--- title: "AI Smart Glasses: Sales Boom in the US and Widespread Backlash in Europe" description: "Meta forecasts AI smart glasses sales to grow to 7 million pairs in 2025, but in Europe the devices are causing scandals over secret filming. The EC has tasked the preparation of a report on privacy risks." date: 2026-09-13T07:42:45.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ai-smart-glasses-usa-sales-boom-european-backlash tags: [smart-glasses, ai, meta, privacy, eu-regulation] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # AI Smart Glasses: Sales Boom in the US and Widespread Backlash in Europe ![Presentation of AI-powered smart glasses at a tech conference in front of an audience](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/13/umnye-ochki-ii-protivodeystvie-v-evrope/umnye-ochki-ii-protivodeystvie-v-evrope-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - According to Meta's forecast, AI smart glasses sales in 2025 will reach ~7 million pairs, compared with ~2 million in 2023–2024. - Google and Snap are also preparing to launch their own AI-powered smart glasses. - In the UK last summer, media covered complaints about secret filming and recording through glasses, as well as reports of Meta developing facial recognition. - The European Commission tasked the European Data Protection Council with preparing a report in the autumn to assess the public's reaction; it will become the basis for discussion in the European Parliament. The wearable electronics market is at a turning point: AI-powered glasses have ceased to be a niche gadget and have become one of the most talked-about consumer products. According to Meta's forecast, sales of such devices in 2025 were expected to reach approximately 7 million pairs, triple the figure for 2023 and 2024, when around 2 million pairs were sold annually. Competition in the segment is intensifying: Google and Snap are also preparing to launch their own models of AI smart glasses, and the industry as a whole is banking on further demand growth. ### Technological Boom and Competition Among the Giants The dynamics described by Meta reflect a paradigm shift: AI glasses are seen as the next "personal platform" after the smartphone — a device that is constantly with the user and capable of processing voice commands, context, and visual data. The entry of several technology leaders into this market at once — Meta, Google, Snap — means that the bet is not on a single product but on an entire ecosystem of services tied to a wearable display and microphones. It is precisely this concentration of effort by major players that is shaping expectations of multiple growth in sales in the coming years. ### "Pervert Glasses": The Privacy Scandal However, in Europe, and especially in the UK, the topic of smart glasses took a sharply negative turn last summer. British media widely covered so-called "pervert glasses": several women claimed that they had been secretly filmed on video or recorded on a dictaphone using such devices. Additional tension was added by reports that Meta is developing facial recognition technology for integration into its glasses. The combination of these factors has formed sustained public dissatisfaction and a sense that a gadget intended to help the user could turn into a tool for covert surveillance of those around them. ### Brussels' Response: A Data Protection Report Against the backdrop of growing public reaction, the European Commission tasked the independent European Data Protection Council with preparing a special report, to be presented in the autumn. The document is intended to systematically assess the public's reaction to AI glasses and the potential risks to privacy. As envisioned by regulators, this report will become the basis for subsequent discussion of the topic in the European Parliament, meaning this is not a one-off reaction but the formation of a potential EU regulatory position on wearable AI devices. ### Contradictory Data There are a number of discrepancies in open sources that are important to take into account. First, the figure of 7 million pairs is Meta's forecast for 2025, whereas there are no confirmed factual data on actual sales for this period in the provided materials; the gap between expected and actually realized volume remains open. Second, the text doctrinally states that the EC report "will be presented in the autumn," but the current date is September 2026, meaning the expected deadline for the document has in fact arrived, while its final content and conclusions are not disclosed in the sources. Third, reports of "secret filming" and of Meta developing facial recognition are based on media publications and statements by individuals, not on independent investigations, so both versions — the accusations and the company's technological ambitions — require additional verification. ### What This Means for the Market and Users The situation is developing into a classic conflict between technological optimism and privacy protection. On the one hand, the industry is banking on multiple growth and the entry of new players; on the other, European regulators and the public are forming a demand for transparency and restrictions on functions related to filming and facial recognition. The final report of the European Data Protection Council and the subsequent discussion in the European Parliament will likely determine whether the AI smart glasses segment can grow in Europe under the same conditions as in other regions, or whether it will face additional regulatory barriers. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [AI glasses face widespread backlash in Europe.](https://www.vietnam.vn/ru/kinh-ai-vap-phai-su-phan-doi-rong-rai-tai-chau-au) - Подтверждает общую тему противодействия умных очков с ИИ в Европе, согласуется с основой. - [European officials turn against smart glasses](https://3dnews.ru/1143230/evrochinovniki-opolchilis-na-umnie-ochki) - Подтверждает реакцию европейских регуляторов на умные очки, согласуется с упоминанием роли ЕК. - [Apple to unveil smart glasses at WWDC27 conference — with AI, but no displays](https://3dnews.ru/1145781/apple-pokaget-umnie-ochki-razrabotchikam-na-konferentsii-wwdc27-s-ii-no-bez-displeev) - Подтверждает реакцию европейских регуляторов на умные очки, согласуется с упоминанием роли ЕК. - [Ampere announces "smart" glasses controlled via smartphone](https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4838597) - Дополнительный контекст о расширении рынка умных очков, согласуется с трендом. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: How many AI smart glasses, according to Meta's forecast, will be sold in 2025? **A:** According to Meta's forecast, around 7 million pairs, roughly triple the 2023 and 2024 figures (about 2 million pairs per year). ### Q: Which other companies are preparing to launch AI smart glasses? **A:** The source mentions Google and Snap, which are also preparing to bring their own AI-powered smart glasses to market. ### Q: Why are smart glasses causing dissatisfaction in Europe? **A:** In the UK last summer, media covered complaints about secret filming and dictaphone recording, as well as reports of Meta developing facial recognition technology for glasses, which shaped the image of "pervert glasses." ### Q: What is the European Commission doing in connection with smart glasses? **A:** The EC has tasked the independent European Data Protection Council with preparing a report, to be presented in the autumn and to become the basis for discussion of the topic in the European Parliament.