Apple reported to have killed the project to create Mac-connected AR glasses
According to a new leak, Apple has pulled the plug on a project that allegedly hoped to produce lower-cost augmented reality glasses after the project seemingly couldn't meet executive expectations.

"Apple Glass" render by iPhone_lov_er on Instagram
The device in question would have looked like a standard pair of glasses, but would feature built-in displays. It also would have required a persistent tether to a Mac.
This device, which was code-named N107, would have been seen as a more affordable alternative to the Apple Vision Pro. After all, one of the biggest complaints about the Apple Vision Pro is its nearly $3,500 price tag -- before taxes.
The glasses featured projectors that could display content in the wearer's field of view for each eye. It likely would have been pitched as a way to allow users to work in a digitally augmented space.
The Apple Vision Pro already has this feature, ultra-wide Mac display mirroring, and it's often cited as the most compelling reason to own one.
N107 would have addressed some of the problems that consumers had with the Apple Vision Pro. Notably, it would have been light enough to not require a head strap.
According to Bloomberg, developers had hoped N107 could be used with an iPhone. However, the device seemingly required too much processing power and had a penchant for draining iPhone batteries.
By connecting it to a Mac, the glasses would have access to faster processors and a significantly larger battery. However, the change was not embraced by executives during reviews.
Those who were a part of the Apple Vision Products Group complained about the project's lack of focus. Without a clear direction, developers feared the project would be destined for the chopping block.
The group had their fears confirmed when Apple pulled the plug on the project in late January. Meta Platforms is said to continue working on its augmented reality Ray-Ban smart glasses, which it hopes to have ready by 2027.
However, Apple is allegedly still working on a direct successor to the Apple Vision Pro.
N107 is the most recent of Apple's canceled projects. In February 2024, Apple killed off its secretive Apple Car project, code-named Project Titan, which Apple employees referred to as a "Titanic disaster."
Apple also allegedly canceled plans to offer a discrete iPhone hardware subscription service. However, that may have been because the iPhone Upgrade Program already achieved what the service would have done.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
To be clear, it's not so you can have a floating calculator. It's so you can extend your Mac's display without needing an external monitor - extremely useful while traveling or in confined spaces, when the tiny laptop display just isn't enough for your workflow. I currently use the XReal Air USB-C glasses for this purpose, and they're... ok. But it's a 1080p display with no spatial awareness (it moves as your head moves). Apple could make something much, much slicker.
Anyway, very disappointed to hear they cancelled it. I tend to agree it would require iPhone tethering for mass appeal, so I get that if they couldn't make that work, it wasn't worth it to make something just for Mac users. Still, huge bummer.
The Meta Ray Bans are shades with camera, microphone, and speakers, plus the chips needed for them, and battery, USB, wireless. Theoretically, something like visual intelligence can be used to help the wearer identify things they see, audio chatbot interface to the cloud service for things.
I assume audio-only interfaces will fail as mass market devices unless proven otherwise.
The renders that AI shows are just glasses. Unrealistic. See-through AR glasses will have a display with a prism/wave guide layer to show AR objects. They will make the glasses look fat and cumbersome compared to the made up renders. For people that need prescriptions, that would be another layer in front of the prisms. The prism can just look like the lens as seen in the Meta prototype, but I’m not what happens in bright lighting situations with it.
For Vision Pro, if it can sell 1m units a quarter, I think that means huge success. Apple needs to rev it. It won’t reach 4m to 5m units unless ASPs are like $1200 to $1500. Apple knows it, they just don’t have the component costs yet.
Question is, does Apple have the patience, perseverance and commitment to continue with VP until component costs come down?
Also, what' s the potential market like for head-worn "goggles"? The closest competitor is Meta and they've only been able to get a user base of around 10 million after 4 to 4 years, and that's for a device that costs a few hundred dollars, not $3,500.
I don’t think the is much to talk about for consumer usage (games and media) until their is a $1500 product. The virtual presence features has potential, but the cost and weight have to come down.
The teardown of the AVP really screams 1st gen product to me. It’s not designed to be manufactured easily. The location of components could be improved.
As much sense as the Vision Pro for the consumer market. Apple is rustling the bushes looking for a new visionary product and all they are coming up with in an endless evolutionary products - iPhone, iPad, Watch etc. - but nothing new to spark a revolution. Sad.
No idea if Meta's technical implementation is any good. My guess is prob not, this is the same company which released Horizon Worlds or whatever it's called with legless avatars after all... HAHAHAHAHAHA
To me, canceling this project seems the right thing to do.