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Mark Zuckerberg has touted virtual-reality headsets as the next big thing. It turns out people may want something simpler: sunglasses with a camera.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses are gaining traction among consumers, who say they like using them to take photos for their friends and family as well as to create content for social media. The excitement comes as interest in the metaverse, an online world accessed via virtual-reality headsets, remains muted.
Meta Platforms META -0.19%decrease; red down pointing triangle is expected to preview its latest pair of tech-enabled glasses at its annual developer and hardware conference Wednesday. A Meta spokeswoman declined to comment.
The second version of Meta’s smart glasses—which are made in collaboration with Italian eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica EL -0.10%decrease; red down pointing triangle and are equipped with a camera, microphones and artificial intelligence—went on sale in October 2023. Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, said demand has been higher than expected. EssilorLuxottica didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“They did a really good job of boiling it down to the things that it’s supposed to do really well,” said Ben Taft, a tech entrepreneur who sold his augmented-reality startup, Mira, to Apple. “For the early adopters like me who seek that experience, it’s a really robust piece of technology.”
The surprise excitement contrasts sharply with the tepid interest that greeted the first generation of glasses in 2021. Meta sold about 300,000 pairs in 18 months, and less than 10% of purchases were still being actively used two years later.
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The company hasn’t disclosed sales figures for the more recent iteration of the glasses, but Meta has shipped more than 700,000 pairs, according to data provider IDC. Shipments more than doubled from the first to second quarter this year.
Meta still shipped more mixed-reality Quest 3 headsets than Ray-Bans in the most recent quarter. But analysts such as Bernstein’s Mark Shmulik see that changing soon. He forecasts that the glasses will be a holiday hit.
In an interview earlier this month with the hosts of the business podcast “Acquired,” Zuckerberg said he thinks the market for smart glasses is massive.
“If all we get is all the people in the world wearing glasses upgrading to glasses that have AI in them, then this is already going to be one of the most successful products in the history of the world,” he said.
Meta might also be finding an interested user base among creators, who use its Instagram and Facebook apps. There are more than 50 million content creators globally who post videos online to make money, according to Goldman Sachs.
“They really did put a lot of effort into reaching out to creators and getting them to try out the product,” said Jitesh Ubrani, an analyst at IDC. “That’s really what drove the success of the second generation.”
Videos key, not AI
Christopher Söderberg, a freelance consultant for influencers who lives in Stockholm, bought the smart glasses in May. He said they helped him kick-start his own influencer career.
Söderberg films videos for social media of himself interviewing people on the streets of Stockholm. Before he bought the glasses, he said he asked his brother to go with him to film the interactions, but his brother was too busy.
Now, Söderberg said, he can film the videos himself seamlessly and walk up to people in a way that is less intimidating while still letting them know he’s recording.
To record with the glasses, Meta Ray-Ban users press a button to start a 30-second, 60-second or three-minute video. A white light stays on for the duration of the recording.
“It’s a game changer,” said the 36-year-old. Söderberg has since made more than 20 videos with the glasses. The first one has upward of two million views.
Lindsey Witmer Collins, a mom of two young children who owns a software studio in San Francisco, said she recently bought the smart glasses to be able to capture more videos of her 6-year-old and 3-year-old.
“I wasn’t really sold on the first glasses,” the 38-year-old said. “It wasn’t until I realized how much I wanted these videos of my kids that I got them.”
She said she has used the glasses to take videos of her children in moments where she wouldn’t have enough time to whip out her phone or want to—such as a recent instance when her daughter made a face at her in a split-second. Taking out her phone can sometimes spoil the moment, she said.
Witmer Collins said she isn’t interested in the AI features of the glasses and would turn them off if she could.
“I don’t want them analyzing what they’re seeing,” she added. “I just want them to record it.”
Meta is hoping people will come to enjoy the AI features. The company said it redesigned the second-generation glasses from the ground up, improving the audio and camera capabilities—and also adding the AI tools. The team working on the glasses has also grown significantly.
Rivals take notice
Beyond Meta, other tech companies are also exploring tech-enabled glasses. But none of them have yet managed to capture the market.
Snap, the parent company of the popular app Snapchat, launched its latest pair of advanced augmented-reality glasses at its developer conference last week. The glasses have more technical capabilities than Meta’s Ray-Bans, including a display and the ability to simultaneously experience AR with other users.
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Amazon sells a pair of smart glasses called Echo Frames that has received little fanfare, and Google years ago launched a glasses product called Google Glass that has since been shut down several times, in part over privacy concerns.
Tech News Briefing
Why Meta’s Smart Ray-Ban Sunglasses Are Catching OnMeta is expected to unveil a new version of its Ray-Ban smart glasses at its annual developer conference today. The second generation of the glasses has been a surprise hit. WSJ reporter Meghan Bobrowsky tells Zoe Thomas what’s behind the demand for the glasses and what’s next for this market. Plus, cybersecurity professionals say they are struggling to find workers with the right artificial intelligence skills. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.Read Transcript
Google intends to re-enter the market. EssilorLuxottica Chief Executive Francesco Milleri said in July that the company had seen interest from Google and other tech companies in exploring partnerships.
Meta, meanwhile, has taken steps to strengthen its own partnership with the eyewear giant that owns brands Oakley, LensCrafters and Supreme in addition to Ray-Ban.
In July, The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta was in talks to buy a 5% stake in EssilorLuxottica. The status of those talks couldn’t be learned. EssilorLuxottica last week said it had struck a new long-term agreement with Meta to work on developing smart glasses into the next decade.
“I think what you’re going to end up with is just a whole series of different potential glasses products at different price points with different levels of technology in them,” Zuckerberg said recently.
Write to Meghan Bobrowsky at meghan.bobrowsky@wsj.com
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Appeared in the September 25, 2024, print edition as 'Meta’s Smart Ray-Ban Glasses Produce a Silicon Valley Hit'.
