"Is the 'NVIDIA Corporation Moment' of AI smart glasses coming soon? Meta's smart glasses priced at over $1000 target Apple Inc.'s ecosystem."

Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms Inc. (META.US) is accelerating the development of its popular smart glasses with the high-end Deluxe Corporation version, planning to embed a more advanced and powerful AI large model system, and adding gesture control capabilities as well as a high-definition screen for displaying photos and other applications separately. According to sources, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is set to release the first smart glasses with a high-definition electronic screen by the end of this year, seen as a key step for Meta to challenge Apple Inc.'s iPhone and other mobile consumer electronics devices in the smart consumer electronics market dominance. The intelligent glasses, codenamed "Hypernova", are expected to be priced at over $1000, with the possibility of reaching up to $1300 to $1400. Sources indicate that the final price may only be determined closer to the release date. Meta's most popular AI smart glasses, the Ray-Ban Meta, have a starting price of $299, with market sales performance exceeding expectations. Meta has stated that they will continue to sell this entry-level smart glasses product in the future and hope to use its popularity to drive users towards more upscale models. In addition, tech giants such as Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) have also promised to launch new AI-based smart glasses to compete better with this social media giant in the smart glasses sector. The global macroeconomic and digital lifestyle transformations are driving the growth of global consumer electronics users' demand for smart Information Services Group, Inc. that are efficient, convenient, and accessible anywhere and anytime. Smart glasses, as a lightweight, wearable terminal consumer electronic product, can provide immersive, customized, real-time Information Services Group, Inc. in various scenarios such as office work, traveling, entertainment, and health monitoring. The comprehensive introduction of generative AI functions will further enrich the scale of applications in these scenarios, such as providing personalized recommendations through real-time data analysis, offering real-time accurate translation content based on AI functions, significantly improving travel, quality of life, and personal work efficiency. For the AI smart glasses industry led by Meta, the consumer electronic products most likely to benefit from the updates and iterations of AI large model technology on the endpoint, can fully leverage the continuous updates and iterations of cloud-based + consumer electronic endpoint generative AI large models, providing users with more intuitive, immersive, and personalized artificial intelligence experiences, perhaps ushering in their "NVIDIA Corporation moment" - a moment when the company's stock price and sales surge simultaneously. Meta's thousand-dollar smart glasses Hypernova shockingly revealed: gesture control + monocular screen, targeting Apple Inc. ecosystem The significant increase in the price of Meta's new smart glasses is almost entirely due to its innovative high-definition screen configuration - a monocular screen located in the lower right quadrant of the right lens. This means that the information users need will only be displayed in front of the wearer's right eye, rather than covering the entire screen area, with the clearest view when looking slightly downwards. Sources indicate that Meta's smart glasses team has begun developing a second-generation product (codenamed Hypernova 2), with the major difference being the use of a more advanced and intuitive binocular-level display system, equipped with two high-definition electronic screens to display information in both eyes. Sources say that this second-generation consumer electronic device is tentatively scheduled for release in 2027. The smart glasses with screens will be another milestone for Meta to move towards true "augmented reality (AR) + AI" smart glasses. The company has previously previewed related technologies. The breakthrough smart glasses operation logic can be seen from the Hypernova first-generation prototype system: At startup: The screen will highlight the "startup screen", displaying the logos of Meta and partners (such as smart glasses core chip manufacturer Qualcomm). Main interface: It will display horizontally arranged circular icons, similar to the application dock on Apple Inc.'s smart devices or the application layout of Meta Quest mixed reality headsets. Built-in exclusive applications: The smart glasses will include exclusive applications such as taking photos, viewing photos, map navigation, etc., with support for side notifications to receive real-time messages from paired smartphone apps (including Messenger and WhatsApp). Other functions will be similar to the current Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer style smart glasses, including taking real-time images/videos, calling AI functions through the built-in microphone, making phone calls through a smartphone, and playing music. The new version is expected to still heavily rely on the Meta View smartphone application. Like Meta's other new consumer electronics devices, the smart glasses will run a customized version of Alphabet Inc. Class C's Android operating system. It is currently unknown whether it will include an exclusive app store. Users can operate the glasses through capacitive touch on the temples - swiping the temples to browse apps or photos and clicking to select specific content. Meta also plans to launch the "Neural Wristband" series of side products (codenamed Ceres) for the first time, allowing wearers to control Meta smart glasses with gestures, such as rotating their palms to scroll through content or pinching their fingers to select items. This accessory is intended to be bundled with the glasses. Meta also plans to upgrade the smart camera system. In terms of the camera, Meta believes that the current 12-megapixel camera is only equivalent to the 2019 iPhone 11, while the new goal is to match the 2021 iPhone 13. In addition, a triangular prism-shaped folding storage box will also be introduced.Product code: HeresThe Hypernova smart glasses are still several months away from official release, and the current plan may still be subject to adjustments. After all, Meta is known for making modifications to products or even canceling projects in the late stages of development - about 18 months ago, the company unexpectedly discontinued the camera-less version of Ray-Ban Meta (codenamed Luna). This design was originally intended to reduce costs and enhance privacy protection. In addition to Hypernova, Meta is also working on the development of the screenless smart glasses Supernova 2. According to media reports, its intelligent operating logic is similar to the current Ray-Ban Meta, but it adopts Oakley's glasses design, focusing on sports scenes such as cycling, and has recently started public environment testing. The upcoming Hypernova 2, scheduled to be launched in 2027, will partially overlap with the true "AR+AI" mode smart glasses research and development of Meta. The latter needs to superimpose interactive images, videos, and information on the real world, with technology requirements much higher than Hypernova's simple forward-looking high-definition display, and much more expensive development costs. Media reports earlier stated that the AR mode smart glasses prototype Orion unveiled by Meta last year is currently only used for internal software testing and application development testing at Meta, and may eventually be opened to developers; the first product aimed at the general consumer market is more likely to be a future model Artemis, expected to be released no earlier than 2027. Insiders have revealed that Reality Labs, a division of Meta responsible for developing AI smart glasses and AR consumer electronics products, is still discussing product development plans and related details internally, such as whether to merge the Artemis and Hypernova product lines or introduce them separately at different price points. Smart glasses may be the best endpoint carrier for artificial intelligence technology. According to the market research firm Counterpoint Research's "Global Smart Glasses Model Shipment Tracking Report", global smart glasses shipments in 2024 increased by 210% year-on-year, mainly driven by strong demand for Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Therefore, the total global smart glasses market tracked by Counterpoint Research exceeded 2 million units for the first time in 2024, achieving unprecedented growth. According to the firm's definition, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are the first AI smart glasses in the market. They are equipped with SoC with integrated NPU, advanced cameras, and audio components. These technologies enable core intelligent functions, such as photo/video capture and audio playback, while supporting a wide range of applications with on-device AI algorithms, smartphone-based edge AI, and Llama AI models. Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have redefined AI smart glasses in terms of definition and user experience. Before their launch, early smart glasses primarily focused on hardware improvements, such as connectivity, audio, and battery life, to address issues such as sound leakage, inaccurate voice pickup, and limited wearing time. While upgrades expanded voice assistant functions, they did not fundamentally change the user experience. After the release of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, global demand for smart glasses surged. According to Counterpoint's "Global Smart Glasses Model Shipment Tracking Report", global smart glasses shipments increased by 156% year-on-year in 2023 and by 210% in 2024, with Meta occupying more than 60% of the market share in 2024. With the rapid development of edge computing, 5G networks, and artificial intelligence technology, edge consumer electronics devices are increasingly capable of real-time data processing and seamless interaction with cloud-based AI models. This enables smart glasses to not only collect real-time environmental data (such as visuals, sounds, and location information) but also to interact with cloud-based AI models for real-time generative AI applications, such as certain complex AI workloads being completed in the cloud AI computing system, while real-time or sensitive tasks are handled locally, such as voice interaction, real-time translation, augmented reality navigation, and context-based information overlay. Counterpoint said that with the successful launch of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, a wave of new AI smart glasses has emerged, from reference design products provided by supply chain companies to commercial products launched by glasses brand manufacturers, all after the end of 2024. The firm expects that in 2025, leading smartphone companies such as Xiaomi, Samsung, and Transsion will introduce their first AI smart glasses, and more intelligent device companies may gradually enter the market in 2025 and 2026. Counterpoint predicts that the global smart glasses market will achieve a year-on-year growth of 60% in 2025 and maintain an average annual compound growth rate of over 60% from 2025 to 2029.