The idea that smart glasses may replace phones was laughable two years ago, but since then, we have gotten closer and closer to that reality. Smart glasses have evolved from a simple camera and microphone to chips and hidden displays powerful enough to run the kinds of tasks a smartphone can. With the pace at which this technology is advancing, it could very well be our next everyday consumer device.
“It’s just incredible,” sophomore Kai Parsavand said. “Technology is always advancing so fast, and smart glasses were in science fiction movies just a few years ago.”
However, the evolution of smart glasses hasn’t been smooth. Earlier attempts like Google Glass struggled with limited battery life, an awkward design and public discomfort with recording features. The most prominent issue was the bulky hardware, which was one of the reasons the device never reached mainstream use.
The only glasses that found quick popularity and success were the Meta Ray-Bans Gen 1s, but that was because they focused on a very few select features: a camera, microphone and nothing else. The camera could take photos and videos, and the microphone could use Meta’s AI. Still, these glasses did exactly what they promised.
These glasses came out two years ago, and the complaints around the lack of features dissolved with newer models introduced in 2025. One clear example of these glasses are the Meta Ray-Ban Displays. Unlike their predecessor, they include a projector in the right arm of the glasses that creates a 600-by-600-pixel image using a geometric waveguide system. Additionally, the Meta Ray-Ban Displays managed to look like standard eyeglasses and have enough hardware to operate like a small wearable computer.
“I remember the previous Meta glasses, and how those could only take photos or use [their mics] for AI,” sophomore Jack LaSalle said. “It’s just crazy how far they got in two years.”
Junior Sampath Alavilli says that having information in front of him could transform the ways he stays organized and interacts with the world for everyday simple tasks.
“I’m just thinking about it, and having something just passively sitting in front of you could be so useful for day-to-day tasks,” Alavilli said. “Instead of checking a calendar myself, it would just appear, and that would greatly minimize the work I’d have to do.”
With these advancements, privacy has become a bigger issue, especially with these devices move onto school campuses and other public spaces. A study on camera glasses found that most people don’t feel confident that the small recording indicators on wearables actually tell anyone a video is being taken, which means students may not realize when someone is filming nearby. The study also found that even the people wearing the glasses felt pressure to avoid accidentally recording friends or classmates, since it’s hard for others to tell when the camera is active.
Another study of AR glasses users in the U.S and South Korea found that privacy concerns shape how younger people think about adopting new wearable tech, especially when the devices blend in with everyday fashion. Specifically, the concerns about privacy made them more cautious about actually wearing the tech with their day-to-day clothes. They wanted to keep their fashion and technology separate.
“Of course the problem of others recording people with glasses has been a problem for a while, but since the glasses will have more features, I think a lot more people will buy them, which just makes the problem worse,” LaSalle said.
With all these advances in the smart glasses space, the question has to be asked: will the general population eventually adopt smart glasses over smartphones?
“I don’t know,” Parsavand said. “There are so many things they can do but so many things they can’t do. Feature-wise, my phone can still do a lot more than those glasses can.”
But Alavilli believes it could happen with time. “Something crazy to keep in mind is that the Meta Ray Ban Displays are the first pair of smart glasses that can do this much,” Alavilli said. “They are only going to get better. It’s like the smartwatch. It started by only tracking your health and maybe showing notifications, but now if you wanted you could put an entire SIM into it and essentially use it like a phone.”
AirPods also followed this trend. When they were first introduced, people were skeptical and continued to prefer using wired headphones. Today, more people have wireless headphones than people who do not. Apply the same logic to smart glasses and you can see how they might just be the next smartphone replacement.
But, the transition away from phones will not happen overnight. We can expect a long period where these devices continue to exist side by side. Until a pair of smart glasses can be a stand alone device with no compromises, it won’t replace the smartphone.
“They’re not entirely there yet, but I think the wearables will become much more popular now, which will speed along their development process,” Alavilli said.
If their popularity continues, and people are still invested, the device that has shaped daily life for years might eventually be replaced by something that sits quietly on the bridge of a nose. Always on and always ready, without anyone having to pull it out of their pocket.
