[Edaily Reporter Shin Young-bin] The artificial intelligence (AI) smart glasses market is growing rapidly. While Meta has secured an early lead in the market with its Ray-Ban smart glasses, Google appears to be launching a full-scale pursuit by partnering with #Samsung Electronics and eyewear brands such as Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.

On the 5th, market research firm Smart Analytics Global (SAG) projected that global shipments of AI smart glasses this year will increase by 85% year-over-year, surpassing 15 million units. It estimated that products focused on audio, camera, and AI assistant functions—rather than display-based models—will account for 91% of the total.

Google recently unveiled its AI smart glasses strategy in collaboration with Samsung Electronics at I/O 2026. Product design will be handled by the U.S. eyewear brand Warby Parker and the Korean fashion eyewear brand Gentle Monster. Under this structure, Google will provide the Gemini AI and the Android ecosystem, while Samsung Electronics will contribute its hardware development capabilities.

SAG analyzed that if Google’s AI smart glasses are launched at a reasonable price without supply disruptions or delays, they could ship more than 2 million units this year. In this scenario, Google is projected to become the world’s second-largest player with an approximately 18% market share, trailing only Meta.

Although the smart glasses market is still in its early stages, its growth rate is steep. According to Omdia, global AI glasses shipments last year are estimated to have reached 8.7 million units, more than tripling from the previous year. Meta is believed to have captured the majority of the market with its Ray-Ban collaboration products.

Counterpoint Research analyzed that global smart glasses shipments in the first half of last year more than doubled compared to the same period the previous year, with AI smart glasses accounting for approximately 78% of that total. Meta was found to hold more than 70% of this market.

Google’s focus on collaborations with eyewear brands appears to be a strategy tailored to the nature of wearable devices. Unlike smartphones, smart glasses are worn on the face, making it difficult to convince consumers based on technical specifications alone. Comfort, a good fit for different face shapes, support for prescription lenses, in-store fitting experiences, and brand image are all critical factors.

Warby Parker is a mainstream eyewear brand in the North American market with an established network for vision testing and prescription glasses sales. Gentle Monster has a strong fashion brand image in major cities across Korea, China, Japan, the U.S., and Europe. From Google’s perspective, partnering with Warby Parker allows it to target the North American mass market, while partnering with Gentle Monster enables it to simultaneously target Asian and premium fashion consumers.

Currently, Meta is leading the market. In collaboration with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban, Meta has launched a product that combines a design resembling regular glasses with photo and video capture capabilities and an AI voice assistant. This effectively demonstrates the potential for smart glasses to establish themselves as everyday wearable AI devices.

The industry views this year as a turning point for the AI smart glasses market. The initial mainstream products are unlikely to be those that project images onto lenses like the AR glasses seen in movies; instead, they are likely to be lightweight, naturally wearable, audio-centric AI glasses. Success is expected to depend not only on AI performance but also on how well companies combine hardware quality, distribution networks, and consumer trust.