Mocked for the failure of the metaverse, Mark Zuckerberg can console himself with the success of his connected glasses. Donald Trump's new friend has long believed that glasses have an important role to play and that they could – in the medium term – replace smartphones. We are not there yet, but it is clear that Meta's Ray-Bans are a success. During an internal meeting with his teams, the boss of Meta noted that Ray-Ban connected glasses had sold at more than a million units by 2024. Encouraging figures that confirmed the social media giant's winning bet with its glasses.
A best-selling product in 60% of Ray-Ban stores worldwide, Meta's smart glasses are enjoying growing success, which is making EssilorLuxottica happy. Since the launch of Ray-Ban Meta glasses in October 2023, Meta's partner says it has sold 2 million units. The CEO of Ray-Ban's parent company, Franceso Milleri, sees glasses as the future main digital platform and is planning a long-term collaboration with Meta. Note that this figure does not include the original Ray-Ban Stories launched in 2021, which were not as successful.
Building on these results, EssilorLuxottica aims to achieve annual production of 10 million pairs by the end of 2026. “Given this development, and in line with our ambitious plan, we are currently increasing our production capacity for Ray-Ban Meta, which should reach 10 million units per year by the end of next year”, specifies the boss of the Franco-Italian eyewear manufacturer. This statement comes a few months after the announcement of a long-term partnership, until at least 2030, between the two companies.
A production capacity revised significantly upwards
The manufacturer's ambitions go hand in hand with those of Mark Zuckerberg, who would like to sell 5 million connected glasses by 2025. The two companies are working on the integration of AI and EssilorLuxottica suggests the arrival of subscription services. Other third-party brands, such as Okakley, also owned by EssilorLuxottica, could also connect their glasses.
In the meantime, Meta is investing heavily to promote its glasses and has just offered itself two advertisements during the Super Bowl. They feature three "Chris" or "Kris" famous: Chris Pratt, Kris Jenner and Chris Hemsworth.
The firm's goal is to get ahead of the game to make glasses "the" digital platform par excellence, but to do so, sales will have to grow considerably. Indeed, smartphone brands like Samsung and Apple each sell more than 200 million phones per year. Even with ten million units sold, Ray-Ban glasses will not yet replace the smartphone in users' daily lives.
Meta's future will also include Orion, the American firm's first AR glasses. Presented at the 11th edition of Meta Connect, the Orion glasses impress by integrating microLED projectors directly into the frame. They also have AI features and operate using a neural bracelet.
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