wearables

Meta unveiled the Ray-Ban Meta Blayzer Optics and Scriber Optics, its first AI-powered smart glasses engineered from the ground up for prescription wearers, priced at $499 and shipping to U.S. retail on April 14.

London-based consumer electronics startup Nothing is developing AI-powered smart glasses with cameras, microphones, and speakers for a first-half 2027 launch, alongside new AI-focused earbuds arriving later in 2026, as CEO Carl Pei reverses his earlier resistance to the wearable form factor.

Samsung has disclosed the first technical details of its Android XR-powered smart glasses, which will ship with a Qualcomm AR1 chipset and integrate Google's Gemini AI assistant. The device enters a market where Meta's Ray-Ban partnership holds an estimated 82 percent share.

A convergence of AI-powered assistive tools, smart wearable devices, and looming regulatory deadlines in the US and EU is reshaping the accessibility technology landscape in 2026.