The Ray-Ban Meta sensible glasses had been an surprising success, promoting two million pairs since debuting in October 2023. Final 12 months, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that demand for the glasses “continues to be outpacing our means to construct them.” The corporate has plans to promote 10 million glasses annually by the tip of 2026.
Now eyewear firm EssilorLuxottica, which partnered with Meta to provide the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, says that gross sales of the eyewear have greater than tripled within the first half of the 12 months, in comparison with the identical time final 12 months, and considerably contributed to the corporate’s general income.
In its newest earnings report on Monday, EssilorLuxottica said that the glasses contributed to its general gross sales of $16.25 billion within the first half of the 12 months, a 7.3% enhance from final 12 months. The corporate stated within the earnings report that the Ray-Ban Meta glasses had been the No. 1 bestselling AI glasses on the worldwide market, experiencing “category-defining success.”
“We’re main the transformation of glasses as the subsequent computing platform,” Francesco Milleri, chairman and CEO of EssilorLuxottica, and Paul du Saillant, deputy CEO of the corporate, collectively said within the earnings report.
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses are so common that final month, Meta introduced a sportier, waterproof model, the Oakley Meta glasses, additionally in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, and acquired a stake price $3.5 billion within the eyewear firm, signaling a long-term funding. The Oakley Meta frames have offered out on Meta’s website on the time of writing.
Milleri and du Saillant cited “the success of Ray-Ban Meta” and “the launch of Oakley Meta” as “main milestones” for EssilorLuxottica within the earnings report.
Each the $299 Ray-Ban Meta and the $499 Oakley Meta glasses permit customers to take images and movies, make calls, ship textual content messages by means of voice instructions, work together with Meta AI, and play music. The Oakley Meta frames are a step up from the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, with higher-resolution recording, higher audio system, and a 40% longer battery life lasting as much as eight hours.
Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs
Meta can be reportedly working to increase its sensible glasses portfolio by growing a pair of high-fashion AI glasses with Prada. Prada renewed an eyewear licensing settlement with EssilorLuxottica for the subsequent ten years in December.
Associated: Apple Is Reportedly Creating AI Sensible Glasses to Compete with Meta and Google
In the meantime, different main tech corporations, together with Apple and Google, are getting ready to enter the sensible glasses market following Meta’s success. Bloomberg reported earlier this 12 months that Apple is engaged on sensible glasses that might be launched by the tip of 2026, and is getting ready to distinguish the glasses with a brand new chip that might elevate their efficiency.
Whereas Apple works behind the scenes, Google made a formal announcement in Might that it was committing $150 million to develop AI glasses with Warby Parker. The glasses could have AI options, like translating from one language to a different in real-time, and are anticipated to launch subsequent 12 months.
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