Tech Explained: Shipments of AI Glasses Surge 322% as Market Gains Momentum in Simple Terms

Forget VR headsets. AI glasses are the hot commodity in wearable tech these days.

According to market research firm Omdia, global shipments of AI glasses, like Meta’s Oakley and Ray-Ban models, increased 322% year-over-year in 2025, reaching 8.7 million units.

The surge in shipments was boosted by China, where numerous product launches, new entrants, and aggressive pricing strategies helped the country capture 10.9% of the global AI glasses market, second only to the United States.

Chinese vendors tend to design AI glasses with displays supported by a differentiated go-to-market strategy, Omdia Senior Analyst Qiran Ju said in a statement.

“The integration of displays opens new applications that resonate with consumer habits, as vendors craft products for global appeal, driving swift expansion,” he explained.

AI Glasses Enter Momentum Phase

“The category finally moved from science project to something people can actually imagine wearing in public,” declared Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst at SmartTech Research, a technology advisory firm in Las Vegas.

He attributed the devices’ growing popularity to advances in multimodal AI, lighter designs, improved battery life, and the pull of hands-free photo, video, translation, and assistant features — turning AI glasses into a real consumer product instead of a futuristic demo.

“Omdia says shipments hit 8.7 million units in 2025, up 322% from 2024, which tells you this market has blown past curiosity and entered momentum mode,” he told TechNewsWorld.

Multimodal AI changed the game, agreed Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore. “It shifted the form factor from simple audio glasses to seeing glasses,” he told TechNewsWorld.

“Users can now ask their glasses to translate menus, identify landmarks, or summarize documents in real time,” he explained.

He also noted that the glasses are attracting content creators. “Features like high-resolution 3K video and instant social media streaming have made these a ‘must-have’ tool for digital creators,” he said.

AI glasses are also generating a different vibe among consumers than earlier smart glasses, he added. “Earlier smart glasses were bulky and socially awkward,” he explained. “Modern AI glasses, like the Ray-Ban Meta, look like standard eyewear, removing the ‘glasshole’ stigma.”

Privacy Concerns Remain High

Jennifer Kent, senior vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates, a Dallas-based market research and consulting company specializing in consumer technology products, noted that her company’s research indicates consumers want very practical benefits from AI tools, such as translation and technical support.

“AI glasses’ ability to provide real-time translation is a benefit for travelers, non-native speakers, and those living in markets where multiple languages are spoken,” she told TechNewsWorld.

Kent added that Parks found consumers were most willing to share data in emergencies or to help them feel safe and secure. “Smart glasses could have a market for lone workers or workers in vulnerable situations to combine video capture and emergency support,” she reasoned.

However, she noted that consumer privacy and security concerns about AI are sky high. “Seventy-two percent of consumers in US internet households are concerned about the data/privacy implications of AI, and 71% are concerned about society’s ability to control AI and use it responsibly,” she said.

Users of AI glasses should be very concerned about their privacy, asserted Michael Bell, CEO of Suzu Testing, a provider of AI-powered cybersecurity services in Las Vegas.

He cited a Swedish investigation that revealed Meta sends video footage to human data annotators at Sama in Nairobi, Kenya. Those workers described reviewing footage of people undressing, in bathrooms, and during medical interactions. One worker told reporters, “We see everything, from living rooms to naked bodies.” Meta claims face-blurring filters are applied before human review, but workers say those filters fail regularly.

Security Risks

“The problem goes beyond Meta,” Bell told TechNewsWorld. “We investigated Even Realities, a Chinese-made alternative that the tech press has been praising as privacy-first because it removed the camera. What nobody reported is that the parent company is Shenzhen Yiwen Technology in Shenzhen, China, funded entirely by Chinese venture capital.”

“The glasses have four always-listening microphones that send voiceprints and audio recordings to third-party providers the privacy policy refuses to name,” he explained.

“The Chinese parent has access to user data under the policy’s own affiliate provisions, and that parent is subject to China’s National Intelligence Law. So the ‘safe’ alternative to Meta’s camera is an always-listening microphone array routed through a company that can be compelled by a foreign intelligence service.

“At 8.7 million units shipped globally, the regulatory conversation needs to move past whether there should be a recording light and start addressing the entire data pipeline behind these devices,” he said.

Bell added that the number that jumped out to him in the Omdia data is the display-equipped segment: 730,000 units, with Chinese companies accounting for 71% of that market. “Display glasses require more sophisticated AI integration, which means more data processing, more cloud connectivity, and more audio flowing through third-party pipelines,” he noted.

“The competitive race is about who can build the most capable AI assistant, and that race incentivizes collecting more data, not less,” he continued. “Meta dominates the overall market at 85%, but the fastest-growing segments are being built by companies in mainland China operating under a legal framework that requires cooperation with state intelligence agencies.”

“We went through a version of this with Huawei and telecom equipment,” he added. “Smart glasses with always-on microphones and persistent AI processing are a comparable attack surface, and right now, nobody is treating them that way.”

Market Expansion Accelerates

As hot as the market for AI glasses is in China, the lion’s share of the global market is held by Meta. According to Omdia, Meta’s AI glasses shipments reached 7.4 million units, representing a growth rate of 281.3%, driven by strong performance from the Oakley and second-generation Ray-Ban-branded AI glasses, supported by Meta’s efforts to expand into new markets, including India, Mexico, Brazil, and others.

“Meta has led the way with being the first to add camera features, great audio, and expanded AI functions,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a technology advisory firm in San Jose, Calif.

“It has also set up a strong platform for third-party software and a strong roadmap that includes smart glasses with in-view video, as they have done with Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses,” he told TechNewsWorld.

“This market will continue to grow and expand, especially toward the end of 2026,” he added. “However, I expect that if Apple brings to market smart glasses either later this year or early next year, it will set up what could be an extremely strong demand for smart glasses, most likely in 2027.”

Omdia forecasted that global shipments of AI glasses will surpass 15 million units in 2026. It maintained that the growth will be driven by major device vendors and tech giants entering the market, Meta increasing production and expanding into new regions, and rising local players in India, Japan, and South Korea.

The competitive battleground is shifting rapidly, Omdia Research Director Jason Low said in a statement. “Meta’s early lead was built on brand partnerships and deep AI integration. As more players enter the fray, ecosystem integration will become a crucial differentiator.”

“The winners will be those who can seamlessly integrate AI glasses into broader device ecosystems — connecting glasses with intelligent devices, user environments and services in ways that deliver genuine utility in users’ connected lives,” he continued. “Vendors that successfully harness AI agents within AI glasses could transform work communication, daily assistance, and health monitoring while forging exciting new pathways for commercialization.”