On Monday (April 27), details about an alleged Samsung smart glasses product leaked, while earlier in the month news broke that Gucci and Google were partnering on a luxury pair of smart wearables set to debut next year.

And at the start of the year, smart glasses maker XReal raised $100 million at a valuation of over $1 billion, while Meta and eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica let the marketplace know they were considering doubling their capacity to produce Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses from 10 million to 20 million by the end of the year, with additional room for up to 30 million.

Apple is also refining its approach to the space and moving from bulky virtual reality (VR) goggles to sleeker artificial intelligence (AI) wearables. Aside from the companies mentioned above, major tech firms like Amazon, Snap, Baidu, Xiaomi and others are all investing heavily into smart glasses; as are smaller, AI wearable-specific startups like Viture, Even Realities, Brilliant, Solos and Halliday, to name just a handful.

But while the introduction of AI has undoubtedly given the category a shot in the arm, it may not have fundamentally altered the core behavioral challenge of convincing users that wearing a computer, and a video camera, on their face is not just useful, but necessary.

Or, has it?

Read more: Wearables, Robotics and Infrastructure Become Big Tech’s New Focus 

AI Changes the Interface, Not the Fundamentals

If there is a through line in the current wave of AR glasses, it is a sense of convergence. Hardware is becoming more wearable and AI is making interactions more intuitive. Enterprise use cases are proving viability in specific contexts, with the London Marathon this past weekend even featuring vision-impaired runners using AI-powered smart glasses.

Yet convergence does not guarantee adoption. The history of consumer technology is littered with products that were technically impressive but failed to find a durable place in everyday life.

Wearing early AR glasses in public often felt like announcing oneself as a beta tester. Today’s designs aim to disappear into daily life, a prerequisite for any consumer technology aspiring to ubiquity. Advances in microdisplays, waveguides and battery efficiency have allowed manufacturers to shrink components without sacrificing performance. Devices like Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses and Snap’s Spectacles are now closer to conventional eyewear than conspicuous headgear.

What has changed more dramatically is the software layer, particularly with the integration of generative AI. The rise of large language models and multimodal systems has given AR glasses a more compelling narrative: not just as display devices, but as intelligent companions.

In this framing, glasses become a gateway to real-time assistance. They can summarize conversations, translate languages on the fly, identify objects and provide contextual prompts based on what the wearer sees. Startups are leaning heavily into this “AI-native” positioning, arguing that the true breakthrough is not the hardware itself but the intelligence embedded within it.

But AI does not eliminate the need for a clear use case. It enhances interactions, but it does not define them. The question of why a user should wear AR glasses for hours each day, rather than pull out a smartphone when needed, remains open.

See also: How Big Tech’s XR Push Could Redefine Both Payments and AI 

What Comes Next

The next phase of AR glasses will likely be defined less by breakthroughs and more by iteration. Incremental improvements in battery life, display quality and comfort will continue. AI capabilities will expand, becoming more personalized and context-aware. Partnerships between hardware makers and software developers may begin to seed more robust ecosystems.

A PYMNTS Intelligence report found that people often use connected devices to multitask, especially among the younger, digital-first generations. Smart glasses, for example, can provide hands-free connectivity to users, who can use the embedded AI assistant to do online searches, take photos or videos, read and write text messages, and translate foreign languages in real time, among other capabilities.

But incremental improvements are unlikely to drive behavioral change at scale.

For now, AR glasses remain a category defined as much by its potential as by its limitations. More are being made than ever before. The technology is better than it has ever been. But the fundamental questions—what they are for, and why they matter—remain unresolved.

That’s according to a report Wednesday (Feb. 19) from The Information, which notes that the company’s efforts are happening as its Big Tech peers like Apple, Google and OpenAI are also planning new consumer device launches.

The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, says Meta has relaunched its shelved smartwatch project, planning to unveil it later in 2026 with health-tracking features and the company’s artificial intelligence system built in.

Meta had mothballed the smartwatch project in 2022 as it scaled back spending on its Reality Labs division. But sources told The Information the company decided to resume its work following a strategy meeting in 2025 at CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s home in Hawaii.

According to The Information, Meta is planning to debut its smartwatch while also streamlining its augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) projects.

The company has a handful or AR and MR glasses in development, and one source said executives are concerned that introducing too many devices too quickly will cause confusion among consumers. This has led the company to rethink its timelines, the report added.

Reality Labs employees learned in December that Meta had delayed Phoenix, its MR glasses, until 2027. As for 2026, Meta plans to introduce a new version of the Meta Ray-Ban Display, one of the sources said. The first version of these glasses, which have a miniature display embedded into one lens, went on sale last year for $799.

In January, the company said it was pushing back international expansion of the smart glasses in the U.K., France, Italy and Canada because of “unprecedented demand and limited inventory.”

Meanwhile, Meta is continuing to develop consumer-facing AR glasses code-named Artemis, expected to be released next year, according to one of the sources.

This week also saw a report from Bloomberg News that Apple is accelerating its work on three artificial intelligence (AI)-powered wearable devices: smart glasses, a pendant and AirPods. These devices will be built around the company’s Siri digital assistant and linked to the iPhone. The pendant and the AirPods with expanded AI capabilities could debut as early as this year, while the smart glasses could come next year, the report said.

The three devices will be built around the company’s Siri digital assistant and will be linked to the iPhone, according to the report.

The pendant and the AirPods with expanded AI capabilities could be released as early as this year, while the smart glasses may be released in 2027, per the report.

Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

According to the Bloomberg report, the new devices will be designed for the AI era and will aim to keep users within the Apple ecosystem at a time when Meta is having success with its smart glasses and OpenAI is developing wearables and other devices.

PYMNTS reported that during a Jan. 29 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook framed the company’s AI system Apple Intelligence as an operating system-level capability that can raise the value of its entire ecosystem and create room to monetize across hardware and services.

“We’re bringing Intelligence to more of what people love,” Cook said. “And we’re integrating it across the operating system in a personal and private way. And I think that by doing so it creates great value and that opens up a range of opportunities across our products and services.”

It was also reported Jan. 29 that Apple acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup focused on AI technology for audio. Q.ai has developed machine learning techniques that help devices understand whispered speech and enhance audio quality in difficult environments. These capabilities align with Apple’s expanding focus on voice interaction, ambient computing and hands-free control across devices such as AirPods and iPhones.

On Jan. 12, Apple and Google announced that they had formed a partnership and that the next iteration of Apple’s Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini and cloud tech. These models will help power new features for Siri and other tools that use Apple Intelligence.

It was reported Jan. 1 that Apple is scaling back both manufacturing and marketing for one of its existing wearable devices, the Vision Pro headset, after weak sales.

If demand continues to grow, they could boost the capacity to 30 million, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Jan. 13), citing unnamed sources.

The companies have not yet decided whether to boost production, according to the report.

Neither Meta nor EssilorLuxottica immediately replied to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

Meta said on Jan. 6 that it was pausing its planned global expansion of the smart glasses to the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada due to “unprecedented demand and limited inventory” in the United States.

“Meta Ray-Ban Display is a first-of-its-kind product with extremely limited inventory,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Since launching last fall, we’ve seen an overwhelming amount of interest, and as a result, product waitlists now extend well into 2026.”

Meta unveiled the Meta Ray-Ban Display in September. These artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses feature a built-in screen that can display text messages, video calls, photos and the results of queries to Meta’s AI service.

“This isn’t about strapping a phone to your face,” the company said when introducing the product. “It’s about helping you quickly accomplish some of your everyday tasks without breaking your flow.”

PYMNTS reported in February 2025 that a new wave of next-generation smart glasses had emerged. These devices are encased in traditional frames of various styles, so users don’t look out of place in public, but they carry serious electronics to power AI capabilities like online searches and translations.

Meta, several other tech giants and about a dozen smaller companies are betting on smart glasses to be the next popular connected wearable, the report said.

It was reported Thursday (Jan. 8) that smart glasses maker XReal raised $100 million and is now valued at over $1 billion. XReal announced Jan. 6 that it extended its strategic partnership with Google, was named a lead hardware partner for the Android XR ecosystem, and will collaborate with Google to bring the Android XR operating system to wired XR glasses and other optical-see-through devices.

The company’s latest funding came from its supply chain partners and other backers, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Jan. 8), citing a Bloomberg Television interview with XReal Co-founder and CEO Chi Xu.

PYMNTS reported in February 2025 that artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a smart glasses boom, with several tech giants and about a dozen smaller companies making smart glasses and using the AI of popular large language models.

AI has been a game-changer, as the latest AI-powered smart glasses are encased in traditional frame of various styles, so users don’t look out of place in public, while also carrying serious electronics to power AI capabilities like online searches and translations.

Over the past week, XReal unveiled two new smart glasses and two partnerships.

The company introduced its XREAL 1S augmented reality (AR) glasses on Sunday (Jan. 4), saying they provide its most accessible and portable AR experiences “at an unbeatable value.” This wearable device is designed for everyday users, gamers and fans of mobile entertainment.

“With XREAL 1S, we’re not only lowering the cost of entry, we’re doing so while boosting specs and performance, and improving optics,” Xu said in a press release.

The company unveiled its ROG XREAL R1 AR Glasses on Monday (Jan. 5), saying these gaming glasses deliver visual performance, scale and immersion that transform the gaming experience.

The company also announced that it had formed a strategic partnership with ASUS Republic of Gamers (ASUS ROG) to develop these glasses.

“Our goal has always been to make spatial computing feel natural, powerful and wearable,” Xu said in a press release. “By combining XREAL’s leadership in lightweight XR hardware and proprietary optical systems with ASUS ROG’s world-class gaming performance, we’re making our goal a reality.”

XReal announced Tuesday (Jan. 6) that it extended its strategic partnership with Google and was named a lead hardware partner for the Android XR ecosystem.

The companies will collaborate to bring the Android XR operating system to wired XR glasses and other optical-see-through devices and to expand support for Android XR development.

The category is on pace for a 49% increase in shipments for 2025, Bloomberg News reported Monday (Jan. 5), citing data from IDC. By contrast, shipments of smartwatches were projected to increase by just 6%.

The devices are catching on with consumers, the report added, offering the types of sleep and health insights found on smartwatches, only with a less obvious design, longer charge life and—because fingers have thinner skin than wrists—more accurate readings.

Some consumers, the report said, like to wear both: a watch for workouts and notifications, a ring for round-the-clock tracking. And while the smartwatch market is growing more slowly, IDC said 163 million of these devices shipped last year, versus 4.3 million smart rings.

Among the smart rings already on the market is Samsung’s Galaxy Ring, which was launched in 2024 and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide detailed health reports, including metrics like sleep, activity, heart rate and heart rate variability. The ring also offers insights and recommendations designed to help improve daily health and well-being.

Also in 2024, Oura opened an Amazon store to sell its smart rings. This year, the Bloomberg report said, both startups and tech giants are due to introduce new models this year, including at this week’s CES consumer technology conference in Las Vegas.

Among the newcomers is the Aivela Ring Pro, which will showcase unique features such as air gestures and touch commands. Meanwhile, some companies are working on rings that aren’t health-focused, Bloomberg said. This includes Pebble, a smartwatch brand created the Index 01, which comes with a built-in microphone to allow users to create reminders on the go.

As covered here last week, wearable products are emerging as one of the next places the world’s tech giants are hoping to capture value from the AI stack. For example, Google plans to release AI-enabled smart glasses this year. This device will reportedly run on Android XR and incorporate Google’s Gemini model to offer up real-time answers, translation tools and optional augmented displays.

“The glasses mark Google’s return to wearables after earlier efforts with Glass. This version focuses on hands-free access to information rather than novelty features,” PYMNTS wrote. “By placing AI in a format that handles simple, in-the-moment tasks, Google extends its platform into a physical product category that could sit alongside smartphones rather than replace them. That same theme of integration carries into developments happening inside the federal government.”

The company recently unveiled its $799 Ray-Ban Display smart glasses at Meta Connect 2025, presenting them as a practical tool for everyday tasks rather than a futuristic headset, as PYMNTS reported.

What Meta Is Offering

The Ray-Ban Display includes a small display in one lens and a Neural Band wrist controller that converts subtle finger movements into commands. The glasses are designed for quick interactions such as reading a message, navigating a map or translating a conversation. Battery life is estimated at six hours on a charge and up to 30 hours with the carrying case.

Meta already sells the Ray-Ban Gen 2 at about $379 and the Oakley Meta Vanguard at about $499. Those products helped normalize camera-equipped eyewear and gave Meta shelf space in optical retail channels. The new Display model builds on that momentum while moving further into artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted tasks.

Targeting Lifestyle Adopters

“Glasses are the only form factor where you can let an AI see what you see, hear what you hear, talk to you throughout the day,” Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg reportedly said at the developer conference. IDC has said Meta’s second-generation Ray-Ban models have already “taken consumers by storm,” helping shift smart glasses from novelty items to everyday wearables

Consumer adoption is still niche, but interest is rising. According to Forrester, approximately 17% of U.S. online adults reported using smart glasses in 2025, up from 4% in 2024. A follow-up pulse survey across the U.S., U.K. and Canada found 20% expressed interest in Meta’s new Ray-Ban Display, though only about 6% said they were likely to buy. Forrester notes that while affordability has improved and people are less bothered about being filmed in public than a decade ago, smart glasses still need to prove their value beyond what smartphones already offer.

The Display is not expected to displace Oculus Quest headsets. Quest continues to target immersive gaming and entertainment, while the Display serves as an on-ramp for lighter daily use. It serves as a casual gateway to immersive experiences, rather than a replacement for deep VR. Meta is running parallel strategies, keeping Quest for full VR while using smart glasses to broaden the entry point.

The Market Landscape

Shipments of smart glasses and headsets are expected to accelerate as consumers adopt the technology. According to IDC, the combined market for AR and VR devices is expected to expand nearly 40% in 2025 to approximately 14.3 million units, with much of the growth driven by utility devices rather than full augmented reality devices. There are many levels of augmented reality devices, as well as price points.

For example, Apple’s Vision Pro retails for approximately $3,500 and is designed for high-end immersive computing. Reports indicate Apple is working on lighter and less expensive versions as well as a distinct glasses product that may arrive as soon as 2026 or 2027. Google has scaled back its consumer eyewear projects, Microsoft has narrowed HoloLens to enterprise and defense, and Snap is preparing a consumer AR release expected in 2026.

IDC estimates that Meta accounted for roughly 60% of the global market for display-less smart glasses, along with AR and VR headsets, in the second quarter of 2025. From late 2023 through mid-2025, the company shipped more than 3.5 million pairs of Ray-Ban smart glasses. IDC expects the market for smart glasses without displays to reach 9.4 million units in 2025, a 247.5 percent increase from 2024, with most of that growth driven by Meta.

Tech companies still need to convince consumers that smart glasses are worth hundreds of dollars when smartphones already handle similar functions. As Forrester observed, AI integration has opened new possibilities, but widespread adoption may take several years as habits shift.

As PYMNTS has reported, sales of Ray-Ban Meta glasses more than tripled in the first half of 2025, rising more than 200 percent compared with the prior year. The holiday season will provide the first real test. The Display is likely to appeal to early adopters and gift buyers, while the Ray-Ban Gen 2 and Oakley Vanguard are better positioned for volume sales. A strong performance could help offset slowing Quest sales, which contributed to more than $4 billion in Reality Labs losses in the first half of 2025.

Risk and Long-Term Stakes

Meta’s approach comes with significant risks. Technical glitches during Connect presentations raised doubts about the reliability of the device. Privacy concerns remain equally pressing. Civil liberties groups warn that camera-equipped eyewear could act as wearable surveillance, and while Meta has added visible recording lights and stricter disclosure policies, skepticism lingers. The company must prove that its devices can perform consistently while navigating scrutiny from regulators wary of how data is collected and used.

At the same time, the strategic opportunity is clear. If consumers shift even small daily tasks from smartphones to glasses, Meta could reduce its dependence on rival phone platforms and embed its Llama-based AI more deeply into daily life. Adoption at the $799 price point is uncertain, but Meta’s lower-cost models may broaden appeal. Much will depend on day-to-day reliability, evolving privacy rules and Apple’s next steps with lighter or more affordable devices.

The company aims to launch the consumer product late next year or early in 2027 and the delivery driver one as soon as the second quarter of 2026, The Information reported Wednesday (Sept. 10), citing unnamed sources.

Amazon did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

According to The Information report, the AR glasses for consumers will feature microphones, speakers, a camera and a full-color display in one eye.

The AR glasses for delivery drivers will have features that help with the sorting and delivery of packages, according to the report.

Both products will use the same underlying technology, but only the consumer one will have a full-color display, the report said.

It was reported Aug. 22 that Meta will debut its first pair of smart glasses with a display at this month’s Connect conference. Codenamed Hypernova, these glasses will include a small digital display in the right lens.

On Aug. 19, it was reported that the Hypernova smart glasses will be offered at a price starting at $800 before style variations or prescription lenses are added. The report added that the current Meta Ray-Ban glasses are priced at $200 to $400 and the Oakley smart glasses cost up to $500.

When Meta debuted its Orion AR glasses in September 2024, the company said the device is the “north star” of wearable connection.

PYMNTS reported at the time that due to advances in technology and material science allowing Meta to leverage a refractive material called silicon carbide to create holographic AR displays laid atop real-life surroundings, an improvement over the existing “passthrough” techniques used by current virtual reality (VR) devices, AR glasses are gearing up to potentially become more than just an ill-fated and cumbersome tech fad.

These devices will arrive at a time when artificial intelligence has been driving a smart glasses boom. Several tech giants and about a dozen smaller companies are making smart glasses and betting on the product to become the next popular connected wearable.

PYMNTS reported in February that these AI-powered smart glasses are encased in traditional frames of various styles rather than being the bulky AR/VR headsets of old.

The new smart glasses, internally named Hypernova, were initially planned to be priced at $1,000, at least, but will now start at $800 before style variations or prescription lenses are added, Bloomberg reported Sunday (Aug. 17).

The report noted that the current Meta Ray-Ban glasses are priced at $200 to $400 and the Oakley smart glasses cost up to $500.

The new Hypernova smart glasses will feature a screen for apps and alerts on one lens and a wrist accessory that can control the glasses, according to the report.

CNET reported Monday (Aug. 18) that while the Hypernova smart glasses are designed to be used with a mobile phone, they hint at a future when glasses might replace phones.

It is rumored that Hypernova could have a smartphone-quality camera and a voice-activated artificial intelligence query tool, Frederick Stanbrell, head of wearables for EMEA at IDC, told CNET.

“We are likely seeing the first generation of a device that Mark Zuckerberg intends to one day replace phones,” Stanbrell said, per the report.

Meta’s partner on the Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses, EssilorLuxottica, said in July that the sales of Ray-Ban Meta glasses were up more than 200% in the first half of the year.

“We are leading the transformation of glasses as the next computing platform, one where AI, sensory tech and a data-rich healthcare infrastructure will converge to empower humans and unlock our full potential,” EssilorLuxottica Chairman and CEO Francesco Milleri and Deputy CEO Paul du Saillant said in the release.

When Google announced in May that it partnered with eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker to create glasses equipped with its extended reality (XR) operating system, Android XR, the company said it expects smart glasses equipped with Android XR and its AI model Gemini to become a convenient and always present AI assistant.

“What if your AI assistant could see the world from your perspective and offer hands-free help? That’s the vision driving our latest advancements in Android XR,” Shahram Izadi, vice president and general manager, Android XR at Google, said at the time.

The designer, manufacturer and distributor of vision care products, eyewear and MedTech solutions also highlighted new and upcoming smart glasses and MedTech products in a Monday press release.

EssilorLuxottica said in the release that the Oakley Meta AI glasses announced in June will be available later this summer. The first product from this brand, Oakley Meta HSTN, will include Ultra HD 3K recording, open-ear speakers incorporated into the frames to deliver music and podcasts, and enough battery life to power up to eight hours of typical use and up to 19 hours on standby, according to the release.

The company also highlighted its rollout of Nuance Audio in the United States and Italy in February and its subsequent expansion to France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. Nuance Audio is a MedTech solution that incorporates hearing aid software into smart glasses, per the release.

“We are leading the transformation of glasses as the next computing platform, one where AI, sensory tech and a data-rich healthcare infrastructure will converge to empower humans and unlock our full potential,” EssilorLuxottica Chairman and CEO Francesco Milleri and Deputy CEO Paul du Saillant said in the release. “The success of Ray-Ban Meta, the launch of Oakley Meta Performance AI glasses and the positive response to Nuance Audio are major milestones for us in this new frontier.”

AI is driving a smart glasses boom, with several companies betting on these products to become the next popular connected wearable, PYMNTS reported in February.

These AI-powered smart glasses are encased in traditional frames of various styles, so users don’t look out of place in public, but they carry serious electronics to power AI capabilities like online searches and translations.

EssilorLuxottica announced in September that the company and Meta formed a new long-term agreement that extends their collaboration on smart eyewear technology into the next decade. The company said the deal built on the success of their Ray-Ban Meta glasses and set the stage for future innovations in wearables.