AI Glasses Shipments Are Exploding — And The Real Battle May Be Over Optics
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AI-powered smart glasses shipments surged more than 300% last year as Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META ), Samsung Electronics and other tech companies race to scale the category, with optics emerging as a major technical challenge, according to TechCrunch .
The rapid growth is intensifying competition across the industry. Market research firm Omdia said in March that AI glasses shipments could surpass 15 million units this year after reaching 8.7 million units in 2025.
Why Optics May Decide The Industry
One of the biggest challenges facing AI smart glasses makers is building devices consumers can comfortably wear for extended periods.
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"The optical module is the hardest part to get right," Jaehyok Kim, CEO of South Korean startup LetinAR, told TechCrunch in an interview published May 18, as companies race to shrink hardware without sacrificing display quality.
LetinAR is focused on the optical module, which projects images into a user's field of vision while balancing brightness, battery life and weight. "It has to be light, thin, and power-efficient, while still delivering a sharp, clear image," LetinAR CTO Jeonghun Ha told TechCrunch.
Current smart glasses designs often rely on waveguide optics , which spread light across the lens to create images but can reduce brightness and drain battery life faster, Ha said.
Other approaches, including mirror-based "birdbath" optics, can deliver brighter displays but typically produce bulkier hardware closer to a headset than conventional glasses.
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Meta, Samsung And Google Expand AI Glasses Push
The push into AI-powered eyewear comes as technology companies increasingly look beyond smartphones for the next major consumer computing platform.
Meta Platforms has sold AI-enabled Ray-Ban smart glasses since 2023, while Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG , GOOGL)) is building Android XR ,
Samsung Electronics is also reportedly preparing to unveil AI-capable smart glasses co-developed with Gentle Monster during a Galaxy Unpacked event for July in London.
Chinese technology companies including Huawei Technologies, Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA ) and Xiaomi are also expanding investments in the category as competition intensifies.
The next phase of the AI glasses race may depend less on chatbot capabilities and more on solving physical constraints around weight, battery life, and optics for mass-market scale, according to Citigroup .
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AI Glasses Move Into The Real World
LetinAR's technology is already being integrated into next-generation wearable devices.
One customer, Swiss startup Aegis Rider, has commercialized its AI-powered augmented reality motorcycle helmet. The Vision model overlays navigation and safety information directly into the rider's field of vision, according to media reports .
The helmet uses LetinAR's optical module to project information onto the road ahead rather than onto a traditional dashboard or visor display.
Aegis Rider plans to launch the helmet in European and Swiss markets in 2026, according to TechCrunch, highlighting how advances in optical hardware may help expand the next generation of AI-powered wearable devices.
As companies race to solve the optics, weight and battery-life challenges holding back mainstream AI glasses adoption, some investors are also watching smaller players building productivity-focused AR/VR hardware and software ecosystems.
One company drawing attention is Immersed, which says it developed the Meta Quest store's most-used productivity app and is preparing to launch its Visor headset alongside partners including Meta, Qualcomm and Samsung. The company says more than 75,000 users have joined the waitlist for the device as interest in spatial computing continues to grow.
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