Focus 260804 SmartGlasses

RESEARCH | ANALYSIS | INSIGHT 4 August 2026

Will smart glasses be the next smartphone? Source:iStockphoto.com/D-Keine

Smart glasses are being presented as the next smartphone. Yet their success may depend less on their technological capabilities than on the trust they manage to inspire.

Charles-Henry Monchau, CFA, CAIA, CMT Hugo Morel Chief Investment Officer Syz Research Lab Team

Benjamin Roth Syz Research Lab Team

Introduction Smart glasses are one of the few technologies the market has already embraced as the most likely successor to the smartphone. Meta, Apple, Samsung, Google and OpenAI are all investing, with product prices ranging from $200 to $500. Yet that consensus overlooks a contradiction with real investment implications. Smart glasses break the usual pattern. The always-on camera is both the key feature and the biggest weakness. In past technology cycles, companies competed by adding more capabili- ties. This time, the strongest competitive advantage may come from removing one. Apple is reportedly considering launching its N50 smart glasses without a camera, or with one that cannot capture photos or videos, reflecting the growing importance of privacy as a product differentiator. Source: Reuters Online platforms already show how unevenly these risks Samsung is following the model already established by are treated. A video containing copyrighted music can Meta. Its glasses, developed with Google, Gentle Monster be removed automatically within seconds, yet footage and Warby Parker, are expected to launch in autumn recorded discreetly with smart glasses may remain online 2026. They will use Google’s Gemini assistant to answer long enough to reach millions of viewers. In one case, a questions about what the wearer sees, provide direc- secretly filmed encounter attracted more than 23 million tions, translate text, send messages and capture photos views before any action was taken. This exposes a major or videos. enforcement gap: platforms respond quickly to copyright violations but far more slowly to privacy breaches. The Apple is taking the most privacy-conscious approach. market may still underestimate this risk but growing reg- The company reportedly plans to unveil its N50 smart ulatory and public scrutiny is likely to make it increasingly glasses in June 2027, with a commercial launch expected costly for smart-glasses manufacturers and digital plat- later that year. The glasses would rely heavily on Siri forms. for voice commands but would initially have no display inside the lenses. Apple is also considering removing the Four companies, four different camera entirely or limiting it to visual analysis by AI without definitions of the product itself allowing users to record photos or videos. This design could protect Apple’s reputation for privacy, but it would The absence of an agreed product definition itself is remove one of the features that helped Meta’s Ray-Ban revealing. The product’s final form is still unsettled, and the glasses gain traction: the ability to capture first-person four leading strategies disagree on whether the winning photos and videos. Apple’s previous issues with AirTags device needs a camera, a display, both, or neither. highlights the risks. After the trackers were misused to Meta is pursuing the most aggressive monetisation strat- follow people without their consent, the company intro- egy. Its $300 dual-camera glasses serve as a testing duced additional warnings and anti-stalking protections. ground for recurring revenue. Meta initially planned to limit That experience helps explain why Apple may be particu- Conversation Focus, a feature that amplifies the voice larly cautious about placing an easily concealed camera of the person in front of the wearer to make conversa- on users’ faces. tions easier to hear in noisy environments, to three free OpenAI is taking the most AI-focused approach. Working hours per month. Users would then pay $19.99 a month with Jony Ive, it is building two products: a voice speaker for up to 15 hours of use. The company suspended the with a camera but no screen, priced at USD 200 to 300 and plan after users questioned why an entirely on-device expected in…