According to the latest Omdia data, global AI glasses shipments reached 4.2 million units in 1H26, up 127% year-on-year (YoY). AI glasses remain an emerging category, with growth stabilizing as the market expands from a very low base. Meanwhile, the sector is facing a more complex environment, driven by intensifying competition across different frame designs and mounting scrutiny over user privacy.
Meta retained its dominant position in 1H26, shipping 3.4 million AI glasses to capture an 81.3% market share. However, smaller competitors are also contributing to the overall market growth by exploring alternative frame designs and targeted use cases. Even Realities demonstrated this trend, climbing from fifth place in 2H25 to second in 1H26 with 102,000 units shipped (a 2.4% share), driven by demand for its G2 series across North America and Western Europe.
While the US remains by far the largest AI glasses market, Mainland China is playing a pivotal role as both a primary supply chain hub and a testbed for new hardware configurations. Shipments in China surged 306% YoY in 1H26, as local vendors experimented with varied display, camera, and audio setups. However, the market remains highly fragmented – top players Alibaba, INMO, and Xiaomi collectively accounted for just 46.1% of shipments.
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