Apple’s latest Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2025) made Wall Street yawn at their latest updates. Liquid Glass, a transparent, refractive, glass-like user interface that Apple will be implementing across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26, represents the company’s biggest visual redesign since iOS 7 in 2013. But in a market where companies like Meta and Microsoft are investing billions into AI, Apple is failing to keep investors confident in their company.

Market Performance Reflects Investor Disappointment

Apple’s stock price is down approximately 19% year-to-date, falling well behind the broader market performance. Apple’s stock also fell 1.2% immediately after the June 9, 2025 developers conference, with analysts describing the event as “underwhelming” and lacking major AI breakthroughs. Apple has now settled into third place among the world’s most valuable companies by market cap, valued at approximately $2.97 trillion as of June 2025, with the top positions frequently rotating between Nvidia (currently around $3.45 trillion) and Microsoft (around $3.44 trillion).

Vision Pro: A $1.4 Billion Lesson in Market Misjudgment

Two years ago, Apple released the Vision Pro, an augmented and virtual reality headset promoted to create “spatial computing” experiences. However, this was a massive commercial failure. Apple initially estimated selling 700,000-800,000 units in the first year but revised expectations down to just 400,000-450,000 units. The company has sold fewer than 420,000 units total, generating approximately $1.4 billion in revenue—roughly one-fifteenth of the iPad’s first-year revenue of $19 billion. Production has reportedly been halted due to sluggish sales.

The key problems users faced with the Vision Pro were its excessive weight (600-650 grams), causing headaches and neck strain after 30-45 minutes of use, and its prohibitive $3,499 starting price. Many early adopters experienced buyer’s remorse, with resale values dropping by 46% or more.

Apple’s Two-Pronged Glasses Strategy

2026: Smart Glasses (No AR Display) Apple plans to release lightweight smart glasses by the end of 2026, similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban collaboration. These glasses will include cameras, speakers, and microphones but no augmented reality displays. The purpose is to integrate AI functionality, allowing users to receive calls, take pictures, use turn-by-turn directions, and receive AI feedback on their surroundings. No AR display is planned because current battery and chip technology cannot fit into a lightweight glasses form factor while providing all-day battery life.

2030+: True AR Glasses (Cook’s Priority) The long-term plan involves creating true augmented reality glasses—lightweight spectacles that users can wear all day with overlay graphics on the real world. This is where Liquid Glass becomes strategically important. Imagine walking down the street and receiving a text notification that appears on the glasses; it cannot have a blurred background because that would obstruct vision. Apple plans to use Liquid Glass technology in AR glasses to allow clear vision of surroundings while providing real-time updates and information overlays.

Why Release Liquid Glass Now?

Apple is preparing users for future AR experiences by making them comfortable with translucent, depth-aware interfaces. By implementing Liquid Glass across all Apple devices now, users will experience seamless integration when AR glasses eventually launch. The unified design language across the Apple ecosystem—one of the company’s key competitive advantages—will extend naturally to wearable AR devices.

As Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior VP of Software Engineering, confirmed: “For Liquid Glass, the most obvious inspiration was visionOS,” indicating the direct connection between current interface design and future AR ambitions.

Looking Forward: Cook’s Personal Mission

Tim Cook remains “hell bent” on bringing true augmented reality glasses to market before Meta achieves the same feat. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Cook has made glasses a “top priority” for the company. “Tim cares about nothing else,” Gurman quotes a source as saying. “It’s the only thing he’s really spending his time on from a product development standpoint.”

While we may see simple smart glasses released in 2026, Apple’s bigger vision involves true AR glasses that could eventually replace the iPhone as the company’s flagship product. However, this ambitious goal remains “many years” away as Apple works to overcome fundamental challenges in battery technology, chip miniaturization, and display innovation.

The question remains whether Apple’s long-term AR bet will pay off, or if the company’s current AI shortcomings will allow competitors to capture the next generation of computing platforms.

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Sources

1. CNBC: “Apple’s WWDC underwhelms on AI, but software gets biggest facelift in over a decade” (June 2025)
2. SiliconANGLE: “Apple reportedly ceases Vision Pro production amid sluggish sales” (January 2025)
3. CompaniesMarketCap.com: “Apple (AAPL) – Market capitalization” (June 2025)
4. Bloomberg: “Tim Cook Keynote: Live WWDC 2025 Analysis” (June 2025)