Why smart glasses could be the next big gadget hit in 2026

Jared Blikre , Brooke DiPalma and Yahoo Finance Video

Thu, February 19, 2026 at 8:00 PM GMT+9

In this video:

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Smart glasses 2.0 are here - and this year they could be huge.

In this episode of Stocks in Translation, BNP Paribas Equity Research Equity Analyst David O’Connor joins host Jared Blikre and Yahoo Finance Senior Reporter Brooke DiPalma to discuss the booming market for AR glasses. With shipments projected to grow over 50% this year, smart glasses are finally shedding their “science project” image. O’Connor explains how next-gen features, lighter form factors, and Apple’s (AAPL) AI-focused wearables could make these devices must-haves of 2026.

Check out the full episode here.

Twice a week, Stocks In Translation cuts through the market mayhem, noisy numbers and hyperbole to give you the information you need to make the right trade for your portfolio. You can find more episodes here, or watch on your** favorite streaming service****.**

This post was written by Lauren Pokedoff

Video Transcript

00:00 Speaker A

This episode is brought to you by the number 53%. That’s the projected year-over-year growth in AR glasses shipments this year, which is kind of wild because smart glasses were supposed to be the next big thing last decade, and instead they turned into a very expensive science project. But here’s where they might finally have a brighter future. Apple’s reportedly planning up work on AI focused wearables including those smart glasses as part of a push towards AI hardware, built around Siri and visual contacts.

00:36 Speaker A

So David, how are you thinking about these next gen glasses evolving and what sort of features do they kind of need to have in order for users to think that they’re worth buying here.

00:46 David

Yeah, interesting. So moving over to the consumer side. It’s uh, you know, uh we were at CES in January, the big obviously electronics show happens every January in Las Vegas. and I would say every second booth at the show was pretty much around AR glasses.

01:07 Speaker A

Oh, wow.

01:07 David

Um lots of Asian suppliers, um you know, showing their wares basically. Uh lots of US companies involved in this. So certainly you can feel that the technology is now on that cusp of adoption. Uh and for for sure, I think this year we’re going to see it as a as probably the number one holiday product would be my guess.

01:34 David

Um, you know, the uh AR glasses are not new to your point. You know, they’ve been around many years, but the the form factor wasn’t there. The technology wasn’t quite ready, the use case as well. I think now, you know, the uh the form factor is there, they’re now light enough with the technology that we can actually wear. So the tech is there, the form factor and uh from here it’s just all about the features. So still maybe lagging a bit on the features, I would say. Um it’s a bit more space invader still, I think, uh you know, to draw an analogy from gaming. Uh but they’re progressing very fast and I think uh you know, they’re um going forward, I would see AR glasses as kind of, yeah, on that kind of the knee of the curve here in terms of uh where they’re about to about to take off. So very uh I must say I came away from CS uh pretty excited around AR glasses.

02:30 Speaker C

What about some of the other wearables like uh there there have been pins that you just wear on your vest, your your shirt, your lapel and I’ve I’ve seen these over the last few years and the first ones just didn’t get any traction, but now you’ve got Apple supposedly getting into the game. Uh where do you think that space ends up?

02:51 David

Yeah, I think uh, you know, there’s multiple other accessories that kind of come and go. Uh but I think the the big guys, guys like Apple, guy like guys like Meta, you know, are really focused on kind of uh things like AR glasses, lots of news flow out there around that. So it’s more on those devices than kind of more than the accessory side of things. Uh yeah, the the accessories it’s uh it’s tricky. I I I would say uh, you know, depending on the different different gadgets.

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