Apple Bets on Visual Intelligence to Power New Suite of AI Wearables
In Focus
- Apple is bringing Visual Intelligence to wearable devices
- Visual Intelligence will make Apple’s wearable devices contextually aware off-screen
- Apple AI pendants with sensors and cameras are among the upcoming wearable devices
Apple is reportedly designing new visual models as it ventures into new AI-powered wearables. According to Gadgets360, the new models will power a range of Apple AI wearables, including a pendant with cameras and sensors designed to respond to queries depending on a user’s surroundings.
Visual Models to Power Apple Wearables
Reporting on Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman stated that Apple’s visual models will allow the tech giant to create AI wearables with a technology called Visual Intelligence. The technology is designed to work with Apple Intelligence, which quietly works in the background to make iOS devices smarter in ways that feel natural and useful.
Visual Intelligence takes users off the screens and handles queries on wearables that are contextually aware. For example, the technology can scan surroundings through real-world objects and images, then help users to take actions like finding meal ingredients by looking at them.
Visual Intelligence was first introduced with the iPhone 16 Pro series in 2024 as part of Apple’s AI suite of tools. Earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the tech giant will introduce new AI-powered product categories and services, but did not provide details about the timeline.
A Huge Opportunity for Apple
According to Gurman, CEO Cook has said Visual Intelligence is one of the most popular features in Apple Intelligence. With over 2.5 billion devices, Visual Intelligence presents a huge opportunity for Apple.
Visual Intelligence currently relies on OpenAI’s ChatGPT to generate responses. But Apple’s visual models will likely shift this in the near future. The iPhone maker is reportedly working on a range of iPhone-connected AI wearables, including Apple AI smart glasses.
The glasses are expected to be thin and light, features that Apple will achieve by offloading AI processing to iPhone models. By launching AI-powered smart glasses, Apple will be taking on Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses. Last month, the social media giant halted the rollout of the smart glasses globally due to high demand in the U.S. Meta is also working on new features for the smart glasses, including a teleprompter. The Cupertino-based firm is also developing Apple Camera-enabled AirPods and an AI pendant to be worn around the neck.
When Will Visual Intelligence Appear on Apple Devices?
Currently, Apple is developing algorithms required for visual recognition, including screen-free navigation. The tech giant recently partnered with Google to power Siri with Gemini AI.
But with Visual Intelligence taking shape, the iPhone maker could be preparing to overtake Google in the AI race. Overall. Apple is still lagging in AI compared to Google and other AI developers. It remains to be seen whether visual intelligence will become a reality on Apple devices.
