Apple's Smart Glasses Could Become Its Next Health Device

Apple wants its future glasses and headsets to double as health and fitness devices, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said the ambition traces back to Vision Pro's early development, when Apple weighed a number of ambitious health and fitness features for the headset. Among the ideas Apple explored was a Vision Pro-native take on Fitness+, designed to have wearers work out and follow along with classes while the headset's body-tracking sensors monitored their form. That project stalled and was ultimately scrapped, according to Gurman, both because of technical limitations and because the headset was simply too heavy to wear comfortably during a workout. Apple has apparently carried that ambition into its smart glasses project once the company shifted its spatial computing focus away from Vision Pro. He draws a parallel to AirPods, which Apple transformed from simple earbuds into a functioning hearing aid system. Sensors embedded in the glasses, he suggested, could eventually let Apple capture movement data in a similar way, opening the door to fitness-tracking functionality later down the line. Gurman noted that this won't be part of the glasses when they debut next year; he expects the health capabilities to arrive gradually, over a period of years rather than at launch. He pointed out that the Vision Products Group, Apple's team responsible for glasses and future headsets, is looking to hire a "strategic product design leader" tasked with helping "define the future of health, well-being and fitness experiences across vision products." Whoever fills the role will need to "translate ambiguous opportunities at the intersection of spatial computing, wearables, consumer health and human behavior" into an actual product direction. The listing also calls for a candidate with "experience developing and validating digital health or fitness products" and "familiarity with sensor-driven experiences." Put together, Gurman argues, the posting confirms Apple's intent to eventually place its glasses alongside AirPods and Apple Watch as health platforms. Apple's first smart glasses are expected to launch late next year, following a potential unveiling at WWDC. Popular StoriesApple Stock Hits Record Territory as Traders Sour on AI SpendingApple shares have rallied 15 percent since their worst day on the stock market in more than a year, adding almost $600 billion in value since June 25 and returning the stock to record territory (via Bloomberg). The rebound comes as investors grow uneasy about the mind-boggling sums of cash continually being poured into the AI data center buildout, despite there being no obvious indicator for ...Report: Apple's OpenAI Lawsuit Threatens iPhone Rival PlansOpenAI's ambitions to build a hardware rival to the iPhone are already running into trouble because of Apple's trade secret lawsuit, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who argues the damage is showing up well before any court ruling. Apple sued OpenAI last week, accusing the company of pushing former employees, and even people it was trying to recruit, to hand over details on unreleased...Report: OnePlus to Pull Out of US and EuropeOnePlus is exiting the U.S. and European smartphone markets as part of a broader restructuring at parent company Oppo, Bloomberg reports. OnePlus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oppo. The change could happen as early as this week, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. Realme, another Oppo-owned mobile brand, will exit the China market as part of the same...