Smart glasses have come a long way since the days of Google Glass, but I still have doubts that they will gain mainstream acceptance anytime soon. Despite the best efforts of tech giants such as Meta and Google, significant hurdles remain. While there are some positives, even the best smart glasses still feel like a solution that doesn’t solve a real problem for most people.

Brought about by the launch of Google Glass a decade ago, the “Glasshole” era left a negative impression on the category that has been hard to shake. Google Glass was clunky, socially awkward, and widely ridiculed. The stigma associated with it still lingers despite advancements in design and functionality.

Here, we’ll explore current efforts to go mainstream, such as Meta’s partnership with Ray-Ban and Samsung’s XR smart glasses. We’ll also take a look at some of the barriers that continue to hinder smart glasses, and what might lie ahead with solutions like Android XR.

The widely ridiculed Google Glass

I recall seeing a person using Google Glass in a crowded airport around 2016. The peculiar eyewear, combined with their head movements and gaze into the void, seemed surreal in the context of a public space.

Finding that sweet spot between technological capabilities and what consumers actually want and feel comfortable wearing in public has been a real challenge for smart glasses. Tech companies are trying to make smart glasses less awkward and more useful, but they still haven’t quite cracked the code.

The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are a clever play that lends Ray-Ban cool factor to smart glasses. They point to the fact that glasses of any kind are a fashion accessory and need to be approached accordingly. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses come in a few different designs, including the famous Wayfarer style. They’re still a bit bulky, but they can even be fitted with prescription and transition lenses.

That said, I’m still not convinced that more appealing styles and smart brand partnerships are enough to solve the problem.

Privacy is the elephant in the room

Source: Looktech

Despite their improving designs, internet chatter points to video recording as both a primary use case and the foremost concern around smart glasses. As Reddit user Vince_Leone put it, “I think it’s likely that there are enough people in society who aren’t disposed to use these devices safely or with a reasonable degree of moderation.” This comment highlights major privacy concerns with the technology.

Smart glasses can record videos and audio without anyone noticing, and that’s a problem. Most people understand that public spaces are far from private. However, potentially being recorded every time someone looks at you is a unique risk. The use of smart glasses as surreptitious personal recording devices could empower scammers and other criminals to phish and dox with relative ease, for example.

“Call me crazy, but I don’t want a camera strapped to my face. The only smart glasses content I have seen has been from Meta, and I don’t want them to have more data than they already do.” — Reddit user, Short-Anxiety55

Beyond concerns about surreptitiously being recorded for a Tiktok or a scam, there are serious questions about how device manufacturers could use, or misuse, your smart glass data. Reddit user Short-Anxiety55 summed it up well, saying, “Call me crazy, but I don’t want a camera strapped to my face. The only smart glasses content I have seen has been from Meta, and I don’t want them to have more data than they already do.”

Here’s another alarming development. In 2024, a group of Harvard engineering students created a project to demonstrate the privacy issues with smart glasses. They connected the smart glasses’ live recording feature to facial recognition technology, used AI to bridge information, and integrated it with public data brokers to gain personal details.

They were able to instantly pull up strangers’ personal information such as names, addresses, and phone numbers. That’s downright creepy Black Mirror kind of stuff — not good.

Beyond taking pictures or videos, that gotta-have-it appeal for smart glasses within the consumer realm remains elusive. To succeed, smart glasses need to become something that people want to use every day, something with a real purpose. While features like phone calls, texts, and music are fine, they’re duplicative of what your phone can already do. Until smart glasses offer more distinct benefits, they’re going to remain in the niche realm.

I informally polled a Whatsapp group of which I am a member. I asked the group how likely they were to purchase smart glasses in 2025. Of 20 respondents, 18 indicated that they were “highly unlikely” to purchase smart glasses. Two people indicated they would be “somewhat likely” to purchase them, and no one said that they were “very likely” to buy a pair.

The poll sparked a conversation where a handful of members said that they owned and enjoyed VR headsets, but their use cases and interests were limited to having immersive media experiences at home. It seems that smart glasses are firmly planted in the backseat to AR/VR headset options like the Meta Quest series. And that category isn’t exactly growing by leaps and bounds either, as evidenced by Apple’s scaled-back production of its Vision Pro.

Technical hurdles remain for smart glasses

From the technical side of things, smart glasses still aren’t totally optimized. Battery life is terrible, typically ranging from around two to six hours between charges. And consider the implications of maintaining another device you have to charge. On top of your smartphone and smartwatch, frequently charging your glasses could be a real annoyance. While a charging case might soften the blow, it’s still not a substitute for decent battery life.

And while manufacturers have made a concerted effort to make smart glasses lighter and more comfortable, they’re still bulkier than standard eyewear, and some users report discomfort after a few hours of use. Integration with phones and other devices can also be spotty. And then there’s the matter of AI. While it presents promise for the utility of smart glasses, imagine having inaccurate information and AI hallucinations in your face.

Android XR: a ray of hope

Source: Google

There are some positives in the smart glasses category. Google’s new Android XR platform could help raise the bar. Its goal is to become the standard operating system for VR headsets and AR smart glasses. By leveraging Google AI, conversational features and real-time translations, XR may nudge smart glasses closer to the mainstream. If Google offloads some of the processing to your phone, that could potentially translate to lighter, lower-priced smart glasses with better battery life.

Samsung’s XR smart glasses might paint a roadmap for the future of smart glasses, but Android XR is initially focused on VR headsets. This reinforces what I discovered in my Whatsapp group: smart glasses, as we know them today, are less desirable than VR headsets to most consumers.

The future of smart glasses is uncertain

Despite technological advancements and design improvements, smart glasses still face an uphill battle with mainstream consumer adoption. The lingering stigma of the “Glasshole” era, coupled with privacy concerns, limited functionality, and technical hurdles like battery life continue to be nagging issues. While efforts like Meta’s partnership with Ray-Ban aim to make smart glasses more fashionable and socially acceptable, the core challenges remain.

However, the future may be brighter. Platforms like Google’s Android XR and seamless integration with apps and devices could stoke interest in the category. Whether these advancements will be enough to make smart glasses mainstream is an open question. For now, smart glasses are still searching for that must-have combination of benefits and fashion that will finally convince consumers to hop aboard.