Apple’s take on smart glasses could arrive next year, according to a report from Bloomberg on Thursday. While the description of the specs sound a lot like what Meta and Google are doing in that area, Apple has a reputation for fashion-forward and iconic products that could help set it apart as it plays catchup. 

The glasses are expected to ship late in 2026 with cameras, microphones and speakers, as well as multimodal AI that could respond to requests via Siri and that can «see» and analyze the environment of the wearer, Bloomberg reported.

The report comes just two days after Google’s I/O conference, where the company revealed more details about its Android XR platform, alongside partners including Warby Parker, for creating smart glasses offerings.

The smart glasses from Apple would be distinct from the company’s Vision Pro VR headset, a well-reviewed but bulky and expensive product that has failed to catch on with consumers.

The Bloomberg report also said that Apple is scrapping plans to put a camera in its Apple Watch devices.

Apple did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.

Will Apple’s smart glasses just be more of the same?

According to the report, Apple’s smart glasses will ship with cameras, microphones and speakers, all of which are necessary for the rumored AI feature expected to come from them. The wearer will be able to perform several actions you can do on a smartphone today, like controlling music playback and asking Siri questions. 

However, the AI smarts will kick it up by being able to see what the user does, not unlike Google’s Gemini Live camera mode and what can be currently available with Meta’s Ray-Ban Glasses. But as with the AI-Powered Siri we’re still patiently waiting for, Apple’s smart glasses could be something special if the device pans out.

Apple plans to begin producing prototypes by the end of the year, according to unnamed people close to the matter cited by Bloomberg. The hands-free device is also expected to ship with a dedicated chip Apple has designed specifically for the product. 

Apple’s aiming for augmented reality above all else

Apparently this particular pair of glasses isn’t Apple’s true ambition. The report says that Apple’s ultimate goal is to create a pair of augmented reality glasses and this product is but a milestone towards that. While augmented reality has been around for some time now, a proper implementation in smart glasses is something we’ve yet to see, but we know it’s coming. 

This is far from the first time we’ve heard of Apple looking into creating AR glasses or a product to go head to head with Meta’s Ray-Bans. Apple doesn’t typically have a problem with being late to market with its products, so it’s fair to assume it’s not rushing on what could be a solid product segment for it. 

For more, don’t miss CNET’s coverage on how Android XR and Apple will be key to normalizing smart glasses.

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, revealed in a notice to the Maine attorney general’s office that 69,461 people were affected by last week’s data breach by extortionists.

Login credentials, two-factor authentication codes and private keys were not exposed in the breach, nor were the bad actors able to gain individual account access to investors’ funds. But cybercriminals are in possession of the following:

• Names 
• Addresses 
• Phone numbers 
• Emails 
• Partial Social Security numbers 
• Masked bank-account numbers 
• Government ID images like driver’s licenses and passports
• Account data, including snapshots and transaction history

In an SEC filing, Coinbase said that the threat actors paid overseas contractors in support roles for internal sensitive information. That info was then used to create a social engineering attack, demanding that Coinbase pay $20 million or the information would be released. Coinbase refused to pay.

«Instead of funding criminal activity, we have investigated the incident, reinforced our controls, and will reimburse customers impacted by this incident,» the company said in its statement. The company is cooperating with law enforcement and has set up a $20 million reward fund for information leading to the hackers’ arrest. 

Some Reddit users have reported receiving unsolicited password reset messages as early as last week. It’s unclear if the messages are tied to the data breach, but if you receive an unprompted password reset message, it should always send up a red flag. CNET reached out to Coinbase for comment, but the company did not immediately respond.

Do this now to secure your crypto and data

While Coinbase has said that your seed phrase and investment account are safe, this breach exposed a lot of other sensitive information. Take these steps now to ensure your personal information is secure.

Use a cold crypto wallet

If you invest in crypto regularly, a cold crypto wallet — which is not connected to the internet and has to be manually plugged into your computer to access — can keep your digital currency secure in the event an exchange is breached.

Freeze your credit reports

You should freeze your credit reports and even consider locking your SSN, to prevent bad actors from making use of any of the information that was exposed. But beware of phishing attacks that aim to trick you into giving up sensitive data willingly. 

Danni Santana, CNET’s identity theft editor, tested freezing his credit last year and said, «It’s worth the hassle of setting up accounts with all three major credit bureaus. I get peace of mind at zero cost to me.»

Alert your bank

If even partial bank account information was exposed, contact your bank and let them know. You can request a new checking or savings account. Even if the entire account number wasn’t revealed, it’s still best to err on the side of caution.

Sign up for a free identity theft and credit monitoring service

There are free services you can sign up for that will monitor your credit reports and the dark web for any of your personal identifying information. While these services won’t take action on your behalf, they can alert you so that you’re able to take action.

There are also paid identity theft protection services available that offer much better protection features. Some of these, like Aura, include identity theft restoration services in the event your identity is stolen and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance.

Marvel Rivals season 2 is approaching its midseason update next week, and today we got our first glimpse of some of the changes coming to the game. 

The Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 update is a much-needed refresh for Rivals, which has struggled with declining Steam player numbers all season (not the full picture, but currently down to about one-third of the average players compared with January) and a player base that’s grown increasingly frustrated with one another.

What’s the cure for all this? Adding one of the most-anticipated new heroes and also leaning full bore into the zaniness by letting Storm and Jeff the Landshark team up to create a Jeff-nado.

Here’s what we learned about the Marvel Rivals season 2.5 update from today’s developer vision video. 

Marvel Rivals season 2.5 start date

Season 2.5 kicks off next Friday, May 30, UTC. We don’t have an exact start time, but for these major season updates the game tends to go offline in the middle of the night ET/PT and come back online in the wee hours of the launch date. 

New hero: Ultron

Officially announced at the start of season 2, Ultron joining the roster as a strategist might have been the most well-known «secret» that Rivals has been hiding since launch. If you’d asked me last year which role Ultron was most likely to slot into, I would’ve guessed duelist or vanguard, but a free-flying strategist with unique healing mechanics is a welcome change of pace for the role. 

Ultron’s video preview shows us a strategist who can leap in the air to escape divers and who has an attack range to take on enemy fliers. This could make him a great counter-pick to certain enemy comps, but we’ll have to wait for his full kit details to know for sure.

I’d love to see more strategists with unique mechanics like Loki’s clones or Invisible Woman’s shields — as much as I enjoy the shoot-to-heal strategist gameplay, I think the game’s in a better place when there’s more variety in the roster. So I’m likewise glad to see that Ultron’s ultimate isn’t another variation of «big heals in a circle» like most strategists’ ultimates — instead Ultron shoots a series of rapid-fire beams that heal allies and damage enemies. 

It’s no Loki Doppelganger, but it’s something different.

New map: Arakko

As usual, the midseason update adds a new map alongside the new hero — this time, we’re getting Arakko, the former sister island of Krakoa (season 2.0’s new map), which has been mechanized by X-tron, the version of Ultron that was reborn through Krakoa’s resurrection chamber. The map appears to be a payload map — convoy or possibly convergence — with heroes escorting the objective toward a lore-relevant destination.

A bunch of new team-ups and balance changes

The Rivals midseason patch is surprisingly hefty according to the latest developer vision video. The game is adding six new teamups, including a new one between Iron Man and Ultron, as well as two new team-ups for Jeff — the aforementioned Jeff-nado, plus the ability to use Venom’s symbiote to shoot healing tendrils onto (into?!) allies. Luna Snow can also give Hawkeye a stunning ice arrow, Rocket and Peni power up each other’s deployable abilities, and Punisher gives Black Widow’s rifle a piercing upgrade. 

In exchange, season 2.5 will say goodbye to four previous team-ups, including the notorious Symbiote Bond wherein Venom players gave Spider-Man and Peni Parker an extra damage burst to help melt your backline. Also leaving are Luna Snow and Jeff’s ice combo, Hawkeye and Black Widow’s afterimage team-up and Ammo Overload for Rocket and Punisher. In addition, Iron Man will no longer benefit from a team-up with Hulk (though Namor still does).

Rivals devs also addressed the current metagame, framing it as a «rock-paper-scissors dynamic» among mobile dive compositions (Cap, Iron Fist, Human Torch), wall-and-brawl comps (Groot paired with other mid-to-close-range heroes like Thing, Winter Soldier and Mister Fantastic) and triple-strategist compositions. It doesn’t feel like the fairest analogy, as the devs pointed to both of the latter comps as countering the high mobility comps, rather than being a true (theoretical) rock-paper-scissors where each composition is strong against one alternative and weak to another. 

Still, the developers are shaking things up in season 2.5 with balance changes, and the result is that Strange and Magneto are getting buffed while Groot, Cap and Emma Frost get hit with nerfs. Mobility-focused duelists Iron Fist, Human Torch and Psylocke are getting nerfs while Punisher, Storm and Squirrel Girl will receive «modest» buffs. The only strategist mentioned in the dev vision video’s upcoming balance tweaks was Luna Snow, whose ult charge gets another nerf, offset by a «mild boost» to her other abilities. 

I’m a little worried about some of these changes on paper. Targeting overperforming heroes is fine, but buffs to heroes like Punisher and Squirrel girl feel risky. I’m not a fan of buffing «noobstomper» heroes into relevance, but I’ll wait until I see the details and how things feel in the game before I actually panic. It’s also a bit perplexing that Rivals devs seem focused on increasing ult charge requirements for Luna Snow instead of just making it last less than an eternity. 

Other changes: New tactics mode, emoji

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the season 2.5 announcement was the addition of a new experimental mode called Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol. It’s an autobattler that lets you choose a team of six heroes, enhance their abilities, and unleash them against opposing teams. I have zero experience with autobattlers like Teamfight Tactics of Hearthstone Battlegrounds, but it was as fun watching a massive Venom looming over the battlefield as it was seeing a Namor with six (I counted) active turrets. 

The game is also introducing emoji, finally allowing you to nonverbally express your disdain for the teammates begging for healing while Spider-Man and Iron Fist treat you like a punching bag.