Meta plans to double production of Ray-Ban smart glasses to meet soaring demand

What you need to know

• Meta could be planning to double smart glasses production due to soaring demand and limited inventory.
• The goal is to boost annual output to nearly 20 million units by year-end.
• Increased supply may reduce shortages and support the international availability of smart glasses.

Meta's new smart glasses seem to be all the rage now, considering that right after they launched last year, they were basically flying off the shelves. So much so that Meta had to delay its original plan to launch Ray-Ban Display glasses internationally, due to "unprecedented demand and limited inventory."

Now we have word that Meta and eyewear partner EssilorLuxottica are discussing massively increase in production of Ray-Ban-branded smart glasses. According to a recent report by Bloomberg, "people familiar with the matter" told the publication that Meta is considering boosting annual production to nearly 20 million units by the end of this year.

This will essentially double their current goal, and there is a high chance that supply could go beyond 30 million if the demand for these smart glasses keeps growing at this rate, the website added. However, neither Meta nor EssilorLuxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban eyewear have confirmed these plans publicly.

Furthermore, the website states that EssilorLuxottica is already close to finishing its current capacity target of 10 million pairs by the end of 2026. Which means it is already putting pressure on the supply and will force the companies to rethink how they're going to meet this exponential demand.

For Meta, it may be less about getting its glasses on to more faces and more about focusing on establishing smart glasses as popular and necessary as smartphones. It recently even slashed several jobs in its Reality Labs division (responsible for AR, VR, AI), cutting roughly 1,500 jobs, which hints at the shift, considering it basically leads the smart glasses market at the moment.

As Bloomberg noted, Meta’s share in the global smart glasses market rose to 73%, which, according to CounterPoint Research, was "driven by strong demand and expanded manufacturing capacity at Luxottica, its key production partner."

On the flip side, doubling output could mean good news for consumers, considering it could also reduce shortages, wait times, and support wider international availability.