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Title: Do People Actually Want Smart Glasses Now?

Link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/06/14/1648202/d...

It's the technology "Google tried (and failed at) more than a decade ago,"
writes CNN. (And Meta and Amazon have also previously tried releasing glasses
with cameras, speakers and voice assistants.) Yet this week Snap announced
that "it's building AI-equipped eyewear to be released in 2026." Why the
"renewed buzz"? CNN sees two factors: - Smartphones "are no longer exciting
enough to entice users to upgrade often." - "A desire to capitalize on AI by
building new hardware around it." Advancements in AI could make them far more
useful than the first time around. Emerging AI models can process images,
video and speech simultaneously, answer complicated requests and respond
conversationally... And market research indicates the interest will be there
this time. The smart glasses market is estimated to grow from 3.3 million
units shipped in 2024 to nearly 13 million by 2026, according to ABI
Research. The International Data Corporation projects the market for smart
glasses like those made by Meta will grow from 8.8 in 2025 to nearly 14
million in 2026.... Apple is also said to be working on smart glasses to be
released next year that would compete directly with Meta's, according to
Bloomberg. Amazon's head of devices and services Panos Panay also didn't rule
out the possibility of camera-equipped Alexa glasses similar to those offered
by Meta in a February CNN interview. "But I think you can imagine, there's
going to be a whole slew of AI devices that are coming," he said in
February." More than two million Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses have been sold since
their launch in 2023, the article points out. But besides privacy concerns,
"Perhaps the biggest challenge will be convincing consumers that they need
yet another tech device in their life, particularly those who don't need
prescription glasses. The products need to be worth wearing on people's faces
all day." But still, "Many in the industry believe that the smartphone will
eventually be replaced by glasses or something similar to it," says Jitesh
Ubrani, a research manager covering wearable devices for market research firm
IDC. "It's not going to happen today. It's going to happen many years from
now, and all these companies want to make sure that they're not going to miss
out on that change."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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