The rivalry between Meta and Apple over smart glasses is intensifying – not just in product development, but in the war for top-tier AI talent. 
Meta has recently poached two more AI engineers from Apple, further strengthening its position in the wearables race.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the latest to defect are Tom Gunter and Mark Lee. Gunter, a senior engineer with prior experience at another AI company post-Apple, joins Meta’s growing AI hardware team. Lee, though less senior, played a valuable role in Apple’s machine learning division. Both are now tasked with advancing Meta’s smart glasses capabilities.
This move follows the earlier high-profile hire of Ruoming Pang, a former key architect of Apple’s AI strategy. Gurman had previously suggested that Pang’s departure could signal a larger trend – and he was right. Meta is actively absorbing Apple’s AI minds to fuel its own innovation push.
Meta and Apple are pursuing different visions for smart eyewear. Meta’s collaboration with Ray-Ban already puts a functioning product in consumers’ hands, complete with voice commands, AI features, and a visual interface. Apple, meanwhile, is rumored to be focusing on a sleeker, display-less device emphasizing camera tech, sound quality, and seamless iPhone integration. Rather than a full AR headset, Apple’s first glasses may resemble a souped-up version of AirPods with vision enhancements.
The success of both approaches depends heavily on AI. Features like real-time voice recognition, intelligent camera use, and contextual interactions require robust AI pipelines – and that means skilled engineers. Meta’s recruitment spree underscores how crucial this behind-the-scenes talent has become.
While Apple keeps its timeline under wraps, analysts speculate its first-gen smart glasses could debut within the next couple of years – likely before an updated Vision Pro arrives. Meanwhile, Meta continues releasing iterative hardware updates that deepen AI’s role in daily tasks.
In the battle for the future of wearable tech, it’s not just the glasses that matter – it’s the brains building them. And right now, Meta is stacking its AI roster with familiar faces from Cupertino.