

Apple isn’t just getting outmaneuvered by the small, nimble players — even the giants are beating it to the punch. Perhaps I wouldn’t be so worried if we knew Apple planned to imminently launch its own device, but that’s not the case. It risks being left behind by its powerful competitors.

Hopefully, Apple has learned plenty of lessons from the Vision Pro and will (eventually) launch something that’s a hit with its users. As a Mac fan who’s intrigued by AR’s potential, I’ll be keenly watching from the sidelines. But I just wish Apple would pick up the pace and not leave its Mac users waiting in the dark for so long.