Every generation has its watershed device.
In the 1970s, it was companies like Apple and Commodore that ushered in the first wave of home computing with the Apple II and the PET.
In the late 1980s, compact cassette and portable tape players like the Walkman allowed millions of people to listen to their own personalized soundtrack with them on the go.
In 2007, Apple once again changed the game with the iPhone. That now-ubiquitous piece of tech collapsed multiple categories into a single portable computer and rewired global communication in the process.
Each of these devices changed the world in ways we can still feel even in 2025.
And today, another revolutionary device is poised to introduce a new technological leap we’ll be talking about for decades to come.
The race to develop the next generation of slick, AI-forward wearables is on. But it’s not about the next evolution of the Apple Watch or a sharp new set of earbuds.
2025 will be the year that AI smart glasses finally take off…
The Ghost of Google Glass
Now, I know there’s no shortage of skeptics out there. After all, smart glasses haven’t had the best track record.
I’m sure many of you remember the roll-out of Google Glass. A lot of consumers were initially excited when Google released these smart glasses back in 2014.
Honestly, Google Glass had a lot going for it – the tech had a stylish form factor (by 2014 standards) combined with Google’s OS. A single wearable that gave users the ability to do everything from record video to translate speech hands-free.
It seemed like the most transformative bit of tech to come along since that pivotal iPhone reveal back in 2007.
Source: Google
But Google Glass ultimately (and predictably) flopped. At the end of the day, the technology simply was not ready for prime time.
The gadget was undone by laggy, unresponsive software that didn’t work as well as advertised. And the AI capabilities needed to make features like speech translation work well and consistently weren’t there yet.
It was a similar story with another wearable Snap desperately tried to make happen…
But once again, a lack of apps, a laggy display, and the prospect of wearing bulky goggles that were more Devo than GQ put many consumers off the supposed “hot-ticket” item on release.
Source: Snap
Unlike Google Glass, Snap’s dedication to their product is admirable – you can still find the latest fifth generation Spectacles in stores. However, it doesn’t seem that many are very keen on owning a pair any time soon.
At one point, Snap actually wrote off over $40 million worth of its unsold Spectacles inventory. They just couldn’t attract the sales. And that tells you everything you need to know about where Snap is on the smart glasses adoption curve.
It’s safe to say the previous generations of smart glasses just couldn’t nail what makes this tech so compelling.
The technology wasn’t cutting-edge enough to convince consumers that wearing a clunky science project on their faces was better than a simple pair of glasses.
They failed to execute on what the iPhone and the first wave of home computers did before them…
They condensed multiple categories of work and communication into one slick, easy-to-use package. Everything from the tech to the form factor simply worked.
Smart glasses clearly already had their “emperor is wearing no clothes” moment.
But where those earlier iterations just couldn’t stack up, the story is totally different for this tech in 2025.
The Meta Is Changing
Over a decade removed from the first wave of smart glasses, conditions have finally aligned for AI smart glasses to succeed. New players are entering the competition, and consumers are already buying them up in droves.
Since their 2023 launch, Meta Platforms has sold more than two million pairs of its Ray-Ban Meta glasses — far surpassing the roughly 300,000 units sold by earlier models from Google and Snap.
Disclosure: For the sake of transparency — I personally own shares of Meta (META) in my own account. I’m sharing my perspective for educational purposes only, and you should always do your own research before making trading decisions.
Meanwhile in China, Xiaomi blew through early targets. The company moved 80,000 units in just two weeks. Those gangbuster sales forced the company to raise its 2025 projection to half a million units.
These numbers are promising, andthis is just the beginning.
The market for AI smart glasses is already valued around $1.3 billion – and it’s projected to reach over $3 billion by 2035. That’s growth at a compound annual growth (CAGR) of 11.09% from 2025 to 2032.
So it’s really not a question of if AI smart glasses will finally have their iPhone moment.
AI glasses will become the new “front door” to the digital world. And at the rate consumers are buying them up, they could replace or at least displace the smartphone as our primary interface over the next decade.
When that happens, investors who see it early are the ones who will capture all the generational upside.
What Makes These AI Glasses Truly Smart
Unlike those earlier misfires, the technology and form factor have completely caught up to the ambitious design principles companies like Google and Snap tried (and failed) to implement over the last decade.
Just take a look at Meta’s latest pair of Ray-Ban branded glasses:
Source: Ray-Ban
The key differences between the technological advances of today and the last decade are already clear at a glance.
This is because Meta has partnered with the Goliath of Glasses-makers, EssilorLuxottica. For those unfamiliar, the company was formed as a merger in 2018 between Essilor — a premiere lens manufacturer, and Luxottica — the world’s largest luxury frame makers responsible for brands like Oakley, Prada, Chanel, Versace and of course, Ray-Ban.
Source: SEC.gov
As of 2025, Forbes estimates EsilorLuxottica controls around 25% of the global eyewear market.
This strategic partnership not only gives Meta access to their partner’s extensive catalog of fashion eyewear brands and designers, it also provides them a built-in retail platform.
Luxottica’s portfolio boasts a bevy of eyewear retail chains including Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and more.
Notice how these sunglasses actually look like a regular pair of wayfarers. No distracting hardware along the rim of the glasses. Just a sleek pair of glasses with tiny cameras embedded in the rims. I bet most people wouldn’t even notice the cameras.
Now that we know this tech is no longer an eyesore or limited to gimmicky displays in retailers’ tech aisles, we can start to focus on what’s under the hood with the massive leaps Meta has made with AI.
Meta’s glasses can now translate speech in real time, identify products in any store you visit at a glance, and even summarize lengthy business meetings in an instant.
None of this was practical with the technology available a decade ago.In the decade ahead, the use cases here are obvious – and endless.
Imagine a doctor glancing at a patient and instantly seeing vitals, history, or step-by-step guidance right in their field of vision. No clipboards. No glancing away. Just total focus on care.
Or think about an engineer fixing a machine the size of a house. Instead of flipping through a manual, every part is labeled, every wire highlighted, and a remote expert can literally draw instructions into the air where they’re needed.
Smart glasses can also do something no phone ever could: boost your memory. Imagine someone walking up to you at a conference and their name, company, and the last thing you spoke about appears right above their shoulder. You’re never caught off guard again.
These are all daily, repeatable, and – most important of all – sticky functions. And unlike the previous generation of “smart glasses,” we don’t have to wait to see how cool all of these features might be some day.
The tech and form factor are finally at a place where these glasses can do everything it says on the tin.
That means mass adoption is no longer some far-off dream. It’s right in front of us, waiting to happen.
But while companies like Meta are leading the race to get sleek AI wearables to market – I’m not recommending anyone buy Meta right now.
The truth is, Meta may be selling the goods – but the real opportunity lies with a whole wave of stocks powering the key tech behind these devices.
The Stocks Powering the Rise of AI Smart Glasses
One of the most important and underappreciated aspects of the smartphone revolution is that most of the life-changing gains from the iPhone didn’t come from Apple.
The real windfalls were in the supply chain. And that’s true whether you’re Apple introducing the world to one of the most advanced devices on the planet or Nintendo releasing a new gaming console like the Switch 2.
Skyworks (SWKS) ran +1,000% making RF chips for everything from retailers to automakers.
Broadcom (AVGO) turned into a multi-bagger on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth sockets.
And Corning (GLW) made its Gorilla Glass the ubiquitous material that allows our iPhones to withstand falls from a great distance without cracking.
Nobody camped out at Apple stores to buy those stocks. But they were the quiet 10X trades all the same.
That’s the setup we see again today.
This is not a speculative “metaverse” dream. There’s a real bill of materials here — with public companies you can buy today.
I’ve discovered seven stocks that are fueling the massive overhaul of AI smart glasses.
Each one of these players is supplying the key silicon, optical components, and AI muscle to power this new generation of smart glasses.
Here are the major picks I’m watching right now:
- Core Silicon: Qualcomm (QCOM) supplies the Snapdragon AR1 platform already inside Meta’s glasses.
- Optics & Eyewear: EssilorLuxottica ADR (ESLOY) manufactures and distributes Ray-Ban and Oakley frames.
- Audio & Voice Interface: Knowles (KN), Cirrus Logic (CRUS) — MEMS mics and audio processors.
- Connectivity: Skyworks (SWKS), Qorvo (QRVO) — RF front ends for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth.
- Displays: Kopin (KOPN) — micro displays, speculative but leveraged to HUD adoption.
- Materials: Corning (GLW) — specialty glass and optics for future display models.
- Cloud AI Backbone: NVIDIA (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), Marvell (MRVL), AMD (AMD) — the data-center muscle behind multimodal AI.
The UOA Edge
Right now, the only name that probably stands out on this list for most of us is Nvidia.
All those other names? They’re the biggest supply-side players around. But for most investors, they might as well be invisible.
Stocks like Knowles and Corning may not grab the big headlines. But they do something even more important – they move markets.
Now, here’s where my background matters.
I learned to follow Unusual Options Activity (UOA) as a market maker on the floor of the CBOE. That’s where institutions reveal their hand — when big money starts flowing into calls on a stock most investors aren’t even watching yet.
It happened in Broadcom before the iPhone boom. And make no mistake: I expect it to happen again in the stocks fueling this big moment for AI glasses.
Names like KN, CRUS, KOPN, GLW, SWKS, QRVO aren’t crowded. They’re overlooked — until the smart money tips its hand.
With UOA, I’ll see it first, and I’ll bring it to you.
If you think this call sounds crazy, just remember… So did the idea of carrying a computer in your pocket in 2006.
But it makes sense.
AI smart glasses will create another watershed moment just like the iPhone and the first home computer before them.
That’s the future barreling toward us. And the real money won’t be in Meta alone — it will be in the supply chain, in the quiet enablers poised for 10X runs.
This is our edge. And this is where the money’s going.
The question isn’t whether AI glasses will have their iPhone moment. The question is whether you’ll be positioned for the supply chain explosion that follows.
When I see unusual options activity lighting up in names like Knowles, Skyworks, or Kopin, that’s when we know the smart money is making its move.
And that’s exactly the kind of edge we focus on in the Masters in Trading Challenge.
This seven-day intensive shows you how to spot institutional money flow before it hits the headlines. How to identify the supply chain plays that 10X while everyone else is chasing the obvious names.
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Because when the AI glasses revolution goes mainstream, the biggest winners won’t be the companies everyone’s talking about. They’ll be the ones nobody saw coming.
You can click here to learn more and sign up for The Masters in Trading Options Challenge.
The creative trader wins,
Jonathan Rose
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