Will smart glasses replace smartphones? Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg thinks so. And Meta is driving the nascent market with fashionable new products, as rivals Apple and Alphabet's Google look to come out with their own smart eyewear.
Analysts see modest adoption for the new category at first, but a new consumer electronics battleground is clearly emerging.
Meta introduced its third-generation line of smart glasses on Sept. 17. They include new Ray-Ban Meta glasses, Oakley Meta Vanguard wraparound sports sunglasses, and Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses with an on-lens monocular display.
All have built-in cameras for taking photos and videos. They also have microphones and speakers for making and receiving phone calls, listening to music and accessing Meta's artificial intelligence assistant. Plus, they have touch controls on the temples.
Meta's smart glasses allow users to keep their phone in their pocket or purse when doing routine tasks. That makes them a peripheral rather than a replacement for the smartphone, for now.
Research firm IDC has forecast global shipments of 10.6 million units of smart glasses this year, up from 2.7 million units in 2024. It sees the market growing to 16.9 million units next year and reaching 28.2 million in 2029.
A key factor in the success of Meta's recent devices with eyeglass partner EssilorLuxottica is that they are stylish and only slightly heavier than regular glasses.
Smart glasses have come a long way in the last decade from Google's geeky Google Glass headset. Wearers of those cyborg-like nerd goggles were derisively called "Glassholes."
Best Buy To Promote Meta's New Smart Glasses
Meta's new smart glasses start at $379 for its second-generation Ray-Ban Meta eyewear. They come in three styles — Wayfarer, Skyler and Headliner — with a range of lenses, including regular, polarized, transitions and prescription. The smart Oakley specs cost $499. The Meta-Ray Ban Display glasses start at $799.
Meta has teamed up with consumer electronics retailer Best Buy to promote its latest eyewear, including in-store demonstrations of the Meta Ray-Ban Display AR specs. More than 300 Best Buy stores across the country will be staffed with dedicated Meta smart-glasses specialists, the retailer said.
"It's not just Meta that's doing this," IDC research analyst Jitesh Ubrani told Investor's Business Daily. "We're seeing more and more companies launching similar products, whether it's with or without a display. But the idea of having tech on your face is something that's growing in popularity from a consumer perspective … The use cases are getting clearer."
With the built-in cameras, users can ask Meta's AI to identify and provide information on landmarks and objects. Users also can get audio responses to questions and commands with spoken prompts. Plus, smart glasses can serve as discreet hearing aids.
Competition Ramping In Smart Eyewear
Meta's primary competition in the smart glasses market today comes from Chinese companies such as Xiaomi and Huawei.
Analysts say Apple, Google, Samsung, Snap and others have designs on the smart glasses market. Amazon already is in the market with its Echo Frame smart glasses. However, Amazon is aiming to launch smart glasses with a monocular display (projected to only one eye so the other can see the real world) in late 2026 or early 2027, the Information reported.
Meanwhile, Apple has targeted late 2026 for the launch of its first smart glasses, Bloomberg reported. Apple's specs will work with its upcoming AI-enabled Siri digital assistant.
"The big question now is what's Google going to do, what's Apple going to, and potentially Amazon as well," Ubrani said. "Those vendors we imagine will launch glasses probably in the next year to two years."
However, even with rising adoption, smart glasses are unlikely to supplant smartphones in the next five years, Ubrani said.
"In the near term, these are very much companion devices," he said. "Today, it's still tech focused on early adopters."
Meta is likely to lean on content creators in its social networks Facebook and Instagram to encourage mainstream appeal of smart glasses, Ubrani said.
Meta Is 'On The Right Track'
Rob Enderle, tech analyst with the Enderle Group, said Meta is "on the right track" by focusing as much on product design as technology.
But for now smart glasses seem "more of a replacement for earbuds" than smartphones, he told IBD.
The new headsets are bound to get consumers talking and will seed the market, he said. Some applications for smart glasses are quite compelling, Enderle said. For instance, being able to take photos and video without having to get out your smartphone and fiddle with the camera app.
"It's like a dashcam for your face" to record events around you, Enderle said.
The Holy Grail for smart glasses will be an augmented reality display that can overlay information into a wearer's field of vision, he said. But that is years away. For now, such true AR technology is limited to bulky headsets like Apple's Apple Vision Pro, which costs $3,500.
"AR glasses are likely to become the leading device for the AI era," BofA Securities analyst Justin Post said in a client note.
Meta's smart glasses could follow an adoption curve similar to other top consumer electronics categories, Post said.
"Reports of strong smart glasses sales this holiday could aid sentiment on Meta's capability to lead in the next generation of personal computing," he said.
Truist Securities analyst Youssef Squali estimates that Meta has sold over 2 million pairs of its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to date. In a client note, he forecast sales of 3 million units in 2025 and 10 million units next year.
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