Meta's smart glasses have come under serious fire over privacy concerns and even faced bans and restrictions in several court rooms, businesses, and government organizations. Now, that may seem like it could cause a massive dent to the brand's glasses line. But the numbers show otherwise - Meta is having the last laugh. They are the undisputed leaders in the space, according to the latest data from Counterpoint Research.
Global shipments of AI glasses jumped a massive 263% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research. Out of which Meta accounted for 94% of global display-less AI glasses shipments. The Mark Zuckerberg led company's shipments were up 260% compared to last year.
"Three years after the launch of the Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses in 2023, the competitive landscape of the global AI glasses market remains largely unchanged. Meta further strengthened its dominance in H1 2026," Counterpoint's Research VP Peter Richardson said.
The broader and more mature display-less AI glasses market grew 258% on-year and 22% compared with the second half of 2025.
What's Driving The Boom
Meta's growth has been fuelled by a number of factors that include new Ray-Ban Meta variants, cheaper Meta Glasses, expansion into new markets, and wider retail promotions.
If you are on Instagram you would have surely seen influencer videos promoting Ray-Ban Meta glasses pop up every now and then.
What's also contributed to the boom is that they aren't futuristic AR (augmented reality) glasses with information floating in front of your eyes. These are essentially normal-looking glasses with AI, cameras, microphones and speakers built in. That lower-tech-looking proposition has proved to be a winner for Meta.
The company also tied up with Kylie Jenner who has a massive social media following to launch a special signature range, and Jenner has since aggressively promoted the line and the brand on her Instagram that has 380 million followers. Called "Meta Glasses by Kylie", the range was launched in June at $399 (about Rs 38,300).
On Wednesday at the Meta Connect 2026, it was unveiled that popular singer and actress Lisa of BLACPINK has been onboarded for a collection called "Meta Glasses by LISA". The prices of these start at $399. Lisa has 105 million followers on Instagram and has already started promoting the range on the platform.
Meta's current AI glasses lineup (US prices, for like-to-like comparison with newly announced prices) starts at $249 (about Rs 23,900) and goes up to $579 (about Rs 55,600) for the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 Aviator Limited Edition.
The Privacy Problem
The biggest criticism for the category has been privacy, particularly because many AI glasses have cameras.
People around the wearer may not always know when they're being recorded, while the glasses themselves can potentially use cameras to understand what's happening around the wearer.
Counterpoint in its report specifically flags growing public concerns over privacy and cameras as a challenge for the industry.
To address these concerns, Meta on Wednesday also introduced a new range of glasses without cameras, using microphones instead.
However, the question around whether people are okay being secretly audiotaped obviously still looms large.
And to address privacy concerns around its camera-equipped glasses, Meta has added a more prominent white capture LED on the front that keeps blinking while recording.
The Virtual Reality Space
Counterpoint research shows that display-less glasses made up 96% of all AI glasses shipments in H1 2026. AR + AI glasses, meanwhile, grew an impressive 449%, but from a much smaller base. These have remained niche because they've so far been more expensive, bulkier, and the tech not quite as mature.
But, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg is keen to disrupt that space as well. On Wednesday at Meta Connect 2026 he unveiled Meta VR (virtual reality) glasses that weigh around 100 grams only (roughly five times lighter than the Meta Quest 3) and look like regular glasses. These are priced at $1,299.99 (about Rs 1.25 lakh) and are scheduled to launch in the spring of 2027.
The Meta VR glasses look much closer to a pair of large sunglasses or thick-rimmed glasses rather than a traditional heavy VR headset. They sit on the nose like regular glasses and do not require a bulky head strap. Meta moved the heavy components - including the battery, storage, and processor - into a separate, pocket-sized compute puck that connects via an optical cable.
So what Meta has now been able to achieve is that It's managed to build a serious AI assistant with VR capabilities into something that pretty much looks and feels like a regular pair of sunglasses.
Beyond Meta
Outside of Meta, the display-less market remains largely fragmented. But the AR + AI glasses category is a a different story, with Chinese companies including Rokid, Even Realities, Alibaba and INMO leading that segment.
China accounted for 45% of AR + AI glasses shipments, compared with roughly 41% for North America, according to Counterpoint data.
The research firm says China's relatively mature supply chain for displays, waveguides, manufacturing and other components is helping companies launch and iterate products faster.
Principal Analyst Flora Tang said, "At this early stage, the competitive landscape is shaped more by product supply than consumer demand. China has established a relatively mature AR glasses ecosystem, spanning micro-display makers, waveguide suppliers - one of the most critical components - to manufacturing partners, audio component suppliers and other key component providers.
"Chinese companies also tend to launch products earlier, iterate faster and refine their offerings based on user feedback. In comparison, companies like Meta and Apple generally take a more cautious approach, waiting for technologies to become more mature before scaling up."
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