Kuo said over the next two years, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company expects to sell approximately 150,000 to 200,000 units.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), which has taken the lead in the smart glasses race, is reportedly preparing to launch its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered glasses, dubbed “Hypernova,” at its Connect conference, scheduled for September 17-18.
Taiwan-based TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a specialist in tech research, shed further light on the much-awaited device on Tuesday.
In a post on X, Kuo stated that Hypernova will likely enter mass production in the third quarter, aiming for a two-year product cycle. Over the next two years, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company expects to sell approximately 150,000 to 200,000 units, he said.
Considering the estimated smart glass shipments of 13 million to 15 million in 2026, based on the Qualcomm chip shipment forecast, Hypernova’s share will likely be negligible, Kuo said, adding that it would be positioned more as an “experimental product” for Meta.
AI will be Hypernova’s most important selling point, the analyst said.
Kuo gave some potential reasons for the predicted muted uptake for Hypernova:
- $800 price point
- AI integration with AR applications is in the nascent stages
- Hardware challenges posed by Meta’s decision to use LCoS technology to achieve scalability for mass production
The hardware challenges, according to the analyst, pertain to form factor, brightness, response time, and battery life.
Nevertheless, Meta’s objective behind the launch is to preempt Apple, allowing it to build its brand image, gain early experience in developing the ecosystem, and understand user behavior.
A CNBC report stated last Friday that Hypernova will feature a small display in its right lens and will be manufactured in partnership with EssilorLuxottica.
Meta stock is up 29% this year as it increases its investments in AI. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the stock remained ‘bearish’ (39/100) and the message volume was ‘low.’
At Meta’s second-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg emphasized the importance of smartglasses as a consumer device. “AI glasses are going to be the main way that we integrate superintelligence into our day-to-day lives,” he said, according to a transcript provided by Koyfin.
“In the future, if you don’t have glasses that have AI or some way to interact with AI, I think you’re kind of similarly, probably be at a pretty significant cognitive disadvantage compared to other people and who you’re working with, or competing against.”
Meta currently sells Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses. Apart from Hypernova, the company is also planning to team up with Oakley for a sport-focused variant of a smartglass.
According to Counterpoint Research, the global smart glasses market grew 11% year-over-year (YoY) in the first half of the year, with Meta’s share of the market at 73%. The research firm said the company benefited from strong demand and expanded manufacturing capacity at Luxottica, its key production partner.
Apple, meanwhile, aims to capture a share of the smart glasses market and plans to release its own smart glasses at the end of next year as part of a push into AI-enhanced gadgets, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in May.
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