👓🚀 Apple and OpenAI race to put AI on your face
26 February 2026. Inside this issue:
Apple accelerates smart glasses, AI pendant and camera AirPods
OpenAI plans a $200-300 smart speaker with camera, no earlier than March 2027
All Apple devices depend on a revamped Siri co-developed with Google
✍️ Essentials
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on 17 February that Apple is accelerating three AI wearables. Smart glasses (codenamed N50) with dual cameras. An AirTag-sized pendant - always-on camera and mic, the “eyes and ears” of the iPhone. And AirPods with low-resolution cameras for AI context.
All depend on a revamped Siri powered by models co-developed with Google. Glasses could enter production December 2026 for a 2027 launch. Camera AirPods may arrive later this year.
Separately, OpenAI is building a smart speaker with camera for $200-300, after acquiring Jony Ive’s hardware company for nearly $6.5 billion. Not shipping before March 2027. Smart glasses and a lamp are also in exploration.
🐻 Bear’s take
The signal is not the hardware - it is what they need to work. Apple still has not shipped its smarter Siri. OpenAI has not shipped hardware at all. Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses already exist and tripled sales in 2025. The winner ships a reliable AI brain first, not the most devices.
🚨 Bear in mind
Accessory makers face disruption if AirPods gain cameras. Always-on wearable cameras will trigger regulatory friction. If you build on Siri or ChatGPT, plan for camera-as-context input now.