:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2247952410-38799e9adcf04e168aa2041b8fa0fe96.jpg "The Next Round of Smart Glasses Could be AI-Powered—and ‘Mind-Blowing’")
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Key Takeaways
- Tech and eyewear companies are lining up to release new smart glasses, which they believe may one day be as ubiquitous as cell phones.
- The newest models aren’t as heavy or bulky as their predecessors and are growing more useful thanks to AI, executives said.
The outlook for smart glasses may have finally cleared up.
Tech and retail experts are optimistic they can get Americans to reconsider adding glasses to their lineups of pocketable personal electronics. The product is becoming more practical and intuitive thanks to AI, the advent of lightweight electronics and partnerships with fashionable eyewear brands, industry executives say.
A number of brand names are racing to release what they hope will be the next big hit, including Snap (SNAP) and Apple (AAPL). Meta (META) is working with Ray-Ban’s parent company EssilorLuxottica SA, while Google (GOOG) has partnered with Samsung and Warby Parker (WRBY), according to company statements.
Meta’s new Ray-Ban Display and other buzzy releases helped the category grow nearly 250% in 2025, International Data Corp. said. Meta said Tuesday that it is delaying the international release of the Display so it can focus on meeting “overwhelming” domestic demand, citing a waitlist for its products.
Why This News Matters to Investors
Manufacturers have been making electronic components, such as batteries and sensors, smaller to fit in smartphones. Producers are now looking for alternative uses for the materials.
Warby Parker has long declined to be associated with smart glasses because they were bulky and uninspiring, co-CEO Dave Gilboa said on a conference call last month. But new releases are more comfortable, he said, thanks to smaller batteries, cameras and sensors.
AI has also made the glasses more useful, said Gilboa, who suggested possible uses like how to cook ingredients it sees, how to fix a broken toy the user looks at, or reminding people where they left their keys. “We believe that our products are going to be really differentiated and have remarkably good AI that will provide utility to consumers that is really mind-blowing,” Gilboa said.
“It took smartphones to showcase kind of the power of always-on Internet and always-on connectivity. And the mobile smart phone was really the … native device for this,” Gilboa said, according to a transcript made available by AlphaSense. “We believe that AI glasses are going to be the native form factor for the AI era.”
The technology is catching on, but is still a ways away from the smartphone’s ubiquity, IDC said. The research group said 2.7 million smart glasses were sold in 2024, when 1.44 billion phones were purchased.
Some 10 million smart glasses were released in 2025, but that may reach 55 million by 2030, according to Bank of America.
