Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth recently discussed the future of smart glasses at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in San Francisco. While he believes in their potential, Bosworth emphasized that they are not ready to replace smartphones in the near future. “Smartphones are incredible, not just because they are great devices, but also because we are accustomed to their convenience,” said Bosworth.
He noted that smartphones benefit from an “incredibly entangled ecosystem of software connected to the rest of the world around us,” which makes transitioning to smart glasses a slow process. Bosworth also critiqued Apple’s Vision Pro, calling it a “rookie mistake” due to its heaviness. “From an engineering standpoint, it’s wonderful and congratulations to that team.
From a product standpoint, you can tell it’s their first offering in the space,” he said.
Smart glasses’ slow transition ahead
“First-generation products are hard.
It’s not until the second or third generation that you really figure out and hone the thing.”
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, shares a similar sentiment. In a podcast with The Verge, Zuckerberg mentioned, “It’s not like we’re going to throw away our phones, but I think what’s going to happen is that, slowly, we’re just going to start doing more things with our glasses and leaving our phones in our pockets more.”
During Meta’s earnings call in January, Zuckerberg projected that 2025 would be a pivotal year for smart glasses, determining whether they will become the next significant computing platform or if their acceptance will continue to be gradual. “Our Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses are a real hit, and this will be the year when we understand the trajectory for AI glasses as a category,” he said.
According to EssilorLuxottica, the manufacturer of Meta’s smart glasses, they have sold 2 million pairs since 2023. The company aims to produce 10 million smart glasses per year for Meta by the end of 2026, as stated by CEO Francesco Milleri. While the journey for smart glasses to replace smartphones is ongoing, both Bosworth and Zuckerberg agree that it will take time for consumers to make the shift.
Kirstie a technology news reporter at DevX. She reports on emerging technologies and startups waiting to skyrocket.
