Source: Fortune
Summary
Meta is advancing its smart glasses lineup, including Ray-Ban models with AI features and new audio-only styles. The company claims its glasses are the most popular in the market despite privacy concerns. Meta’s AI-enabled glasses saw sales growth of threefold in 2025, with 7 million pairs sold in 2025, according to EssilorLuxottica. The company also introduced a new VR headset and a hologram feature for video calls. Privacy issues remain a concern, with lawsuits and design changes aimed at addressing user concerns.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story.
Meta’s smart glasses sales tripled in 2025.
EssilorLuxottica sold 7 million AI-enabled glasses in 2025.
Privacy lawsuits and design changes are part of the package.
Hardware races are about control, not just tech.
Author: Evan Null
Meta’s Lead
Meta is a case in point. Its AI models generally lag those of rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. But Meta stands above all in AI-enabled glasses, having grown its sales of smart glasses threefold last year; EssilorLuxottica says it sold 7 million pairs of AI-enabled glasses in 2025.
Alex Himel, Meta’s vice president of wearables, credits the company’s early bet on the category and its decision to prioritize fashion. Customers use the smart features on the glasses only about 10% of the time, he said, so it’s critical that people crave the glasses for their look and weight. EssilorLuxottica held Meta to 50 grams or below for most glasses.
“We’re able to keep adding this stuff into something that you’re already wearing for other reasons,” Himel said of the tech features.
One new capability he’s excited about is agentic AI powered by Meta’s latest Muse Spark model, allowing the glasses to execute multistep routines like managing personal schedules and scanning through emails.
Meta’s lead is built on fashion and early investment, not just AI power.
The Privacy Problem
The bigger concern surrounding this tech, however, is privacy. Already, Meta has had to respond to some users disabling the glasses’ LED light that turns on to alert people nearby that the video camera is recording. The company recently created a policy to deactivate recording if the LED has been tampered with, and Meta will delete the accounts of anyone who uses a modified device and posts harassing content.
Stopping depraved users is only part of the challenge. The coolest features of AI devices come from AI’s ability to make sense of the world around you, operating not from on-screen data alone. That creates an inherent tension with norms around privacy and personal space.
Recently announced Apple Watch features like Siri Recap, which listens to a user’s conversations and provides a “high-level” AI-generated summary, have already raised concerns about whether the audio is being captured with proper consent. OpenAI’s forthcoming device, rumored to be a portable smart speaker, could encounter similar eavesdropping concerns.
So far, Meta’s famously poor privacy track record in social media has not prevented it from taking the lead in the nascent smart glasses category. But as the market grows, sensitivity around privacy is almost certain to become a bigger factor.
Privacy is a growing concern, but it hasn’t stopped Meta’s growth.
Don’t Throw Your Phone Out Yet
At the other end of the spectrum, social media company Snap’s latest smart glasses are designed to be a stand-alone computer on your face. The bulky, $2,195 augmented reality Specs feature onboard processing that, the company says, eliminates the need for a phone.
While the glasses’ aesthetics have been panned by some reviewers—a “Cybertruck for your face,” joked one social media commenter—Snap executive Russell Patton said the glasses are designed to create a distinct computing ecosystem rather than serve as an accessory to a phone.
It’s a bold bet that gets to another big question about AI-centric devices. Glasses are a natural form factor, given that about two-thirds of U.S. adults already wear corrective lenses. But some industry insiders believe glasses are just one of many devices that will leverage AI, and that they will coexist with smartphones for some time.
Because batteries in wearable devices are tiny, and 5G cellular chips can instantly cut a wearable’s battery life by half, analysts expect the devices to remain tethered to a phone for at least the next five to 10 years.
Smartphones aren’t going anywhere, even as glasses get smarter.
Hardware Race
Ziad Asghar, Qualcomm’s senior vice president of wearables, believes AI use is likely to be experienced through a myriad of devices.
OpenAI’s first device is reported to be a portable, screen-free, doughnut-shaped object, and the company promises several other products. In June, Microsoft introduced a wearable badge-like device—despite the high-profile failure of startup Humane’s earlier attempt at the form factor—and a cube-like device with a voice-activated screen. Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly developing glasses and camera-equipped AirPods.
While the primary input for the personal computer is the keyboard and mouse, and smartphones have a touch screen and camera, Asghar said the next generation of AI-powered devices will need to gather a much broader variety of information.
“That context is what allows us to personalize AI agentic experiences,” he said.
The hardware race is about more than one device—it’s about the future of interaction.
Future of AI Devices
Ultimately, choosing the right device, or devices, in a post-smartphone world could be a matter of individual style and preference—not unlike shopping for glasses.
Meta’s glasses are leading the way, but others are catching up. Snap, Apple, and OpenAI are all investing in new form factors. The race is on, but no one has yet won.
Privacy, usability, and design will determine who comes out on top. For now, Meta is ahead, but the field is wide open.
The future of AI is not one device—it’s many, and the winner will be the one that feels most natural.
Hardware is the new battleground, and the stakes are high.
