The smartphone has shaped how we interact with technology for nearly two decades. In 2026, that dominance is beginning to share space with devices worn on the face, ears, wrist, and clothing—not because phones are disappearing, but because AI is moving into more specialised interfaces.[1]

At CES 2026, Forbes described wearable AI as an emerging battleground for interaction with intelligent systems, highlighting glasses, audio devices, and other products designed to provide summaries, translation, note-taking, and contextual assistance.[2]

1. Smart Glasses Are Having a Real Moment

Smart glasses are no longer limited to laboratory demonstrations. IDC reported that global XR-device shipments grew 44.4% year over year in 2025, driven primarily by the rapid adoption of smart glasses while traditional virtual- and mixed-reality headsets declined.[1]

The term “smart glasses” covers several different products, including audio glasses, camera-equipped frames, display glasses, and more advanced augmented-reality devices. These categories differ significantly in price, capability, battery life, and adoption.

IDC forecasts smart-glasses shipments of approximately 13.6 million units in 2026, representing growth of 41.4% year over year, and expects the category to approach 27.3 million units by 2030.[3]

Meta remains the leading force in the wider XR market, supported by its Ray-Ban and Oakley smart-glasses products. IDC reported that Meta held 72.2% of the global XR market in 2025, although that figure includes the company’s broader XR portfolio rather than smart glasses alone.[1]

Display-enabled glasses remain a smaller and more technically demanding segment, but IDC expects them to gain momentum and potentially surpass traditional VR and MR headsets by 2027.[1]

Apple is also reported to be developing smart glasses. Earlier reports suggested a late-2026 or early-2027 target, but more recent reporting indicates a possible unveiling at WWDC 2027, with commercial availability later that year. Apple has not officially confirmed the product or timetable.[4]

2. Screenless Ambient Wearables Remain Experimental

The most radical idea in this category is the device with no display at all. Screenless AI products aim to capture speech or other context, then turn it into transcripts, summaries, reminders, and searchable memories.

Limitless became one of the best-known examples of this approach, but the company has since been acquired by Meta. Limitless no longer sells its Pendant to new customers and says existing customers will be supported throughout 2026. Non-Pendant products, including Rewind, are being phased out, and service is no longer available in several regions, including the United Kingdom and European Union.[5]

Bee, another screenless AI-wearable company, was acquired by Amazon in 2025. These developments suggest that ambient-AI features may increasingly be absorbed into larger ecosystems rather than becoming a stable standalone-pendant market.

The category also raises difficult questions about consent, privacy, data security, accuracy, battery life, and social acceptability. Always-on recording is not universally desirable, and some workplaces, venues, and jurisdictions may restrict or prohibit it.

These devices form part of the wider ambient-computing market. Fortune Business Insights estimates that ambient computing could grow from approximately $71.39 billion in 2026 to $364.42 billion by 2034. This estimate covers more than wearables, including smart homes, connected environments, sensors, edge AI, and contextual software.[6]

3. Health Remains a Major Entry Point

Health and fitness remain among the strongest established use cases for wearable technology. Smartwatches, fitness bands, rings, hearables, and medical wearables can collect information about activity, sleep, heart rate, movement, and other health-related signals.

Market-research estimates for fitness trackers vary widely because companies define the category differently. For that reason, a fitness-tracker forecast should not be presented as the value of the entire wearable-device market or as a precise measure of AI-wearable revenue.

AI can make these devices more useful by identifying patterns, producing personalised feedback, translating sensor data into recommendations, and supporting remote monitoring. However, consumer wearables are not automatically medical devices, and health-related features should not be treated as a substitute for professional medical advice.

4. A Large Wearable Market, with AI Added Gradually

The wider wearable market is already substantial. IDC reported 145.7 million wearable-device shipments in the first quarter of 2026, up 4.3% year over year. The figure includes all wearable devices, with hearables accounting for the largest share, and should not be confused with AI wearables alone.[7]

IDC forecasts smart-glasses shipments to reach 13.6 million units in 2026, while total wearable-device shipments are expected to reach approximately 693.2 million units by 2030.[3][7]

Forecasts for the wearable-AI market vary considerably because research firms use different definitions. One forecast from Fortune Business Insights estimates the global wearable-AI market at $61.51 billion in 2026 and projects $359.32 billion by 2034. This is an analyst forecast, not a measurement of confirmed sales, and it includes categories such as smartwatches, fitness bands, smart eyewear, earwear, clothing, rings, and patches.[8]

The more reliable conclusion is that AI is becoming an important feature layer across existing wearable categories. It is not yet clear that dedicated AI hardware will become a separate mass-market category.

The Limits of the Trend

Smartphones remain the primary computing platform for most users. Smart-glasses growth is real, but the category is still small compared with smartphones and total wearable-device shipments.

AI pendants and pins have faced commercial and usability challenges. Privacy concerns, battery life, connectivity, inaccurate responses, limited app ecosystems, social acceptance, and subscription costs remain significant barriers. IDC also identifies battery life, privacy, supply-chain maturity, and convincing consumers of real-world utility as obstacles for XR products.[1]

The likely near-term future is a hybrid ecosystem. Phones will continue to provide connectivity, apps, storage, and processing, while glasses, earbuds, watches, rings, and other devices handle specific tasks.

The Outlook

CES 2026 showed strong industry interest in AI glasses, audio interfaces, health wearables, translation, summaries, and contextual assistance. It demonstrated the direction in which manufacturers are experimenting, but product announcements and exhibition-floor demonstrations do not guarantee mass-market adoption.[2]

The winners of the next five years may not be the gadgets with the brightest displays, but the devices that are comfortable, reliable, private, and genuinely useful without demanding constant attention.

The smartphone is not going away. It is beginning to share the job.

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