Meta is reportedly developing "super-sensing" vision technology for its next-generation smart glasses, codenamed "Aperol" and "Bellini," which would enable real-time recognition of people, objects, and environments. These AI-powered capabilities would allow the glasses to identify people by name through facial recognition and trigger contextual reminders, such as prompting users to pick up groceries when passing a store or reminding them to grab keys. This advanced functionality necessitates continuous operation of onboard cameras and sensors, a feature currently being tested on existing Ray-Ban smart glasses, although battery drain remains a significant hurdle. Consequently, Meta is targeting these features for future models with improved power efficiency. Previous reports also indicate these next-gen glasses will include a small display in the right lens for an AR-like experience, showing notifications and running lightweight apps, and will support touch controls and a wrist-worn controller for interaction.
Meta's push into smart glasses is happening amidst increased competition and growing market traction. Shipments of smart glasses surged by 167% in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, with Meta dominating 69.2% of the market. The company recently launched new, cheaper AI smart glasses under its own brand starting at $299, as opposed to the Ray-Ban models which begin at $379, aiming to broaden adoption. These new models can play music, translate languages, and provide information about surroundings using the Muse Spark AI model, which improves detail extraction from photos and remembers user preferences. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted a tripling in daily active users of its glasses year-over-year. The average selling price of smart glasses is projected to decrease from $376 in 2026 to $229 by 2030.
Despite the advancements, Meta faces privacy concerns, particularly regarding the continuous recording capabilities of the glasses. All Meta glasses include an LED light to indicate when recording is active, and the camera is designed not to function if this light is obscured. However, instances of individuals filming others without consent using smart glasses have been reported. Competition is also intensifying, with Apple reportedly working on smart glasses using a custom chip, Siri, and Visual Intelligence AI for real-time scene recognition. Samsung is also developing "Haean" smart glasses based on Google's Android XR platform, and Google and Samsung are collaborating on a new pair of AI glasses expected later this year. OpenAI is also developing a hardware product.
Meta is also exploring partnerships beyond Ray-Ban, reportedly collaborating with Oakley, another EssilorLuxottica brand, for a new line of smart glasses. These developments signify Meta's strategic push to establish smart glasses as a pervasive technology, potentially bolstering its AI assistant in competition with services like ChatGPT and Gemini, given that users primarily interact with the glasses through voice commands.
