Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have sold 1 million units, and this is just the beginning

Sales of Ray-Ban Meta✴ smart glasses have exceeded 1 million units, making them the most popular product in the non-display smart glasses segment, research firm Counterpoint Research reported.

Image source: Ray-Ban

Ray-Ban Meta✴ is the first smart glasses to be powered by Qualcomm’s AR1 Gen 1 smart glasses platform powered by the third-generation Hexagon NPU, which also supports fast wireless connectivity with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3. The device’s specifications also include 32GB of internal memory, a 12-megapixel RGB camera, and five microphones and two speakers. Power is supplied by a 160 mAh battery built into the earpiece, which can be recharged using a case with a battery with a capacity of 3034 mAh. At the same time, Ray-Ban Meta✴ is lightweight (49 g), ensuring comfortable wearing for a long time.

According to Counterpoint Research’s BoM Analysis Service, at $299, the manufacturing cost of the base version of the Ray-Ban Meta✴ is almost $135, which translates into a gross margin for EssilorLuxottica and the Meta✴ of 46.5%. Qualcomm AR1 Gen 1, mechanical parts and battery account for 37.7%, 13.9% and 5.6% of the total production cost, respectively.

Image source: Counterpoint Research

Despite the lack of a display, which typically accounts for a significant portion of the cost, Ray-Ban Meta✴ provide a user-friendly interactive experience thanks to the use of Meta✴ AI.

As noted by Counterpoint Research analysts, the success of Ray-Ban Meta✴ is inspiring the industry to develop lightweight smart glasses using AI on the device and in the cloud to provide interactive services. Some competitors have reportedly managed to reduce the weight of the wearable to less than 40g, while also delivering a reasonable retail price similar to the Ray-Ban Meta✴.

«There is reason to believe that this type of design will gradually become key to the smart wearables segment,” said Counterpoint Research. The analyst firm also expects that more AR and smart glasses will use Qualcomm’s AR platforms, realizing the growing capabilities of AI for various application scenarios.