AI glasses shipments hit 4.2 million in 1H26, up 127%

Omdia's 1H26 figures show an AI glasses category that is growing fast but from a very low base, which is why the 127% year-on-year jump lands on just 4.2 million units worldwide. The concentration behind that number is the striking part: Meta shipped 3.4 million of those units, an 81.3% share, so the global story is largely one company's momentum. Qiran Ju, a senior analyst at Omdia, credits Meta's continued momentum plus a wave of new Chinese entrants, and notes that vendors have made the pitch simple for buyers — hands-free photo and video capture, open-ear audio, and AI assistance inside ordinary-looking frames.

The divergence between markets is the other thread. The US remains by far the largest market, while mainland China is acting as both a supply chain hub and a testbed for different hardware setups; its shipments rose 306% year-on-year in 1H26. Yet China stays fragmented, with Alibaba, INMO, and Xiaomi together accounting for just 46.1% of shipments. Even Realities illustrates the alternative-design route, moving from fifth place in 2H25 to second in 1H26 on 102,000 units and a 2.4% share, by stripping out camera and speakers and leaning on a slim frame, a monochrome display, and real-time transcription. Jason Low, Omdia's research director, reads that as early evidence that no single design fits all uses, a trend he expects to define the global market as form factors and features multiply.

The open question is whether privacy scrutiny becomes the brake. Low argues that settings and messaging will not be enough, and that companies need to define what always-on cameras capture, show users how the content is used, and guarantee it never reaches third parties. Whether that pressure reshapes product design — or simply adds a compliance cost as volumes climb — is likely the test for the second half.