SILICON VALLEY — As augmented reality smart glasses move toward commercialization, interest is growing among both companies and consumers. By overcoming the limits of smartphones that must be operated by hand, smart glasses can deliver real-time artificial intelligence, collect data and even work as an accessory, making them a leading candidate for Big Tech's "post-smartphone" device. Meta has already started selling them, and a joint product from Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and Google is due out soon, setting up fierce competition to capture the market first.
But for smart glasses to replace smartphones, or at least coexist with them, one problem must be solved: weight. Semiconductors and other control systems go inside the frame along with a battery, and the lenses carry additional materials essential for AR, making the devices far heavier than ordinary eyeglasses. Makers face a dilemma — too small a battery cannot run for long, while a larger one adds weight and discomfort.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel unveiled Specs, the company's first AR device, at the Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California, on June 16. Snap operates Snapchat and competes with Meta for leadership in social media. While Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro are headsets, Specs was built in a horn-rimmed eyeglass form, like Meta's smart glasses. With displays in both lenses, the price was set high at $2,195, or 2.98 million won.
"It's been almost 20 years since the iPhone came out. People are ready to accept something new," Spiegel said, heralding the era of smart glasses. But the market response was lukewarm. Price was a burden, and weight was a bigger problem. Widening the field of view improved the display, but made the device larger and heavier. The two models weigh 136 grams and 132 grams. Advanced polymer materials were used for the frames, but there were limits to how much weight could be cut. Delivering high performance while reducing weight is the biggest task for the widespread adoption of smart glasses.
At Amazon, the world's largest logistics company, smart glasses are worn by delivery workers rather than ordinary customers. AI-based sensors, computer vision and cameras display everything from navigation to delivery information. The glasses activate when a driver parks, and the driver can immediately check delivery details. Without using a smartphone, workers can scan packages, follow directions, photograph proof of delivery and receive alerts about pets.
Amazon said in October last year that it was running a pilot program with AR glasses for delivery associates in North America. The effort aims to improve cost efficiency in last-mile service, the final stage of delivery to consumers. If each driver saves just one second, Amazon, with its global delivery network, can save billions of dollars.
This month Amazon said on its website that more than 500 delivery workers had completed more than 275,000 deliveries while wearing AR glasses over 18 months. Amazon plans to deploy 5,000 more devices this year and expand to more than 20,000 by the end of 2027. In September last year, The Information reported that Amazon was developing consumer AR glasses targeting a launch in late 2026 or early 2027, setting up competition with Meta.
Amazon's concern was also weight. Kim Yerin, a principal research scientist at Amazon Robotics, explained at K-AI Tech Week in Santa Clara, California, on the 11th how Amazon eased the weight problem of smart glasses. Kim also leads development of the AR glasses for last-mile service, following Astro, the home robot Amazon released in 2021.
"Glasses have to be very light. Ordinary glasses are usually about 20 to 30 grams. Once you go past 70 or 80 grams, you start to feel discomfort," Kim said. "We want to make glasses that can be worn for eight to 10 hours or more." Kim added that AR glasses need to be usable for eight to 10 hours a day, which requires long battery life and a weight under 70 grams.
To minimize the weight of the glasses, Amazon turned to the vests that all delivery workers wear throughout their shifts. A small controller and a swappable battery pack are mounted on the vest, while the glasses are designed around sensors. Moving computing equipment, including the chip, into the vest dramatically reduced the weight of the glasses. In effect, the vest serves as a data center. Safety improved as well, without adding friction to the work. "Drivers who tried the glasses said they felt safer because the information they need appears in their field of view and they can look ahead instead of down at a phone," Kim said. "The glasses matter not only for efficiency but also for safety."
At Meta Connect 2026, its annual developer conference held at its Menlo Park, California, headquarters on the 23rd, Meta unveiled Ray-Ban Meta Audio, focused solely on voice features and AI performance. Removing the camera that had been attached to the smart glasses made the rims thinner and cut the weight to 43 grams, the lightest of any Meta AI glasses to date. The camera was dropped amid privacy concerns, but the result was a dramatic reduction in weight while still delivering AI features. "Taking out the camera opened up entirely new design possibilities," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. "They look like ordinary glasses." Prices start at $349, with sales beginning on the 13th of next month.
Meta will also release Meta VR Glasses, a virtual reality device worn like eyeglasses, next spring. By separating the battery and computing unit into an external pack, the weight will be cut to about 100 grams — roughly half that of Apple's latest smartphone, the iPhone 18 Pro, at 211 grams. Not only AR glasses but also VR glasses are evolving into AI devices lighter than a smartphone.
Samsung Electronics and Google will also launch smart glasses in the second half of this year. The two companies unveiled two AI glasses based on Android XR to coincide with the Google I/O event held at Google's Mountain View, California, headquarters in May. To take on Meta, which has partnered with EssilorLuxottica, Samsung Electronics and Google teamed up with global eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. Google introduced its first smart glasses, Google Glass, in 2013.
