Apple Bets on AI Wearables to Lock in iPhone Users

Apple is accelerating its development of three artificial intelligence (AI)-powered wearable devices: smart glasses, a pendant and AirPods, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Feb. 17), citing unnamed sources.

The three devices will be built around the company’s Siri digital assistant and will be linked to the iPhone, according to the report.

The pendant and the AirPods with expanded AI capabilities could be released as early as this year, while the smart glasses may be released in 2027, per the report.

Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

According to the Bloomberg report, the new devices will be designed for the AI era and will aim to keep users within the Apple ecosystem at a time when Meta is having success with its smart glasses and OpenAI is developing wearables and other devices.

PYMNTS reported that during a Jan. 29 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook framed the company’s AI system Apple Intelligence as an operating system-level capability that can raise the value of its entire ecosystem and create room to monetize across hardware and services.

“We’re bringing Intelligence to more of what people love,” Cook said. “And we’re integrating it across the operating system in a personal and private way. And I think that by doing so it creates great value and that opens up a range of opportunities across our products and services.”

It was also reported Jan. 29 that Apple acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup focused on AI technology for audio. Q.ai has developed machine learning techniques that help devices understand whispered speech and enhance audio quality in difficult environments. These capabilities align with Apple’s expanding focus on voice interaction, ambient computing and hands-free control across devices such as AirPods and iPhones.

On Jan. 12, Apple and Google announced that they had formed a partnership and that the next iteration of Apple’s Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini and cloud tech. These models will help power new features for Siri and other tools that use Apple Intelligence.

It was reported Jan. 1 that Apple is scaling back both manufacturing and marketing for one of its existing wearable devices, the Vision Pro headset, after weak sales.