AI / AR Smart Glasses

Snap has launched its latest version of Specs, priced at about $2,200, with a more expensive version around $2,400 that does not require Wi-Fi to use, and a new partnership with Verizon to sell them. On Yahoo Finance, Payne Capital Management President Ryan Payne joined Julie Hyman and Jake Conley to debate who the target buyer is and what the real-world use case is for the product. Payne said he does not understand the buyer or the use case outside very specific scenarios, and raised litigation concerns about recording conversations in states where consent is required. The panel noted Snap's stock is down roughly 90% over the last five years and compared the glasses to past products like the stylus and flip phone that failed to win mainstream adoption, while also pointing to Meta's similar efforts. The discussion also touched on the recording feature, with the group noting that wearing such glasses could become socially suspicious.

Snap Inc. announced that Ronan Harris was appointed Chief Commercial Officer to lead global advertising sales and go-to-market efforts, while Chief Business Officer Ajit Mohan plans to depart the company at the end of 2026. Harris brings nearly four years of experience running Snap's Europe, Middle East and Africa business and more than seventeen years at Google, where he helped build its advertising operations across the region. The appointment comes alongside Snap's push to make AR a meaningful revenue driver, following the public launch of Specs AR glasses in June 2026. Snap's narrative projects $8.1 billion revenue and $384.0 million earnings by 2029, requiring 10.0% yearly revenue growth and a $793.9 million earnings increase from -$409.9 million today. Some of the lowest ranked analysts assume revenue reaches about US$8.1 billion and earnings just US$14.8 million by 2029.

OpenAI has acquired Glass Imaging, a startup working on creating a smartphone camera, according to The Wall Street Journal. The acquisition valued Glass Imaging at more than $300M, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The startup, founded by ex-Apple employees, had raised roughly $30M from investors. It is unclear what OpenAI will do with the team and technology from Glass Imaging, but the Sam Altman-led company is working on a series of smart devices set to be released in the coming months, one of which could be a smart speaker in the shape of a puck costing more than $300. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.

Apple is expected to announce its biggest iPhone update in history, including its first foldable phone, at an event led by new CEO John Ternus. The company will likely reveal the foldable alongside iPhone 18 Pro models, Apple Watch Series 12, AirPods 5, and updates to MacBook and home products, with more details on Siri AI. It's also Apple's first big event to be led by new CEO John Ternus. The foldable, expected to cost around $2,000 for the base model, would help Apple compete with Samsung and give Ternus a flashy new product as he begins his tenure. Apple's price hikes of 15% to 33% across Mac, iPad, and home devices, due to a memory chip shortage, and a disappointing revenue forecast for the fiscal fourth quarter, add to the scrutiny of this launch.

John Ternus becomes Apple Inc.'s chief executive officer on Sept. 1, stepping into the role with an immediate product launch cycle and a company under pressure to close the gap with rivals in artificial intelligence. Tim Cook, who led Apple for 15 years, moves to executive chairman on the same date, and Art Levinson becomes lead independent director. Ternus's first major public test comes on Sept. 9, when Apple hosts a product launch event expected to feature its first foldable iPhone, new Apple Watches, and a rebuilt Siri powered by large language models. Apple's AI position is the most consequential issue Ternus inherits, with the company facing criticism over Siri's delayed overhaul and a decision to rebuild Siri using Google's Gemini technology. Ternus also oversees a broader set of hardware products, including AirPods with cameras and smart glasses, some of which have been delayed due to AI software readiness. On his final earnings call, Cook highlighted Apple's on-device AI processing as a strategic advantage, while Ternus is expected to rely on COO Sabih Khan and CFO Kevan Parekh for supply chain and financial challenges, including a persistent chip shortage.

PatentVest's new PV Pulse report finds that Apple and Microsoft hold some of the strongest AI-capability patent positions in the AI smart glasses category, despite neither selling a product. Apple's validated portfolio of an estimated 1,550 patent families outranks Google's and Snap's, ranking in the top three across all measured AI capability areas, while Microsoft's AR-rendering portfolio of 409 families nearly ties Meta's 445. Meta holds the largest validated portfolio overall at approximately 1,900 families, and Samsung's widely cited 1,525-family count is misleading, with Samsung Electronics' legitimate glasses-system portfolio closer to 550 families. EssilorLuxottica, Meta's manufacturing partner, holds about 530 validated families, more than XREAL, Xiaomi, and Vuzix combined. The report analyzes 12 companies and is available on PatentVest's insights page.

Emdoor Information released its 2026 interim report, with net profit attributable to the parent company soaring 1,614.8% year on year to 196 million yuan. The company's operating revenue was 2.75 billion yuan, up 80.7% year on year; net profit attributable to the parent after deducting non-recurring items was 103 million yuan, up 756.3% year on year; net operating cash flow was negative 744 million yuan, down 134.2% year on year. In the second quarter, operating revenue was 1.61 billion yuan, up 65.9% year on year, and net profit attributable to the parent was 153 million yuan, up 1,076.4% year on year. The company said that, influenced by the wave of AI technology in the global consumer electronics industry, the sector is undergoing a structural recovery. The company continues to deepen its AI-plus core development strategy. Operating revenue from smart hardware products grew 59.23%, XR and AIoT business grew 133.29%, and domestic substitution business grew 51.72%.

Speed Wireless Technology announced that the company plans to issue A-shares to specific investors to raise total proceeds of no more than 1.096 billion yuan. After deducting issuance expenses, the funds will be used for a server cooling module project, a lightweight radio frequency component project for smart glasses, a low-earth orbit satellite communication antenna and module project, and to supplement working capital.

Shuobeide announced on the evening of August 12 that it plans to raise no more than 1.096 billion yuan through a private placement, to be used for server cooling modules, lightweight radio frequency components for smart glasses, low-earth-orbit satellite communication antennas and modules, and to supplement working capital. The server cooling module project has a total investment of 445 million yuan, with 375 million yuan planned from the raised funds. The smart glasses lightweight radio frequency component project has a total investment of 257 million yuan, with 231 million yuan planned from the raised funds. The low-earth-orbit satellite communication antenna and module project has a total investment of 215 million yuan, with 189 million yuan planned from the raised funds. Another 300 million yuan is planned to supplement working capital. The company said that because the projects funded by the placement will not generate benefits in the short term, this issuance may lead to a short-term decline in return on equity and diluted earnings per share, but as the projects are gradually completed and put into production, they are expected to increase main business revenue and improve profitability. Shuobeide disclosed in its earnings forecast on July 15 that it expects net profit attributable to the parent company for the first half of 2026 to be between 24 million and 27 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 19.48 percent to 28.42 percent, mainly due to rising memory component prices, higher raw material costs, and increased pre-production investment in some new projects. As of the close on August 12, the company's share price was 18.40 yuan, with a total market value of 8.465 billion yuan.

Warby Parker announced the launch of its first Intelligent Eyewear collection in collaboration with Google Gemini and Samsung, marking its entry into smart wearables. The collection integrates with Google Gemini and Samsung technology platforms, extending the company's product range beyond traditional prescription and sun eyewear into connected devices. The launch comes as Warby Parker reported positive net income of US$4.64 million in its latest quarter and reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of US$959 million to US$976 million. The product is expected to roll out in fall 2026, with investors watching for early demand signals such as unit volumes and attach rates to prescriptions.

Rokid announced its Thousand Creator Program at a Happy Hour event in Mountain View, California, offering 1,000 Ai Glasses Style Packs at complimentary or exclusive creator pricing to creators of all stages. Creators with over 1,000 followers can apply for a complimentary Style Pack, while emerging creators can purchase one for US$199. The company also introduced the Rokid Agent Store and YodaOS to the U.S. market, expanding its AI ecosystem with a platform for custom AI agentic experiences and a spatial computing operating system. Additionally, a limited-time sale offers 50% off a second pair of Rokid Ai Glasses Style on Amazon and the official webstore.

Rokid has launched its AI-powered smart glasses in Toronto, marking the company's official entry into the North American market. The Rokid Glasses support prescription lenses, and the company has partnered with Markham-based optical supplier Ming's Optical to offer a wide range of prescription options, which may qualify for insurance reimbursement in Canada. The glasses feature real-time AI translation in 89 languages, a 12MP camera, and a Micro-LED display, and are priced at CA$999 for the standard model and CA$549 for the Style variant, with introductory discounts of CA$100 off each through August 31. Rokid also introduced its AI Agent Store and AI UI framework in Canada, inviting local developers to build new AI experiences. The launch follows Rokid's recent entry into European markets and a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign in Japan that raised nearly US$4,000,000.

Meta Platforms is set to report its second-quarter 2026 financial results after the U.S. market closes on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Consensus Analyst Estimates project revenue of approximately $60.17 billion, representing 26.63% year-over-year growth, while earnings per share are expected to be $7.13, a slight decline of 0.14% from the prior year. The company has beaten Zacks Consensus Estimates for 13 consecutive quarters, with an average surprise of 12.31% over the past four quarters. The options market is pricing in a post-earnings move of plus or minus 7.3% in Meta shares, which have fallen 15.2% over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500's 18.6% gain. Key areas of focus include soaring capital expenditures, with full-year 2026 capex expected between $125 billion and $145 billion, potential AI infrastructure partnerships such as a rumored multi-billion-dollar deal with Anthropic, and the performance of the Reality Labs hardware and metaverse division.

Meta Platforms is funding a $125 billion to $145 billion AI capital expenditure plan entirely from its own cash, even as the stock fell 8.79% in the past week on AI fatigue. In the first quarter of 2026, the company posted $56.31 billion in revenue, with ad impressions up 19% year over year and average price per ad up 12%, while earnings per share of $10.44 beat consensus by 57% for a fifth straight quarter. Free cash flow reached $12.39 billion, and the company returned $26.25 billion to shareholders through buybacks in 2025, supported by an operating margin of 41.44% and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. By contrast, Alphabet reported negative $5.86 billion in free cash flow and suspended its buyback program in the second quarter of 2026. Reality Labs lost $4.03 billion in the first quarter, but the Family of Apps segment generated $55.9 billion in revenue, roughly 140 times the Reality Labs figure, cushioning the risk. Prediction markets give a 96.3% probability of another earnings beat when Meta reports on July 29.

Qualcomm is planning significant double-digit price increases on select products, citing higher supplier costs and ongoing supply shortages. The company is also deepening its partnership with Samsung to use advanced Snapdragon platforms across Galaxy mobile devices, wearables, and augmented reality products. These moves highlight changes in Qualcomm's pricing approach and its expanding role within the broader Galaxy device ecosystem.

Wetour Robotics has outlined Orchestra, a portable AI hub and operating system for wearable robotics powered by the NVIDIA Jetson platform. Orchestra centralizes AI processing in a dedicated edge computing unit to enable real-time visual perception, gesture recognition, and multi-device coordination for devices such as smart glasses, gesture-control wristbands, and body-worn sensors. The system utilizes two core technology modules: Vision-Link, which processes real-time visual input and translates visual context into actionable commands, and Conductor, which reads electromyographic signals from the wearer's wrist to recognize continuous hand gestures and convert them into precise control commands for connected devices like exoskeletons and robotic arms. The company intends to explore open interface protocols to allow third-party hardware manufacturers to build on the Orchestra platform while retaining proprietary capabilities in its core intelligence engine.

MicroEJ has unveiled VEE Audio, a software platform designed to transform connected audio devices into intelligent sound platforms with app ecosystems, direct-to-cloud services, and built-in agentic AI. The platform targets earbuds, headsets, speakers, soundbars, and smart glasses, enabling them to operate independently of smartphones on power-efficient hardware without costly redesigns. The program launches with the Snapdragon S7 Series as the lead silicon partner, and VEE Audio is already proven on the Snapdragon S7+ Gen 1 Sound Platform. MicroEJ says the modular, agent-based architecture allows app providers to build once and deploy across any VEE Audio-powered device, while device makers benefit from faster time to market, over-the-air updates, and software reuse across product lines. The company plans to announce additional ecosystem partners in the coming months.

Qualcomm Technologies introduced the Snapdragon Reality Elite platform on June 16, designed to support next-generation immersive spatial computing and mixed reality devices. The platform features significant hardware upgrades delivering substantial improvements in GPU, CPU, and NPU performance, enabling higher visual fidelity and faster, more complex mixed reality scenarios. It provides 48 TOPS of processing power for on-device generative AI, allowing large vision and language models to run directly on the device, enhancing contextual awareness, tracking precision, and real-time interaction. The platform also achieves up to 20% longer battery life and cooler operating temperatures than previous iterations, with the XREAL Project Aura set to be the first device to feature the new technology.