The 2014 Google Glass debacle stigmatized smart glasses, but the devices may be poised for a comeback.
Despite the flaming failure of Google Glass, Meta and Google appear to be all in on the next generation of smart glasses that combine fashion, functionality, and generative AI into a compelling form factor, maintained Gene Munster, managing partner of Deepwater Asset Management, a venture capital firm in Minneapolis.
Writing on the firm’s website Friday, Munster noted, “I believe the reason for their optimism is a combination of recognizing consumers gravitate to easy-to-use tech along with greater confidence in what generative AI can add to the equation.”
“Gen AI is paving the way toward complex wearable ambient computing,” he wrote. “In other words, the current goal is making glasses that look and feel like ‘normal glasses,’ but with generative AI access via voice activation, cameras, and sensors.”
“This means,” he continued, “your glasses will understand the physical world around you, ready to provide you any information about it, like ‘what kind of plant am I looking at?’ or ‘did you see where I left my keys?’”
Munster predicted that the annual market for smart glasses will reach hundreds of millions of units over the next decade, leading Apple to refocus its spatial computing initiatives to be more in line with Meta and Google wearables.
From Gadget to Essential Tool
“AI has been a game-changer in making smart glasses more functional and user-friendly,” said Timothy Bates, a clinical professor of cybersecurity at the University of Michigan-Flint College of Innovation and Technology.
“My work with AI-driven immersive technologies has shown that AI’s ability to personalize and enhance user interactions is vital,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Whether it’s through voice-activated controls or context-aware information delivery, AI transforms smart glasses from a mere gadget into an essential tool, increasing their attractiveness in both consumer and enterprise markets.”
AI has the potential to significantly enhance the appeal of smart glasses for mainstream users by offering personalized, context-aware experiences,” added Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst with SmartTech Research in Las Vegas.
“With AI, smart glasses can provide real-time translations, proactive notifications, and personalized content recommendations based on the user’s habits and preferences,” he told TechNewsWorld.
Enhanced voice and gesture recognition powered by AI allows for more intuitive hands-free control, making the devices easier and more natural to use,” he continued. “AI-driven augmented reality capabilities can overlay helpful information, such as navigation prompts or product details, directly onto the user’s field of view, enhancing everyday tasks and interactions.”
“By continuously learning and adapting to individual user behaviors,” Vena added, “AI can make smart glasses more responsive, useful, and engaging, which could drive broader consumer adoption.”
Exceptional Audio
Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a technology advisory firm in San Jose, Calif., noted that he can take pictures of what he’s looking at with the 12-megapixel camera in his Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers by pressing a side button on the glasses.
“A recent feature allows you to share what you are seeing with friends,” he told TechNewsWorld. “That way, I don’t miss getting a camera shot without having to take out my smartphone.”
“The audio from these smart glasses is exceptional,” he said. “I use this feature a lot to listen to podcasts or music anytime I want to, instead of taking out my AirPods for that purpose.”
“And when I need directions or information, I just say, ‘Hey Meta, where is the closest breakfast place to me?’ and it gives me the name, location, and directions instantly,” he observed.
“It can also do a search,” he continued, “and if you’re traveling and trying to read a menu in French, your smart glasses can use their built-in camera and Meta AI to translate the text for you, giving you the info you need without having to pull out your phone or stare at a screen.”
“The battle is actually with how a wearable works with the phone,” added Matt Hames, associate vice president of digital and social strategy at 3 Enrollment Marketing, a provider of marketing strategies to increase student enrollment in higher education in Oneonta, N.Y.
“The tech companies are leaving VR and entering wearables that can do things on the phone,” he told TechNewsWorld.
Importance of Fashion, Esthetics
Ross Rubin, the principal analyst at Reticle Research, a consumer technology advisory firm in New York City, asserted that Meta’s collaboration with Ray-Ban is significant. “It shows the role that fashion and aesthetics have on this category where people are wearing something on their face potentially for the entire day,” he told TechNewsWorld.
“One of the reasons why Google Glass got such flack was because it was extremely conspicuous,” he said. “Nobody wears a Borg-like monocle, whereas people do wear Ray-Ban style sunglasses. If you look closely, you can see that they’re a little thicker, but it’s certainly getting to the point where it will be hard to distinguish them from ordinary glasses.”
Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers for IDC, a market research company based in Framingham, Mass., noted that improvements in both design and tech have made the category more appealing since Google Glass.
“The inclusion of AI has also improved overall usability and utility of smart glasses, elevating them from the simplistic headphone replacement use case that prevailed in the past,” he told TechNewsWorld.
Despite those improvements, the category still isn’t where the market wants the technology to be, maintained Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore.
“The market appears to want something that has more augmented reality functionality without giving up the weight and battery life of the current batch,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Sadly, the technology isn’t there yet to make that happen.”
Smart Glasses in Apple’s Future?
Although Apple has been adamant about its Vision Pro product being the future of spatial computing at the company, Munster believes it won’t be able to resist the siren song of smart glasses.
“While I agree that Vision Pro has [a] meaningful opportunity to be a [US]$25-50 billion annual business, I believe future versions of their spatial computing hardware will map to Google and Meta’s smart glasses lineup,” he wrote.
“Over the next five years, I expect the company will begin to announce these next-generation wearables,” he added. “My confidence is based on a belief that there is more utility to smart glasses versus a mixed reality headset, and it would be a costly miss for Apple not to enter the market.”
Anshel Sag, a senior analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, a technology analyst and advisory firm based in Austin, Texas, agreed that Apple will develop smart glasses in parallel with its more robust spatial computing offerings. “Smart glasses are almost like a gateway drug into spatial computing,” he told TechNewsWorld, “because you realize how much better the experience could be if you had displays and 3D graphics overlaid on the real world.”
