Meta Is Dominating the Smart Glasses Market

Meta's new Audio AI glasses are starting global sales today after the company’s Gen 3 smart glasses already hit markets around the world about three weeks ago. Most notably, the new audio-only model features the usual built-in microphone, speaker, AI capabilities and Ray-Ban branding, but lacks a camera. This is despite earlier models with video capabilities selling quite well, as reports by Heise and Counterpoint Research as well as Omdia indicate.

Meta sold more than seven million smart glasses last year, leading the market with more than 80 percent of sales in the first half of 2026 between its Ray Ban-branded and own-branded models (and two Oakley-branded ones). This is according to Omdia. Competitors such as Alibaba and Even Realities currently hold only small, single-digit market shares.

The new model of Meta smart glasses might be able to alleviate the privacy concerns that surround smart glasses even though Meta said the release had been planned for many years and was therefore not in connection to any controversies. Audio-only glasses feature a longer battery life (at 12 hours), are lighter and cheaper, starting at $349.

The new third-generation glasses with the usual video capture capabilities meanwhile come at a cost of $449 and up and stay on for 9 hours. After becoming available in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom around a year ago, Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses that include a display in one glass and a gesture wristband are rolling out to additional European markets today as well. These start at a whopping $799 at just 6 hours of mixed-use battery life. Meta’s self-branded smart glasses have also been releasing new styles and celebrity collabs, including the cheapest Meta smart glasses to date at a $249 price point.