Summary
- Nothing reversed course: Carl Pei now plans AI smart glasses with mic, speakers, cameras—targeted for 2027.
- Big names piling in: Meta’s Ray-Ban sold 7M+ last year; Google, Apple, Samsung are also racing to ship glasses.
- Smart glasses may succeed where watches didn’t—hands-free video, reminders, workout audio and growing AI features.
The idea of smart glasses has been circling the proverbial tech drain for years now. We’ve seen more than a few iterations and attempts, including the failure to launch that was Snapchat Spectacles and even Google Glass, which launched in the early 2010s. Now, though, we’re seeing some successes with smart glasses like Ray-Ban and Meta’s partnership, which appears to have even spurred some tech companies which originally wrote off smart glasses to invest in the “next big thing.”
Nothing is getting into the smart glasses game
Careful, the hype might be contagious
If you keep up with tech news in any capacity, then chances are likely you’ve heard of Meta’s Ray-Ban partnership and the variety of AI-powered smart glasses the company has been releasing. However, Meta is far from the only company in the mix, as both Google and Apple have been looking into making their own smart glasses, with Google’s first smart glasses set to arrive this year as the company strives to get in on the “next big thing” in tech.
Even companies like Samsung are getting in on the hype, with Samsung’s first pair of smart glasses also expected to arrive this year. So what makes Nothing’s decision to start working on a pair important? Well, it’s because of Nothing CEO Carl Pei’s original stance on the glasses.
According to a new report from Bloomberg, Pei was initially resistant to developing Nothing-branded smart glasses. Exactly why hasn’t been shared, but it seems the hype around the hardware has made him change his mind, as sources have now shared with Bloomberg that Nothing will develop a pair of smart glasses that are outfitted with microphones, speakers, cameras, and AI features. When you look at how well received Nothing’s phones have been — the Nothing 4a remains one of a few great alternatives to the Pixel 10a thanks to its price, performance, and unique offerings — it is easy to see how a pair of Nothing-branded smart glasses might appeal. While exact details are still slim, the company is now expected to launch this new device option sometime in 2027.
Why everyone is buying into smart glasses
A new way to interact with the smart world
To understand the smart glass craze, it’s important to look at its closest relative, at least as far as gadgets go: smartwatches. When the first smartwatches started to hit the market, many believed they would go on to become wrist-based computers more akin to what we’ve seen in science fiction movies. However, over the past 10–12 years, smartwatches have remained mostly tethered to our smartphones. Sure, smartwatches offer fitness tracking and some other abilities, but overall, they are just extensions of the phones we carry in our pockets.
Smart glasses, on the other hand, could fill the niche that smartwatches failed to, as they are already offering more access to features such as video recording, keeping up with reminders directly on the device, and more. We’ve even seen smart glasses replace workout earbuds for some. And as more companies invest in the tech, we expect the number of features to continue to rise, making more smart glasses worth the money.
It’s also impossible not to see how well adopted they are already becoming, and the sales numbers they are bringing in. Reports from CNBC indicate that Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses sold more than seven million units last year alone, and those numbers are only expected to go up. As such, it’s easy to see why so many tech companies are buying into the hype, and why Nothing’s stance on the hardware has changed
