In the future, those without AI-enabled spectacles could potentially find themselves at a competitive disadvantage, according to Mark Zuckerberg's point of view.
In the rapidly evolving world of technology, AI-powered smart glasses are poised to become the next big thing. With more companies entering the AI-based hardware space as interest in AI-powered devices grows, the race to dominate this market is intensifying.
Leading the charge is Meta, currently holding over 73% of the global AI smart glasses market. The company's success is largely attributed to its Ray-Ban AI glasses, and it is now gearing up to launch its next-generation smart glasses, codenamed Hypernova (also known as Meta Celeste). Expected to hit the market as early as September 2025, these glasses promise a host of innovative features.
The Hypernova glasses will feature a small monocular augmented-reality (AR) heads-up display (HUD) embedded in the lower right lens, displaying mini apps, notifications, captions, translations, and Meta AI responses as text. Control will be via a neural input wristband using finger and wrist gestures, enabling hands-free interaction and potentially offering a superior user experience compared to previous models.
Running on a customized Android OS with app support, the Hypernova glasses will primarily rely on Meta’s View phone app for integration. The glasses are set to retail at around $800, notably lower than the initially forecasted $1,000+, aiming for wider adoption. Integrated AI capabilities will enable real-time transcription, translation, navigation, and notifications.
Meanwhile, other tech companies are not far behind. Chinese firms like Xiaomi, Huawei, RayNeo, Alibaba, and ByteDance are aggressively entering the market with AI-powered smart glasses. Xiaomi's latest AI glasses are gaining strong momentum, while Alibaba announced the Quark AI Glasses, expected by the end of 2025. These glasses focus on enterprise productivity features, including hands-free calls, music, real-time language translation, meeting transcription, and e-commerce integration.
This intensifying competition is expected to continue in the latter half of 2025 as more products launch. The future of AI smart glasses emphasizes enhanced AR displays, deep integration of AI assistants and language models, more natural user interfaces, expanding use cases from consumer casual wear to enterprise/business applications, and a trend toward aggressive pricing and ecosystem integration to drive adoption.
Meta's upcoming Hypernova glasses and rising competitors like Alibaba signal a maturing and rapidly evolving AI smart glasses market for 2025 and beyond. With AI smart glasses becoming increasingly accessible and integrated into our daily lives, those who do not adopt this technology could potentially face a disadvantage in the future.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will significantly contribute to the advanced features of Meta's forthcoming Hypernova glasses, providing real-time transcription, translation, navigation, and notifications.
The flourishing market of AI smart glasses is witnessing a surge of competition, with companies like Alibaba launching their Quark AI Glasses, demonstrating the growing importance of AI in hardware technology.
