Posted: 20/06/2025
Apple has reportedly made significant strides in developing a chip for its long-rumoured smart glasses, setting the stage for a new wave of competition in the wearable tech space. The chip, based on Apple Watch architecture but re-engineered to support multiple cameras, is expected to enter mass production by late 2026 or early 2027.
This move positions Apple to challenge Meta and Essilor Luxottica’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, which already feature AI-powered capabilities such as music playback, hands-free calling, and real-time photo and video capture. An update is expected by October 2025 to include a small display to show notifications or response from Meta's virtual assistant. In the meantime, Meta is also preparing a second-generation version of its Orion AR glasses, expected to reach consumers the next few years.
The smart glasses market is becoming increasingly crowded. Amazon’s Echo Frames, Snapchat’s AI-enhanced Spectacles, and Samsung’s collaboration with Google on augmented reality (AR) glasses are all vying for consumer attention. Google, in partnership with Warby Parker, is also expected to release its own AI glasses post-2025. The market for these glasses has been growing — Meta has sold 2 million pairs of Meta Ray-Bans since their October 2023 debut, and is aiming to produce 10 million glasses each year by the end of 2026.
While Apple has yet to officially confirm its smart glasses project, the pace of development suggests a major product reveal could be on the horizon. As the tech giants race to define the next era of wearable computing, the battle for consumers' faces is just beginning.
Fashion brands Adidas and Victoria's Secret are some of the latest to report cyber-attacks, following a wave of recent incidents on high-profile fashion and luxury retailers in 2025 including North Face and Cartier.
Victoria's Secret temporarily took down its US website and halted some in-store services in May in response to the 'security incident'. M&S recently experienced similar, estimating its profits for the current year will be reduced by £300 million as a result of six weeks of costly disruption following April's cyber-attack. The British retailer is reportedly banking on the warmer weather to boost summer sales.
While Victoria's Secret did not reveal full details of the incident, such as whether customer data was at risk, Adidas disclosed customers' personal data had been stolen, consisting mainly of contact information - credit card details and passwords were not compromised.
The incidents no doubt highlight an increasing risk for online shoppers.
Most of Trump's import tariffs were blocked by a US trade court in May, as it was found that the US President had exceeded his authority by unilaterally imposing import tariffs on US trading partners. However, shortly after, a US federal appeals court reinstated his tariffs plan pending the White House's appeal of the ruling.
Retailers are no doubt continuing to monitor the situation. Athleisure brand Tala, which recently opened its first physical store on Carnaby Street, has halted its decision to expand in the US. The brand had raised £5 million last year to scale its American operations but has since put this on pause, and pulled most of its stock from its US website, amidst trading obstacles.
Handbag brand Radley has similarly set its sights on raising prices in light of the US tariffs. The US continues to be a 'key international growth market' for the Radley group, but is said to be introducing 'carefully positioned' price hikes in the US to offset higher costs and 'fully expects' its rivals to do the same.
Meanwhile, the US has set tariffs on Chinese imports at 55% as part of a new trade deal. The agreement, which includes a 10% tariff on US imports into China, is subject to final approval from both countries.
Tariffs on clothing and footwear are to be announced in the next few weeks.
A bill on the textile industry's environmental impact – dubbed the 'anti fast-fashion bill' – has been approved in revised form by the French Senate over a year after it was first proposed. Fast fashion critics decry the negative impact of the textile sector on the environment and the exploitation of workers in order to mass produce clothes as quickly and cheaply as possible. The high turnover of clothing also leads to unfair competition for local brands.
The bill seeks to impose penalties on ultra-fast fashion products and stem the flow of garments, mainly targeting low-cost online sellers such as Shein and Temu by:
The bill will support sustainability, environmental and social responsibility within the fashion industry, with fast-fashion products not just penalised on the basis of their environmental impact, but also because of 'the specific commercial practices of fast-fashion e-tailers.' Given the bill targets Chinese-founded e-commerce giants, Shein has argued that it has been unfairly singled out and that the bill 'will worsen the purchasing power of French consumers'. While less onerous restrictions will be imposed on European players such as Zara and H&M, Shein's meteoric rise now eclipses their market share and has dominated the fast-fashion industry in recent years.
Whilst the backlash against fast fashion is not new, the passage of the bill is set against the backdrop of large US tariffs aimed at China and French fears that the European market could be flooded with cheap Chinese products, perhaps encouraging lawmakers into reviving the bill this summer. Before its final adoption, a committee will produce a joint text and the European Commission will have to be notified to ensure the bill complies with EU law.
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