Amazon Is Working on Smart Glasses, Meta Ray-Ban Competitor | Entrepreneur

According to a new report, Amazon is attempting to make a stronger mark in the smart glasses market, challenging industry leader Meta.

Amazon is reportedly developing a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses that overlay digital information on the physical world, enabling users to see and interact with both the physical environment and the virtual world. Sources told The Information that Amazon plans to release the AR glasses, internally called Jayhawk, to the public in late 2026 or early 2027.

Related: Apple Is Reportedly Developing AI Smart Glasses to Compete with Meta and Google

Consumers can use the glasses to navigate the real world while also getting notified about what’s happening on social media. They can play music on the glasses and take pictures. The glasses are expected to come with speakers, a microphone, and a camera. They also feature a full-color display embedded in a single lens.

Amazon is also developing a second pair of AR glasses for internal use, to help its drivers deliver packages more quickly. The glasses could be used by the second quarter of next year, according to The Information‘s report.

News of Amazon smart glasses for drivers first leaked in November. A Reuters report, citing five sources, stated that the glasses would feature a screen with navigation instructions to help drivers deliver packages to unfamiliar locations. For example, the glasses would instruct drivers to turn left or right after getting off an elevator, without them having to hold a GPS in their hands.

The smart glasses would cut down the time and cost it takes to deliver packages. Amazon’s shipping costs have steadily increased over the years, climbing from $83.5 billion in 2022 to a new high of $89.5 billion in 2023, per Statista estimates.

The glasses would also be based on the $299 Echo Frames that Amazon currently sells. The Echo Frames allow users to call, listen to music, and ask questions to Amazon’s Alexa assistant.

^{Amazon Echo Frames with Alexa. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP}

Reuters estimated that Amazon drivers deliver more than 100 packages during a standard eight-hour shift. Amazon employs 390,000 drivers, according to Labor Notes.

Related: She Sent a Cold Email to Meta Judging Its Ray-Bans. Now She Runs the Wearables Division.

If Amazon does bring AR glasses to market, it would be in direct competition with Meta, which found unexpected success with its $329 Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Since their October 2023 debut, the Ray-Ban Meta glasses have sold more than two million pairs, and Meta expanded the line earlier this year to include the sportier, more expensive $399 Oakley Meta glasses.

Both the Ray-Ban and Oakley frames allow users to talk to Meta’s AI voice assistant, listen to music, make calls, and take pictures and videos. The Oakley Meta glasses are waterproof and have a higher resolution camera.

At Meta Connect last year, the company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, previewed the next generation of augmented reality glasses that layer the physical world with holograms. He debuted a fully functioning prototype of the new glasses, called Orion, at the event, but stated that they weren’t ready to hit the market yet.

Counterpoint Research shows that Meta had 73% of the global market share for smart glasses in the first half of the year, making it the industry leader.