Apple developing 3 AI wearables (glasses, pendant, camera AirPods). Meta reviving smartwatch. OpenAI + Jony Ive building AI hardware.
The next computing platform won't live in your pocket. Three of the most powerful companies in tech — [Apple](https://startupintros.com/orgs/apple), [Meta](https://startupintros.com/orgs/meta), and [OpenAI](https://startupintros.com/orgs/openai) — just made that bet simultaneously.
Apple has three AI wearables in active development: smart glasses, an AirTag-sized camera pendant, and camera-equipped AirPods. Meta is [reviving its Malibu 2 smartwatch](https://startupintros.com/news/2026-02-19-meta-malibu-2-smartwatch) for 2026 with health sensors and a built-in AI assistant. And OpenAI partnered with [Jony Ive](https://startupintros.com/people/jony-ive)'s [LoveFrom](https://startupintros.com/orgs/lovefrom) to build a dedicated AI hardware device. The smartphone era is ending — whoever owns the next form factor owns the next platform.
Bloomberg reported on February 17 that Apple has three AI wearables in active development:
This is Apple's biggest hardware push toward ambient AI in years. Three form factors, one thesis: AI needs to be always on, always with you, and never in the way.
Meta is reviving its previously abandoned "Malibu 2" smartwatch for launch later in 2026. The device will feature health tracking sensors and a built-in Meta AI assistant — Meta's first entry into the smartwatch market.
The revival is driven by three factors:
Reality Labs currently has approximately four AR/MR devices in development, including the Malibu 2, Ray-Ban Display, the delayed Phoenix MR headset (pushed to 2027), and additional AR prototypes.
OpenAI partnered with Jony Ive's LoveFrom to build a dedicated AI hardware device. The form factor hasn't been publicly disclosed, but the partnership combines the world's leading AI model company with the designer behind the iPhone, iPod, and Apple Watch.
This is the most ambitious bet: building a new category of device from scratch rather than adding AI to existing form factors. If anyone can design hardware that makes AI feel natural and invisible, it's Ive — but the track record of standalone AI hardware (Humane Pin, Rabbit R1) is brutal.
| Company | Device | Status | Key Differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | Smart glasses | In development | iOS ecosystem, AR expertise |
| Apple | Camera pendant | In development | New product category |
| Apple | Camera AirPods | In development | Existing AirPods distribution |
| Meta | Malibu 2 smartwatch | Targeting 2026 | Meta AI + health sensors |
| Meta | Ray-Ban Display | Shipping (~6M units) | Lightweight, social integration |
| OpenAI + LoveFrom | AI hardware device | In development | AI-first design, Jony Ive |
| Samsung | Galaxy Watch / Galaxy Ring | Shipping | Android ecosystem, health sensors |
The wearables market is entering a platform war. New form factors mean new interaction patterns, new developer platforms, and new startup opportunities.
Where the opportunity lives:
The companies building these devices will control distribution. The startups building ambient AI applications on top of them are positioned for the next wave of platform-defining opportunities.
Consider what's happening in parallel: Apple is building the hardware. OpenAI is building the intelligence layer. Meta is building the social graph for spatial computing. Each is approaching the post-smartphone era from a different angle, but they're all converging on the same destination.
The smartphone was the last platform war. The next one will be fought on your face, wrist, and ears.
Apple has three AI wearables in development: smart glasses (competing with Meta Ray-Bans), an AirTag-sized camera pendant, and camera-equipped AirPods.
Malibu 2 is Meta's codename for its first smartwatch, featuring health sensors and a built-in Meta AI assistant, targeting launch in 2026.
OpenAI partnered with Jony Ive's LoveFrom design studio to build a dedicated AI hardware device. The form factor hasn't been publicly disclosed.
Meta's Ray-Ban Display smart glasses shipped nearly 6 million units in 2025.
AI assistants have reached a maturity level where they benefit from always-on, body-worn form factors. The smartphone era is ending, and whoever owns the next form factor owns the next platform.