AI smart glasses shipments up 263% in H1 2026, Meta holds about 94% of the market

Global shipments of AI smart glasses rose 263% in the first half of 2026 against the same period of 2025, according to an analysis by Counterpoint Research reported by the Romanian technology outlet go4it.ro. Devices without a display accounted for 96% of all units shipped, leaving augmented-reality models with AI functions as a much smaller, though faster-growing, category.

Display-free AI glasses shipped 258% more units in the first half than a year earlier, and 22% more than in the second half of 2025. The sequential figure matters as much as the annual one: it shows the category is still adding volume against a base that had already expanded through late 2025.

Meta accounts for 94% of shipments

Meta remained the dominant supplier. Counterpoint puts its products at roughly 94% of global AI glasses shipments in the first six months of the year. Meta shipments grew 260% against the first half of 2025 and 22% against the preceding half-year, broadly in line with the pace of the display-free segment as a whole.

Counterpoint attributes the performance to a wider Ray-Ban Meta line-up, the launch of cheaper models, entry into new markets and broader distribution through physical retail. The partnership with EssilorLuxottica is described as an important factor in the expansion of the category.

Peter Richardson, Research VP at Counterpoint, said the structure of the market has not changed radically three years after the first Ray-Ban Meta glasses appeared. Chinese companies including Alibaba and Huawei have launched their own products, but the market outside Meta remains fragmented.

AR glasses grow faster from a smaller base

Shipments of AR glasses with AI functions rose 449% in the first half of 2026 year on year and 18% against the previous half-year. The growth rate is well above that of the display-free category, but absolute volumes remain far smaller.

Chinese manufacturers hold a significant position in this segment. Rokid, Even Realities, Alibaba and INMO are among the companies that have moved ahead with commercialisation. China is also the largest market for AI-equipped AR glasses, with North America in second place.

Flora Tang, Principal Analyst at Counterpoint, said the gap between the two markets is at this stage a matter of supply rather than consumer demand. China already has a developed ecosystem for AR eyewear, which includes:

• microdisplay manufacturers;
• waveguide lens suppliers;
• audio component makers;
• manufacturing partners.

Chinese firms also tend to bring products to market earlier and refine them on the basis of user feedback, while Meta and Apple generally wait for technologies to mature before scaling production, according to the Counterpoint analysis.

Component costs and privacy shape the next wave

The design difference explains much of the volume gap. Display-free frames are lighter and can be built at lower cost. AR models need more complex optical systems, in particular waveguide lenses that place information in the wearer field of view, which raises cost and bulk and limits mass adoption for now. Counterpoint nonetheless reads the growth rate as evidence that the category has room to expand.

Manufacturers also face rising prices for electronic components. Counterpoint identifies memory as one of the main sources of cost pressure at a time when demand for parts destined for AI infrastructure remains high.

Cameras built into AI glasses raise questions over privacy and over how captured images are used. Counterpoint expects new form factors in response, including camera-free AI glasses centred on audio functions and models that use the camera mainly to interpret the surrounding environment rather than to take photographs or video.

Counterpoint expects the market to keep growing as Meta, Google, Samsung and Apple step up investment in the category, and sees the next stage in glasses that act more independently, interpreting context and offering information or actions before the user explicitly asks for them. That requires progress in software and operating systems, in voice interaction, sensors and very low-power processors.