The Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses have been a bigger success than the company, or anyone else, could have ever anticipated when they first came out. This success has driven Meta to limit international sales recently, and the company is now introducing changes to the production line to keep up with demand.
Meta to double production
According to a new report (subscription required), Meta and partner company EssilorLuxottica are in talks about doubling the production of the Ray-Ban smart glasses. Meta apparently wishes to produce around 20 million units by the end of this year and 30 million if demand continues to surge.
Though Meta has recently cut jobs at its XR (Extended Reality) department — Reality Labs — the company is apparently facing no shortage of sales for its smart glasses. For now, Meta has decided to favor its U.S. expansion over other markets around the globe.
Have you bought Ray-Ban smart glasses recently?
Yes, I use them all the time
0%
Yes, though I don't use them much
100%
No, never bought these glasses
0%
I bought them before they were cool!
0%
Ray-Ban smart glasses limited internationally
Meta has also made smart glasses with Oakley. | Image credit — Meta
As mentioned above, the unexpected demand for the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses has forced the company to limit international sales. Meta, for now at least, is focusing on expanding its market share across the U.S.
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Doubling production and limiting international sales serves one major purpose: getting the American consumer base ready for Meta’s upcoming AR smart glasses. A consumer version of the Meta Orion smart glasses is expected to come out next year, and if the public is already familiar with smart glasses, then that suits Meta just fine.
Fingers crossed for XR
The XR industry has struggled for years: though retention is high, many consumers are wary of taking that first dip into this world. Which is why I’m excited to see the Ray-Ban smart glasses doing so well that Meta actually restructured Reality Labs to focus on similar wearables in the future.
Meta, Apple, Samsung, Google, and others are betting on AI-powered AR smart glasses overtaking smartphones within the next decade or two. Mark Zuckerberg — CEO at Meta — is convinced that this is the future of computing, and I really hope that that’s true.
The XR industry might have struggled to gain traction when it relied on large and heavy headsets, but the success of the Ray-Ban smart glasses has me feeling optimistic.
Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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