Meta Connect has become the must-attend event for the XR industry. This year’s edition confirmed Meta’s ambition to accelerate in smart glasses with the launch of Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2. These glasses are no longer just a lifestyle gadget — they are stepping closer to permanent AI assistance.
A significant generational leap
Key upgrades include:
- Battery life doubled – up to 8 hours of mixed use
- 3K Ultra-HD video recording, more than twice the resolution of Gen 1
- Conversation Focus, amplifying voices in noisy environments
- New seasonal frames and lens colors, appealing to a wider audience
Starting at $379 on Meta.com and Ray-Ban.com, these glasses aim for all-day use — even if Live AI currently runs for only 1–2 hours.
AI as the new frontier for wearables
This shift is strategic: Meta wants to replicate Apple’s Apple Watch playbook, which transformed from a simple accessory into a hub for health and payments. The goal is to make glasses a true contextual companion, blending augmented vision, spatial audio, and on-device intelligence.
Across Asia, players like Rokid, Xiaomi, Huawei, and Thunderbird are joining the race, proving this is a global battle.
Technical challenges and a heating market
Mass adoption will require solving key engineering problems:
- Power efficiency – AI processing is highly energy-intensive
- Audio performance – microphones and speakers must remain discreet without losing clarity
- Design & heat dissipation – glasses must stay light, stylish, and cool under continuous use
China sees 2025 as a tipping point for the smart glasses market, with several custom chipsets in development to lower power consumption and costs.
Meta Bets on custom silicon
Since 2017, Meta’s Project Orion has been working on purpose-built silicon for AR, optimized for eye tracking and low power consumption. This expertise now feeds directly into Meta’s product roadmap, giving the company a unique edge in delivering a truly all-day wearable.
Bottom line: the AI glasses market is entering its critical phase. The real question is no longer if they will succeed, but who — Meta, Xiaomi, or an unexpected challenger — will crack the balance between technology, design, and supply chain to define the next computing platform.
5 Imperatives for mobile operators in the era of AI Glasses
- Adapt the Network for Always-On Devices
Prepare for continuous, low-latency data streams from smart glasses — optimize 5G/5G-Advanced slices for AR workloads and edge processing. - Invest in Edge Computing & AI Infrastructure
Deploy edge nodes to reduce latency for computer vision, voice recognition, and contextual AI responses, making glasses truly real-time. - Create New Monetization Models
Bundle connectivity with AI-powered services (translation, live captioning, AR navigation) to turn AR glasses into revenue-generating endpoints. - Prioritize Battery-Friendly Connectivity
Develop energy-efficient network modes (e.g., 5G RedCap, eSIM-based low-power profiles) to extend device autonomy and user adoption. - Build Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships
Work with Meta, Xiaomi, and chipset vendors to co-design use cases, test coverage in real-world scenarios, and secure a place in the value chain.