Overview
- Bloomberg reports that Meta and EssilorLuxottica are discussing boosting Ray-Ban Meta production capacity to roughly 20 million units by the end of 2026, citing people familiar with the talks.
- HSBC raised its smart-glasses market estimate to about $200 billion by 2040 and now sees roughly 289 million users by the end of the next decade, upgrading EssilorLuxottica to buy.
- Industry watchers caution that planned capacity is not verified demand, with GQ reporting Meta has sold more than 2 million pairs since 2023 and is targeting 3 million more by 2026 while ramping toward 10 million annually.
- Rivals are lining up new entries, with GQ reporting Apple could ship iPhone-linked frames as soon as late 2026 and Google preparing models with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster this year, alongside offerings from Huawei, Alibaba, and Xiaomi.
- Privacy and regulatory questions persist, including concerns about nonconsensual recording, hacking risks, and how companies use captured data to train AI.