Global intelligent eyewear shipments rose 83% year on year in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint Research, driven by growth in augmented reality glasses and display-less smart glasses.
Virtual reality headsets moved in the opposite direction, with shipments falling 17% from a year earlier as older products, fewer launches and weaker vendor investment weighed on the segment. AR glasses shipments climbed 136%, while display-less smart glasses rose 210%.
The figures point to a market that is becoming more uneven across product categories. Birdbath and flat-prism AR glasses still accounted for the largest share of AR shipments in the quarter at 58%, but that was down sharply from 82% a year earlier. Waveguide-based AR glasses increased their share to 42% from 18%.
That shift has opened space for a broader set of manufacturers. In the more established birdbath and flat-prism segment, RayNeo, VITURE and XREAL remained the leading names.
RayNeo held a 41% share of that segment in the quarter, helped by a wider product line and broad market coverage. VITURE posted the fastest growth among the leading brands, with shipments up 281% year on year, giving it a 34% share. It also led AR glasses shipments outside China during the quarter.
XREAL recorded slower growth than some rivals but remains one of the better-known consumer AR glasses makers. Counterpoint noted that the company has broadened its product range and filed for an initial public offering.
Waveguide growth
The waveguide-based AR market showed a more fragmented competitive picture. Rokid ranked first worldwide with its Rokid Glasses, supported by overseas expansion and wider offline distribution.
Meta took a 38% share of the waveguide-based AR segment, although growth was limited by production yield issues in key components for the Meta Ray-Ban Display and by restricted product availability in the US. Even Realities and Alibaba followed with market shares of 9% and 5% respectively.
Display-less smart glasses also continued to expand despite rising component costs across consumer electronics. Meta kept a commanding lead in that category, raising its global market share to nearly 84% in the first quarter from 82% in the previous quarter.
The US remained the largest smart glasses market, and no rival currently matches Meta's scale there. Competition may strengthen later as Android XR players and Apple enter the category, but regional differences are already emerging elsewhere.
Regional splits
China and India are developing more localised smart glasses ecosystems. In China, Xiaomi, including Mijia, and Alibaba led the market during the quarter. In India, local brands such as Fire-Boltt and Phonic by Lenskart secured notable positions.
The trend suggests domestic brands can gain ground where products and software are adapted to local services and user habits. That matters in a category where language support, app integration and consumer familiarity can shape demand as much as hardware design.
Cost pressures remain a concern across the wider market. Rising memory prices have become a significant headwind for XR and smart glasses in 2026, with VR affected most because of its heavier memory requirements.
Several manufacturers have responded by increasing product prices, adding pressure to VR demand. In AR and smart glasses, lower memory needs and stronger demand have helped cushion the impact, though some companies have delayed launches, trimmed investment or reviewed product plans because of profitability concerns.
Counterpoint groups intelligent eyewear into three categories: VR headsets, AR glasses and smart glasses. Within that framework, the latest quarter shows that momentum is concentrated in lighter wearable products rather than fully immersive headsets.
It also highlights how concentrated parts of the industry remain. Meta dominates display-less smart glasses globally, while a handful of companies still account for much of the AR market, even as waveguide-based devices bring in more entrants.
Counterpoint said: "We are increasingly seeing regional players stand out in their home markets, driven by stronger localization of services, deeper ecosystem integration, and AI-driven experiences that are better aligned with local consumer behaviors and use cases."