Late last week, Snap Inc. made a great announcement. Second, they will spin off their augmented reality glasses, Specs, into a new subsidiary to improve their operational focus and alignment. This decision represents a calculated step from the company as it aims to focus its AR-related work in a rapidly evolving AR technology race.
In Meta’s most recent Q4 2025 earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out the company’s hopes for its new AI smart glasses business. He noted in particular that Meta has created a number of models, such as Oakley smart glasses designed for fitness lovers. The company sees huge potential in AI smart glasses, particularly for fitness applications. TechCrunch is on board with that idea, calling this the clearest use case as the most exciting one.
Zuckerberg underscored AI glasses’ potential to be transformative, going so far as to say their arrival would be as revolutionary as the move from flip phones to smartphones. He noted that billions of people cannot afford vision correction and rely on glasses or contacts. He thinks we’re about to experience the same kind of breakthrough that came with smartphones, when it was just a question of when everybody was going to exchange their flip phones for smart devices.
Aside from Meta’s advances, other tech titans have been venturing into their own AI-fueled wearables. OpenAI does appear to be focused on a specific AI pin or earbuds but otherwise has not entered the hardware manufacturing industry. Interaction with the new type of AI wearable Apple is said to be working on could be entirely different. This decision further underscores the growing demand for this space among all tech leaders.
Snap’s decision to house its AR glasses as a standalone company underscores an important trend within the industry. We are seeing more and more companies aligning their resources around creating particular technological breakthroughs. With major players like Meta digesting billions of dollars into the development of AI smart glasses, the dynamic future of wearables is coming fast.
Zuckerberg’s commitment to AI glasses as a focal point for Meta underscores the significance of this technology in the company’s future strategy. With consumer interest this high, the possibility of AI glasses one day becoming as common as everyday eyewear looks more promising than ever.
