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Pico delays Space Pro mixed-reality headset to Q4 2026, cancels September 2 Beijing reveal
ByteDance's Pico had scheduled a September 2, 2026 Beijing event to unveil Space Pro (formerly 'Project Swan'), a roughly 270-gram headset with dual 4K Micro-OLED displays at about 4,000 PPI, a self-developed XR chip alongside a flagship SoC, and 12ms end-to-end passthrough latency positioned against Apple's Vision Pro. Pico cancelled that event about nine days beforehand and pushed the launch to Q4 2026, saying hardware and software had reached a high level of completion but that it wanted more time for a 'major upgrade' to the software experience; no price or confirmed regions have been announced.
Euronews: calls to ban Meta's smart glasses spotlight Europe's wider surveillance gap
Euronews reported on August 21, 2026 that momentum to ban Meta's smart glasses in individual EU countries risks distracting from broader surveillance-technology gaps across Europe. The piece noted a survey in which 67% of 2,128 French adults said smart glasses posed a privacy risk, and situated the German and other national actions within the EU AI Act's restrictions on real-time biometric identification in public spaces.
Investigation finds teen boys using Meta glasses to film and harass girls at school
A Futurism investigation published August 19, 2026 documented teen boys at US middle and high schools using Ray-Ban Meta glasses to covertly film female classmates in hallways, cafeterias and classrooms, then posting the footage to TikTok and Instagram. The report described behavior ranging from unconsented vlogging to mocking and pickup-artist-style pranks, and said schools are responding with outright device bans rather than adjusted phone policies, citing potential legal consequences for covert recording.
Xiaomi's second-generation AI glasses reportedly delayed to Q4 2026 or 2027
Chinese outlet ITBear reported on August 5, 2026, citing industry insiders, that Xiaomi's second-generation AI glasses had finished hardware and software development but that executive Lu Weibing paused the release over dissatisfaction with the external design, requiring rework. The report said the launch may now slip to Q4 2026 or even 2027, and noted the glasses project team had been affected by Xiaomi Group cost-cutting, with several members departing; Xiaomi denied the rumor without disclosing its actual release plan.
Hamburg data protection chief finds Meta's smart glasses violate German privacy law
Hamburg's data protection commissioner Thomas Fuchs concluded, reported August 4, 2026, that secretly filming people in public with Meta's smart glasses violates German data protection law after finding the recording LED insufficiently visible in everyday use. Days later, on August 11, 2026, German digital-rights groups filed criminal complaints against Meta, EssilorLuxottica and four optical retailers under the TDDDG law previously used to ban the 'My Friend Cayla' doll, citing rules against devices disguised as everyday objects that secretly record people.
Reality Labs' losses widen to $4.62 billion in Q2 2026, cumulative total nears $88 billion
Meta's Reality Labs unit posted a $4.62 billion operating loss in the second quarter of 2026 on $431 million of revenue, reported alongside Meta's earnings on July 29, 2026. The loss widened from the $4.03 billion recorded in Q1 2026, pushing cumulative Reality Labs losses since the end of 2020 to roughly $88 billion, even as quarterly revenue grew 16% year-over-year from $370 million in Q2 2025.
Meta sued over claim Kenyan subcontractors reviewed Ray-Ban glasses footage of intimate moments
Fortune reported on July 28, 2026 on a US class-action lawsuit, filed in March 2026 by plaintiffs Gina Bartone and Mateo Canu, accusing Meta and EssilorLuxottica of routing footage captured by Ray-Ban Meta glasses to subcontractors in Kenya without disclosure, including intimate recordings. The coverage noted the glasses had by then acquired the public nickname 'pervert glasses' amid reports of covert filming of people undressing.
Samsung teases 'reasonable' pricing and phone/watch integration for Android XR glasses
On July 27, 2026, Samsung teased that its upcoming Android XR glasses will carry a 'reasonable' price within the premium segment and will integrate tightly with the Galaxy phone and watch ecosystem. Pricing speculation places the glasses between Meta's $299 non-display Ray-Ban Meta and Meta's $799 Ray-Ban Display. The glasses are being co-developed with Google and will run Gemini AI.
Apple plans to unveil privacy-focused smart glasses at WWDC 2027
Bloomberg reported on July 26, 2026 that Apple intends to unveil its first smart glasses at WWDC in June 2027, ahead of a later-2027 shipping date. The report said Apple is prototyping new hardware and software privacy features not present on its current products, positioning privacy as a key differentiator against Meta's camera-equipped, EssilorLuxottica-made glasses.
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Samsung details Galaxy Glasses at Unpacked London: camera, Gemini, five style lines
Samsung detailed its Android XR-based intelligent eyewear at Galaxy Unpacked in London on July 22, 2026, developed with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. The glasses include a built-in camera that can read a whiteboard or presentation into notes, open-ear audio, Google Gemini support, message summarization, real-time navigation and live translation, offered across style lines including Wayfarer, Skyler, Headliner, Blayzer Optics and Scriber Optics with over 150 frame/lens combinations. Samsung said shipping would begin in fall 2026, with pricing still unannounced at the event.
Halliday launches G2 camera-free display glasses for meetings, $599, shipping September 2026
Halliday, maker of a widely criticized 2025 debut model, opened presale on its G2 smart glasses on July 22, 2026, at $599, with full shipments and prescription options planned for September 2026. The camera-free G2 uses dual micro-LED projectors on a binocular waveguide display (600x300 per eye, up to 1,600 nits), a four-microphone array with roughly two-meter voice pickup, under 50 grams total weight, and over 12 hours of typical battery life, aimed at live meeting transcription and heads-up notes rather than photography.
ByteDance reportedly scraps its first Doubao AI glasses design, accelerates two new models
Citing supply-chain sources, Pandaily reported on July 16, 2026 that ByteDance dropped its original planned Doubao AI glasses model before launch, after earlier reports that its first design suffered from camera, battery, weight, heat and cost compromises, and is instead accelerating two second-generation devices. ByteDance had not announced either device publicly; one is reported to focus on lightweight voice/photography AI features and the other on stronger cameras or a display, with specifications, pricing and release dates still unclear as of the report.
Even Realities raises $150 million led by Meituan and Tencent, reaches $1 billion valuation
Shenzhen-based smart glasses startup Even Realities announced a $150 million pre-Series B round on July 6, 2026, led by Meituan and returning investor Tencent, valuing the three-year-old company at $1 billion. The round brings Even Realities' total funding to roughly $159 million, following a $9 million Series A backed by CDH Investments, Cyanhill Capital and China Growth Capital. Founded by ex-Apple engineers including CEO Will Wang, Even Realities makes display-first, camera-less smart glasses; its second-generation Even G2, launched in November 2025 with a microLED heads-up display controlled by a companion ring, retails at $599.
China H1 2026 smart-glasses recap: retail volume up 96% YoY, sub-15g audio frames, RayNeo doubles down with GT and V4 lines
A mid-2026 industry recap (The Paper/Leikeji, citing RUNTO data) said China's smart-glasses retail volume reached 402,000 units in Q1 2026, up 96% year-over-year, with retail value up 102% to 810 million yuan. The recap said Alibaba's Quark, iFlytek, Huawei and Xreal all launched new models in H1 2026, RayNeo added both a GT-series AR line and a V4 AI-camera line, the lightest production audio-only AI glasses reached 14.9 grams bare-frame, and mainstream binocular waveguide models clustered in a 38-50 gram range.
Counterpoint: global intelligent-eyewear shipments jumped 83% in Q1 2026, Meta leads with 69% share
Counterpoint Research reported on June 24, 2026 that global intelligent-eyewear shipments rose 83% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026, with AR glasses up 136% and VR headset shipments down 17% over the same period. Meta led the overall smart-glasses market with roughly 69% share in Q1 2026, helped by its EssilorLuxottica manufacturing partnership and the Ray-Ban Meta and Ray-Ban Display lines.
Meta launches its own-brand budget AI glasses line from $299
Meta announced a new in-house AI glasses line on June 23, 2026. Meta Adventurer, Meta Fury and Meta Glasses by Kylie start at $299, undercutting the Ray-Ban Meta line's $379 entry price. Made in partnership with EssilorLuxottica but sold under Meta's own brand rather than Ray-Ban or Oakley, the glasses drop the display but keep a camera and speakers, with Meta AI answering questions, identifying what the wearer sees, and providing pedestrian turn-by-turn navigation.
Qualcomm launches Snapdragon START toolkit to speed AI glasses to market
Qualcomm unveiled Snapdragon START at the Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California on June 17, 2026, a hardware-and-software toolkit meant to help smaller manufacturers bring AI smart glasses to market faster on Snapdragon AR platforms. It follows Qualcomm's June 2025 Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1 chip, which cut package size by 26% and can run small on-device language models without a paired phone.
Snap opens preorders for $2,195 consumer Specs AR glasses
Snap opened preorders for its consumer AR glasses, Specs, on June 16, 2026, the opening day of its AWE keynote, priced at $2,195 with a refundable $200 deposit. The standalone glasses use see-through waveguide lenses, offer roughly 4 hours of battery life extendable to 20 hours with the charging case, and run an AI assistant that processes both audio and video. Snap said first units would ship in fall 2026, prioritizing the US before the UK and France.
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Snap unveils $2,195 Specs AR glasses, shipping to consumers fall 2026
Snap unveiled its consumer AR glasses, Specs, on June 16, 2026, priced at $2,195 with a refundable $200 preorder deposit, first shipping to the US, UK and France in fall 2026. The standalone glasses use dual Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, a proprietary liquid-crystal-on-silicon display and electrochromic lenses, weigh 132 grams (down from 226g on the developer version) in two frame sizes, and offer a 51-degree field of view with roughly four hours of battery life, no external compute puck, and removable prescription inserts.
IDC forecasts 13.6 million smart glasses shipments and $5.1 billion in revenue for 2026
IDC forecast on June 15, 2026 that global display-less smart glasses shipments will reach approximately 13.6 million units in full-year 2026, generating $5.1 billion in revenue, and grow to 27.3 million units by 2030 (an 18.9% CAGR). IDC said average selling prices, near $376 in 2026, are expected to compress to about $229 by 2030 as more low-cost AI glasses enter the market.
IDC: smart glasses shipments surged 167% YoY in Q1 2026, Meta led with 69.2% share
IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, published June 15, 2026, reported that display-less smart glasses shipped about 2.25 million units in Q1 2026, up 167% year-over-year, while display-equipped eyewear grew 86% YoY in the same quarter. IDC put Meta's Q1 2026 share at 69.2%, with RayNeo (3.4%), Xiaomi (3.1%), Viture (2.5%) and Xreal (2.0%) rounding out the top five. IDC forecast full-year 2026 shipments of about 13.6 million units, rising to 27.3 million by 2030.
IDC: Meta's smart glasses market share reaches 69.2% in Q1 2026
IDC data cited in an industry blog post showed Meta led the global smart glasses market with 69.2% share in Q1 2026, supported by its EssilorLuxottica partnership and continued Ray-Ban Meta demand. RayNeo followed with 3.4% share, Xiaomi with 3.1%, Viture with 2.5%, and XREAL with 2.0%; all other vendors combined held 19.8%. The analysis noted growing competitive pressure on Meta from Google, Snap and Chinese vendors moving into the display-glasses segment.
Pennsylvania bill would require smart glasses to show a visible recording light
Pennsylvania state representative Joe Ciresi introduced House Bill 2603, reported June 10, 2026, which would require any smart glasses manufactured, sold or used in Pennsylvania to display a visible indicator while recording audio or video. The bill would also require retailers to inform buyers of the state's existing recording laws and would prohibit disabling the indicator light.
China adds smart glasses to national trade-in subsidy program for the first time
China's Ministry of Commerce and seven other departments (including the Cyberspace Administration, NDRC and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) issued 'Opinions on Accelerating the Development of AI+ Consumption' dated June 9, 2026 (released June 18), formally naming smart glasses as a category. The document, for the first time, added smart glasses priced up to 6,000 yuan to the home-appliance/digital trade-in subsidy list, offering 15% of the sale price back, capped at 500 yuan per unit.
Counterpoint: Xiaomi led China's smart glasses market with 28% share in Q1 2026
Counterpoint Research data cited in June 2026 reporting said Xiaomi (including Mi Home channel sales) led China's domestic smart glasses market with a 28% share in Q1 2026, ahead of the wave of new entrants (Alibaba, Baidu, Huawei) that launched in late 2025 and April 2026, underscoring Xiaomi's first-mover position with its June 2025 AI Glasses even as its second-generation model faced reported delays later in the year.
Apple's first smart glasses slip to late 2027, Bloomberg reports
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported on May 31, 2026 that Apple has pushed its first smart glasses to a 'late 2027' release, later than the early-2027 shipping target previously expected, due to development delays. Apple is said to be testing four distinct designs with oval-shaped cameras and multiple frame styles. The first model will be display-less, aimed at competing directly with Meta's Ray-Ban line rather than offering AR overlays.
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Apple's first smart glasses now expected at WWDC 2027, not 2026
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported on May 31, 2026 that Apple now plans to unveil its first smart glasses at WWDC in June 2027, with shipments beginning in late 2027, a delay from Gurman's earlier expectation of an early-2027 or 2026 debut, attributed to development hurdles. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo separately forecast the Ray-Ban-style device would enter mass production in Q2 2027, with 3 to 5 million or more units shipped that year. The first-generation Apple glasses are expected to lack AR display capability, featuring cameras, speakers and voice-controlled AI instead, with a display-equipped second generation potentially arriving in 2028 or 2029.
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Apple's first smart glasses reportedly pushed to a late-2027 launch
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple now aims to reveal its first smart glasses in late 2026 with mass production beginning around Q2 2027 and a commercial launch in 'late 2027', a slip from earlier reporting that had pointed to an early-2027 release, with first-year shipments projected at 3-5 million units. The glasses are expected to look like ordinary eyeglasses (not a headset), with built-in cameras, speakers and microphones for photos, video and iPhone interaction, but reportedly without a display.
Google and Samsung's first Android XR glasses expected to ship fall 2026, AR-display model rumored for 2027
Following the I/O 2026 preview, coverage said Google and Samsung's first Android XR glasses collections with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker are expected to ship in fall 2026 without an AR display, relying on audio, camera and Gemini AI features. A more advanced version with an actual AR display is rumored for a 2027 follow-up, according to the same reporting, positioning it against Meta's Ray-Ban Display and any 2026-2027 Hypernova successor.
Samsung's second-generation Android XR glasses with an AR display rumored for 2027
Reporting around Samsung's 2026 Galaxy Glasses launch said the company is internally tracking two distinct XR glasses models (referenced in coverage as SM-O200P and SM-O200J), with the audio/camera-only first generation shipping in fall 2026 and a more advanced version adding an AR display expected as a 2027 follow-up, mirroring Qualcomm's parallel Snapdragon AR1 (lightweight, all-day) and XR2+ Gen 2 (higher-power, display-capable) chip families for the category.
Google and Samsung confirm Android XR glasses will launch in Fall 2026
Google and Samsung officially confirmed on May 19, 2026 that their first pair of Android XR-based glasses will ship in 'Fall' 2026. The audio-only, camera-equipped glasses are internally tracked under Samsung model numbers SM-O200P and SM-O200J and are being developed with eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster for the initial frame styles. A display-equipped follow-on model is rumored for 2027.
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Google and Samsung preview Android XR 'Intelligent Eyewear' with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker
At Google I/O 2026, Google and Samsung previewed audio/camera-only Android XR glasses built with eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, with Gemini AI accessible via 'Hey Google' or a temple tap for live translation, navigation and notification summaries. Google said the first styles would launch in fall 2026, with reporting citing a roughly 155mAh battery, a 12MP autofocus camera, gesture controls and weight as low as about 50 grams; a version with an AR display was described as coming later, in 2027.
Meta confirms Connect 2026 for September 23-24, teases new glasses
Meta announced on May 12, 2026 that its annual Connect keynote would run September 23-24, 2026 at its Menlo Park campus, with the save-the-date post teasing new glasses hardware alongside AI and VR/wearables sessions for developers. The confirmed date sits about a year after the original Ray-Ban Display unveiling at Connect 2025.
Alibaba pushes proactive-AI update to Quark AI Glasses S1 ahead of MWC 2026 follow-up line
Alibaba shipped a software update giving the Quark AI Glasses S1 proactive Qwen-AI behavior (surfacing suggestions without an explicit prompt) reported on May 12, 2026, months after the S1/G1 launch, and separately said at MWC 2026 it would launch a new smart glasses series powered by its Qwen AI assistant, with a media preview event in Shanghai on May 8, 2026 showing more than 12 frame styles.
Rokid officially enters Europe with Munich launch of Rokid Glasses and AI Glasses Neo
Rokid officially launched in Europe on April 29, 2026 with a Munich event and a dedicated German e-commerce store, selling the dual-eye AR Rokid Glasses for €699 and the camera-focused Rokid AI Glasses Neo for €449. Both models support a multi-LLM AI assistant compatible with GPT and Gemini, plus real-time translation and transcription. Rokid said Indonesia, South Korea and Australia would follow later in 2026.
Reality Labs loses over $4 billion in Q1 2026 as cumulative losses hit $83.5 billion
Meta reported on April 29, 2026 that Reality Labs, the division housing its smart glasses and VR business, recorded a $4.03 billion operating loss in the first quarter of 2026 on $402 million in revenue. The result pushed the division's cumulative losses since Meta began breaking it out in late 2020 to roughly $83.5 billion. Meta's CFO tied continued spending to the smart-glasses pivot, including EssilorLuxottica manufacturing and AI features, more than to the VR headset business.
Meta's Reality Labs loses $4.03 billion in Q1 2026 after 1,000 layoffs shift focus to AI wearables
Meta's Reality Labs posted a $4.028 billion operating loss on $402 million in revenue for Q1 2026, a 2% year-over-year revenue decline attributed to lower Quest headset sales partly offset by AI glasses growth. The results followed a January 2026 decision to lay off roughly 1,000 Reality Labs employees as Meta shifted VR-related resources toward AI-powered wearables and smart glasses. CFO Susan Li said VR investment would decrease significantly in 2026 while overall Reality Labs losses stayed 'on par' with 2025.
Huawei launches its first AI Glasses with in-house chip, from 2,499 yuan
Huawei launched its first-generation AI Glasses on April 20, 2026, in three design variants at two price points, about 2,499 and 2,899 yuan (roughly $360 and $420). The glasses use a Huawei-developed eyewear chip, weigh 35.5 grams excluding lenses (Huawei's lightest mainstream non-display AI glasses in mainland China at the time), and add AR real-view navigation, landmark recognition, translation, food-calorie estimation, live-streaming/video calls in first-person view, and QR-code payment, with HarmonyOS cross-device integration to Huawei phones and watches.
75 civil-liberties groups urge Meta to drop facial recognition plans for smart glasses
The ACLU, ACLU of Massachusetts, the New York Civil Liberties Union and dozens of other organizations sent a letter, reported April 15, 2026, demanding Meta 'immediately halt and publicly disavow' reported plans to add a facial recognition feature, internally called 'Name Tag,' to its Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses. The 75-organization coalition warned the feature would let wearers identify strangers by name in real time and link them to sensitive personal data, and asked Meta to disclose any past contact with ICE or CBP about the technology.
Apple is reportedly testing four different smart glasses designs
TechCrunch reported on April 12, 2026 that Apple is testing four separate hardware designs for its planned smart glasses, and may launch with some or all of them. The designs reportedly include distinct oval-shaped camera housings, colors and frame styles as Apple positions its first glasses as a display-less rival to Meta's Ray-Ban Meta line before eventually adding health-tracking and AR features.
Rokid plans Hong Kong IPO as China's AI glasses race intensifies
Chinese AI glasses maker Rokid was reported on April 11, 2026 to be preparing a Hong Kong stock exchange listing, with a filing possible as early as the end of April 2026. Rokid, founded in 2014 by Misa Zhu Mingming and Eric Wong, previously raised $228 million at a $1 billion valuation in a 2023 round. The planned IPO comes as Meta, Apple, Alibaba (via its Quark brand), Baidu, Xiaomi and Huawei all intensify competition in the AI/AR glasses market.
Even Realities adds conversation-prep notes and teleprompter upgrades to G2
On March 26, 2026, Even Realities pushed a software update to the G2 smart glasses adding 'Conversation Support Prep Notes' and expanding the teleprompter's scroll controls to three modes: AI-paced, fixed-pace, and manual control via the Even R1 smart ring. Forbes described the update as a major AI upgrade to the camera-free glasses line first launched in November 2025.
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Omdia: global AI glasses shipments reached 8.7 million units in 2025, up 322%; China now fastest-growing market
Omdia's updated tracker found global AI glasses shipments reached 8.7 million units in 2025, a 322% year-over-year jump, with Meta continuing to dominate the market. Mainland China emerged as the fastest-growing market, driven by numerous new product launches and aggressive pricing from local vendors; Chinese shipments approached 1 million units, a 10.9% global share, making China the second-largest market after the United States. Omdia revised its 2026 forecast upward to more than 15 million units on the back of this momentum, versus its earlier September 2025 forecast of 10 million.
Counterpoint: global smart glasses shipments grew 139% YoY in H2 2025, Meta's share hit 82%
Counterpoint Research published its Global Semi-annual Smart Glasses Market Tracker for H2 2025, reporting 139% year-over-year shipment growth, with AI smart glasses (mostly display-less) rising to 88% of total shipments. Meta's shipment share expanded to 82% in the period on the strength of new product launches, with North America leading at 37% of shipments and China's share falling to 6% as new Chinese launches stayed low-volume.
Alibaba to unveil Qwen-branded AI glasses at MWC 2026 for global rollout
TechNode reported on February 28, 2026 that Alibaba's Qwen AI assistant would get its own smart glasses line, unveiled at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2026, with online and offline presales opening March 2, 2026. The international Qwen Glasses, following the domestic Quark AI Glasses launched in November 2025, were planned for a global rollout across 2026 in two series, a premium S1 and an everyday G1, the latter including a sunglasses variant in seven lens colors.
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Counterpoint: smart glasses shipments grew 139% YoY in H2 2025, Meta share hits 82%
Counterpoint Research reported global smart glasses shipments grew 139% year-over-year in H2 2025, with Meta's shipment share rising to 82%. AI-enabled smart glasses accounted for 88% of total shipments in the period, versus softening demand for basic audio-only models; average selling price for AI glasses rose to $360 from $347 in H1 2025. North America led with 37% of shipments and Western Europe held 30%, while China's share fell to 6% and India recorded 15x shipment growth (to 2% of global volume) following Meta's May 2025 India launch. Xiaomi's shipments expanded more than 200% year-over-year in the period.
OpenAI and Jony Ive plan camera-equipped smart speaker for 2027, with glasses further out
MacRumors reported on February 20, 2026 that OpenAI's first hardware product with former Apple design chief Jony Ive will be a screen-free smart speaker with an integrated camera and Face-ID-like facial recognition, priced between $200 and $300 and targeted for an early-2027 launch. The report said OpenAI is also exploring a smart lamp and AI glasses, but that those products are not expected before 2028, following OpenAI's $6.5 billion acquisition of Ive's hardware startup io in May 2025.
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Report: Meta accelerates binocular Ray-Ban Display successor 'Hypernova 2' to launch in 2026
The Information reported on February 19, 2026 (via UploadVR) that Meta executives now aim to launch 'Hypernova 2', the binocular successor to the monocular Ray-Ban Display, within 2026 rather than 2027 as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had previously indicated. Unlike the first-generation Ray-Ban Display, which shows content only in the right lens, Hypernova 2 would put a display in both eyes; the report said Meta made the change to space out multiple device launches across 2026-2027 rather than clustering them.
Vuzix launches turnkey enterprise smart glasses kits with native Teams and Zoom support
Vuzix announced Vuzix Solutions on February 18, 2026, a line of turnkey enterprise deployment kits pairing its LX1 or M400 smart glasses with pre-configured remote-assistance software. The first kit, Remote Assist by Vuzix Solutions, ships with native Microsoft Teams and Zoom support for hands-free field service, logistics and manufacturing work, and was made available immediately through Vuzix's website and resellers.
California bill would criminalize secret recording by smart glasses in workplaces
California state senator Eloise Gómez Reyes introduced Senate Bill 1130, the Wearable Device Privacy Protection Act, on February 17, 2026. The bill would add Penal Code sections making it a crime, punishable by up to $2,500 in fines or one year in jail, to secretly record audio or video with a wearable device such as smart glasses inside a business without consent, and would ban disabling any recording-indicator light. The bill was enrolled with Assembly amendments concurred on August 31, 2026.
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Meta and EssilorLuxottica sold 7 million smart glasses in 2025, more than tripling 2024
EssilorLuxottica said it sold 7 million units of Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta smart glasses in 2025, more than triple the roughly 2 million units the two companies sold combined across 2023 and 2024. In its fourth-quarter report, the company said revenue surged 18% to €7.6 billion ($9 billion) for the holiday-quarter period, with Meta smart glasses cited as a key driver. EssilorLuxottica and Meta were reportedly discussing doubling annual production capacity to at least 20 million units by the end of 2026 to keep up with demand.
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Samsung confirms Android XR smart glasses for 'Fall' 2026, with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker
During its Q4 2025 earnings call, Samsung confirmed it will launch its first Android XR-based smart glasses, co-developed with Google, targeting a 'Fall' 2026 release. The glasses are being designed in collaboration with eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker for style, and are rumored to use a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 chip, a 155mAh battery, and a 12MP Sony IMX681 camera. Google said a display-equipped version of Android XR glasses would follow in 2027; Google's other announced hardware partners for Android XR glasses include XREAL, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster.
Counterpoint: AR smart glasses shipments grew 148% YoY in H2 2025, waveguide devices up over 600%
Counterpoint Research reported that global AR smart glasses (display-equipped) shipments grew 148% year-over-year in H2 2025. Within that category, waveguide-based AR devices surged more than 600% year-over-year, reflecting a shift toward higher-end optical architectures as more vendors launched display-equipped models.
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Meta's Reality Labs loses $19.19 billion for full-year 2025 despite AI glasses growth
Meta reported that Reality Labs recorded a $19.193 billion operating loss for full-year 2025, up from $17.729 billion in 2024, even as annual revenue edged up to $2.207 billion from $2.146 billion, driven by AI glasses sales offsetting lower Quest headset revenue. In the fourth quarter alone, Reality Labs posted a $6.02 billion operating loss on $955 million in revenue, down from $1.08 billion in Q4 2024. Cumulative Reality Labs operating losses since late 2020 have now exceeded $80 billion, and Meta's CFO said 2026 losses were expected to stay similar to 2025 levels.
TCL's RayNeo Air 4 Pro launches as first HDR10 AR glasses at $299
TCL's RayNeo Air 4 Pro, unveiled at CES 2026, went on sale January 25, 2026 for $299 and is billed as the world's first HDR10-enabled AR glasses. The 76-gram glasses use 0.6-inch Micro-OLED panels at up to 120Hz and 1,200 nits, project a claimed 201-inch virtual screen at a 200,000:1 contrast ratio, and run a custom Pixelworks Vision 4000 processor for SDR-to-HDR upscaling and 2D-to-3D conversion.
Rokid's $299 AI Glasses Style goes on global sale after CES 2026 debut
Rokid unveiled the Rokid AI Glasses Style at CES 2026 and opened global online sales on January 19, 2026, priced at $299. The lightweight, screen-free glasses weigh about 38.5 grams, carry a 12-megapixel camera, and are sold through Rokid's global website plus retail partners worldwide, building on the company's record-setting Kickstarter and Japanese Makuake crowdfunding campaigns.
Rokid launches Style AI glasses without a display, from $299
After previewing the design ahead of CES 2026, Rokid globally launched the Rokid Style on January 19, 2026: ultra-light (38.5g), voice-first AI glasses with no display, a 12MP camera capable of 4K video, up to 12 hours of use, prescription-first customization, and support for multiple AI backends including ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Qwen plus Google Maps and AI translation. Global retail pricing started at $299, rising to $398 for a bundle with prescription and photochromic lenses.
US Air Force bars airmen from wearing camera-equipped smart glasses in uniform
The US Air Force issued an updated dress and personal appearance memorandum on January 9, 2026 explicitly barring airmen from wearing smart glasses with photo, video or AI capabilities while in uniform, citing operational security concerns. The policy reflects growing institutional wariness of consumer AI glasses' always-on cameras following Meta's and other manufacturers' consumer launches through late 2025.
CES 2026 recap: contextual AI overtakes displays as the smart glasses industry's focus
At CES 2026 (January 6-9), the dominant theme among smart glasses makers was contextual AI rather than display hardware, according to IDC and Counterpoint recaps. XREAL partnered with Asus ROG to unveil the first smart glasses with a 240Hz display plus a battery/port accessory called XREAL Neo; RayNeo showed the world's first eSIM-enabled AR glasses; Lenovo unveiled a new smart glasses concept for PC/phone connectivity; and Cellid showcased its HJ1 AI glasses alongside a manufacturing partnership with Foxconn aimed at driving down production costs at scale.
Xreal raises $100 million Series D-III round, maintains $1 billion valuation
AR glasses maker Xreal raised a CN¥200 million venture round in May 2025 and closed a further $100 million Series D-III round on January 8, 2026, keeping its valuation at $1 billion. The company has raised approximately $493.5 million across 14 rounds to date, with prior backers including Alibaba and NIO Capital from its January 2024 $60 million Series C. Xreal has continued expanding its product line, including the Xreal One series and a partnership with Asus ROG unveiled at CES 2026.