Sometime in the next two years, a lot of people are going to be wearing several smart devices at the same time. A watch on your wrist, a ring on your hand, glasses on your face, and a pendant around your neck. Each one made by a company that would very much like its logo to be visible. We're about to enter an era where the tech stack you're wearing may be as important to your personal style as your shoes or belt.
Eugene Whang, who spent 22 years at Apple and five years developing AirPods Max before it launched in 2020, recently described the design philosophy behind the headphones in six words: "We didn't want to brand your head." Five years and hundreds of iterations to make sure a pair of headphones didn't have too much Apple on them, which is either obsessive or visionary, and at Apple the line between those two has always been thin.
Apple is developing the frames for its reportedly upcoming smart glasses entirely in-house, in acetate that Gurman describes as "more durable and luxurious than standard plastic," rather than partnering with Ray-Ban like Meta or Warby Parker like Google. Four frame styles are in testing: a large rectangular Wayfarer-like shape, a slimmer rectangular design similar to Tim Cook's own glasses, and two others, available in black, ocean blue, and light brown. Apple's internal goal is for the design itself to be the identity rather than any logo on the frame.
Meta's smart glasses identity is borrowed from Ray-Ban. Google's first Android XR glasses will carry Warby Parker's aesthetic or Gentle Monster's. Samsung's will look like Samsung. Apple knows that its own design language, built from scratch and owned entirely, is worth more than any licensing deal with a fashion house.
The Apple Watch market suggests how this will play out. The company sells dozens of official bands ranging from sport silicone to Hermès leather to titanium mesh, with a cottage industry of third-party bands. If Apple's rumored pendant ships, it will have to be worn above your clothing so the cameras can see. Expect high-end necklaces from fashion brands to become yet another outfit decision.
The wearable era is going to force a question nobody has had to answer before. How much of your body are you willing to turn into an advertisement for a technology company. Apple is developing frames in-house precisely to avoid the answer that Meta and Google have already given. That someone else's brand equity is good enough to wear on your face.