Apple's AR glasses might not arrive for years

Apple is still working on AR glasses, but it might be a while until they arrive.

This is according to market research company Omdia, which claims that Apple's AR glasses are probably coming in 2028, while Meta will launch its version some months earlier, likely in 2027.

The report focuses on a display tech called OLEDoS (OLED on silicon), a type of display that can show a high-resolution picture on a very small screen area. The AR glasses we see around today, including Meta's Ray-Ban Display, mostly use TFT LCD or LCoS (Liquid Crystal on silicon) displays, but it appears that both Apple and Meta are intent on using OLEDoS for their next-gen AR glasses.

Apple's own Vision Pro mixed reality headset, for example, uses OLEDoS for its two high-res displays.

OLEDoS has the advantage of being thin, light, and having a lower power consumption than LCoS displays. A third variant of near-eye display tech is LEDoS (LED on silicon), which has a longer lifespan and even lower power consumption than OLEDoS, but it's not widely manufactured yet.

As far as specs go, Apple's AR glasses will reportedly have two 0.6-inch OLEDoS displays, one on each lens.

Notably, a Bloomberg report from February 2025 claimed Apple has effectively canceled a version of AR glasses that would have to pair with a Mac to operate. The new AR glasses, which are still in the works, would likely be a standalone device.