Trusted leaker says Apple’s first smart glasses will launch in the second quarter of 2022

Apple wrapped its WWDC 2021 keynote on Monday without teasing any surprises on either the software or hardware side of things. Rumors preceding the event said that Apple might unveil the next-gen MacBook Pro models at the show. Then there were the wilder speculations about Apple making significant augmented reality (AR) announcements at the show. That’s what Apple’s original WWDC teaser image (above) seemed to imply. Apple did neither. There was no new hardware, and the AR features the company did introduce were incorporated in products like Apple Maps and in new coding tools for developers.

The first part of the year was quite heavy on Apple AR Glasses rumors, with leakers detailing two separate products that Apple is developing behind closed doors. One of those stories claimed that Apple might want to hold an in-person AR glasses event later this year to demo the technology. Separately, a trusted Apple leaker revealed various purported specs details for the upcoming Apple mixed reality headset, which will incorporate both AR and VR (virtual reality) features. He claimed at one point the headset might debut in 2021, but he then pushed his estimate back to mid-2022. Ming-Chi Kuo’s newest report points to the second quarter of 2022 as the potential release date window for the mixed reality headset.