A decade after Google Glass fizzled out, smart glasses are making a comeback—and this time, Silicon Valley is betting big that artificial intelligence will finally make the concept click.

From Google and Meta to Snap and Amazon, major tech firms are racing to develop AI-powered eyewear that can see, understand, and respond to the world around you in real time. The goal? Replace—or at least supplement—the smartphone with something more intuitive, hands-free, and face-forward.

Why Now? Two Major Shifts Are Driving the Hype

There are two main reasons smart glasses are back in the spotlight:

1. The smartphone is losing its shine. People aren’t upgrading as often, and innovation has slowed.
2. AI has caught up. Today’s AI can handle voice, image, and video inputs simultaneously, making it far more useful in real-world scenarios than it was during Google Glass’ time.

“AI is making these devices a lot easier to use, and it’s also introducing new ways people can use them,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager at the International Data Corporation (IDC).

What Today’s Smart Glasses Can Actually Do

Early versions of smart glasses from Google, Snap, Meta, and Amazon focused on basics: taking pictures, listening to music, or offering voice assistance. But they didn’t do anything your phone couldn’t—and they certainly didn’t look cool.

Now, things are changing.

• Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses can translate languages in real time or tell you whether a pepper in your hand is spicy.
• Google’s Gemini-powered glasses can remember what you’ve seen and answer questions based on your environment. At a recent developer conference, a Google employee asked Gemini to recall the name of a coffee shop printed on a cup she had looked at earlier.
• Snap’s next-generation Spectacles, expected in 2026, promise AI that can “understand the world around you.”

Even better: Meta said it’s already sold over 2 million pairs of its Ray-Ban smart glasses since their 2023 launch.

The Market Is Set to Boom

After years of misfires, the numbers suggest this time could be different.

• ABI Research forecasts the smart glasses market will grow from 3.3 million units in 2024 to nearly 13 million by 2026.
• IDC expects growth from 8.8 million in 2025 to almost 14 million in 2026, especially among devices like Meta’s Ray-Bans.

“There’s finally now some good concepts of what’s working,” said Andrew Zignani, senior research director at ABI Research.

What’s Coming Next

Snap hasn’t revealed much about its upcoming Specs, but the company made its ambition clear: “The tiny smartphone limited our imagination. It forced us to look down at a screen, instead of up at the world.”

Meanwhile, Apple is rumored to be developing its own smart glasses, and Amazon may follow suit. Panos Panay, Amazon’s devices chief, hinted in February that AI-powered Alexa glasses could be part of the company’s future hardware roadmap.

AI platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini are already prepping for this shift, turning your phone camera into a tool for understanding your surroundings. Even toy maker Mattel is reportedly working with OpenAI to embed similar tech in its products.

But Do People Actually Want Smart Glasses?

That’s the billion-dollar question.

Privacy concerns remain a major hurdle. Google Glass famously flopped in part because people were creeped out by the idea of hidden cameras. Today’s models try to address that by including lights that signal when they’re recording—but that may not be enough to win over the skeptical.

Then there’s the price. Meta’s Ray-Bans cost around $300—not outrageous, but not cheap either, especially as consumers grow cautious about spending on non-essential gadgets. For comparison, global smartwatch sales recently dropped for the first time in years, suggesting wearables may be losing steam.

Another challenge? Convincing people to wear glasses all day—especially those who don’t need prescription lenses.

Still, Tech Giants Are Willing to Bet on the Future

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told a federal court that smart glasses—and even holograms—could be central to how we interact with technology in the future.

“Many in the industry believe that the smartphone will eventually be replaced by glasses or something similar,” said Ubrani. “It’s not going to happen today. It’s going to happen many years from now, and all these companies want to make sure that they’re not going to miss out on that change.”

Whether consumers will buy into the vision—or the glasses—is still up in the air. But for now, Big Tech is all-in.

Source: CNN – Google, Meta and Snap think this tech is the next big thing

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Are You a Gear Addict or an Audiophile? 10 Signs to Tell

We’ve all been there. You get into the world of high-fidelity audio because you love music. But somewhere along the way, the shiny new gear starts to take center stage. What began as a quest for better sound can subtly shift into an endless chase for the next best piece of equipment.

It’s a common trap, and many of us “audiophiles” might not even realize we’ve fallen into it. So, how can you tell if your passion for music has morphed into a full-blown gear addiction? This list is here to help you figure it out. If most of these sound familiar, it might be time to press pause and reassess.

The Warning Signs: When Gear Takes Over

1. You’re Always Upgrading, Even When You Don’t Need To

Remember that “endgame” setup you proudly built? Well, that feeling of completion probably didn’t last long. A new DAC gets hyped, a different headphone makes waves, and suddenly, your perfectly good system feels… less exciting.

You tell yourself, “This new thing will finally make everything perfect.” You buy it, enjoy it for a bit, then the novelty wears off. Soon, you’re picking apart tiny flaws you never noticed before, eyeing another amp, different cables, or a headphone you swore you’d never buy. It’s not just the reviews; it’s the belief that change always equals improvement. But it rarely does in the long run.

True audiophiles upgrade for a reason. They wait until a genuine improvement is needed, then make a targeted change to solve it. They don’t chase minor tweaks just to stay busy.

2. Your Gear Collection Is More Museum Than Music Room

Take a look around. Do you have multiple DACs with the same chip? Headphones that sound almost identical but just have a different color? Amps gathering dust that only see the light of day if mentioned online? Some items might even still be in their original boxes, untouched for months.

You might justify it as “having options,” but let’s be real – most of it doesn’t serve a clear purpose anymore. You’re holding onto it just to have it.

In contrast, music-focused audiophiles tend to simplify. They curate setups for different needs (e.g., one for home, one for travel, or an open-back and a closed-back). Once a function is covered, duplicates get sold to fund the next real upgrade – usually, more music!

3. Specs Rule Your World, Not Your Ears

Do you have your amp’s SINAD memorized? Can you recite THD numbers and dynamic range figures? Do you feel a pull to try every 32-bit/384 kHz DAC, even if you can’t truly hear the difference? If so, forums like Audio Science Review probably feel like home.

It’s easy to believe that better numbers automatically mean better sound. But real listening doesn’t always align with graphs. Sometimes, the “cleanest” DAC sounds lifeless. Sometimes, the amp with the best measurements just doesn’t mesh with your headphones.

Audiophiles use specs as a guide, but their ears are the ultimate judge. If you’re trusting numbers more than your own listening experience, you’re not an audiophile; you’re a data analyst.

4. You Can’t Buy Anything Without Forum Approval

Does your gear journey begin with online consensus, not your own listening impressions? Do hype threads shape your wishlist more than anything else? Have you spent hours poring over 300-page discussions about power cables, finding it more satisfying than listening to music?

If a headphone doesn’t get glowing praise on Head-Fi or r/Headphones, is it immediately off your list, even if you liked it? When quoting online opinions feels safer than sharing your own thoughts, you’ve likely crossed a line.

Audiophiles use forums to learn and gather information. Gear addicts seek permission. If you liked how something sounded but skipped it because a few posts said it wasn’t “endgame,” you’re just following the crowd instead of your own ears.

5. Your Gear Budget Dwarfs Your Music Spending

You’ve dropped thousands on equipment, yet your music library looks largely the same. Your test tracks are on repeat, and you haven’t bought a new album or hi-res file in ages, even as you eye that next $1,000 phono cartridge. Plans to buy more music get perpetually postponed – “after this amp,” “when that streamer goes on sale.”

The core purpose of this hobby is to appreciate music. If your spending on gear keeps climbing but your music collection stagnates, it’s time to question what you’re truly chasing. Music should always be at the center.

6. Tweaking Your System Beats Actually Listening to Music

Remember when listening meant getting completely lost in the music? Now, it’s a constant experiment. You sit down, but five minutes later, you’re fiddling with EQ, swapping cables, or wondering if another DAC sounded better on this track.

You might own AB switchers and spend late nights trying to level-match sources within 0.1 dB. Blind tests stretch into the early hours, chasing a “night and day” difference that’s often barely audible (if real at all). You pause songs constantly to compare filters or replay tiny sections, telling yourself it’s about getting the sound “just right,” but the music is always interrupted.

Audiophiles fine-tune their systems, then enjoy them. If every listening session devolves into a technical test, you’re not really listening anymore.

7. Aesthetics Often Trump Functionality

When it’s time to buy, you claim sound quality is your priority. Yet, somehow, the gear that looks the best keeps winning. You’ve passed on objectively better-sounding options because they didn’t match your decor or seemed “too plain.” But that limited-edition finish, that striking wood housing, that glowing tube amp? Instant purchase.

Even if the gear sounds just “okay,” it stays in your chain because it looks great on your desk or in photos. You’ve convinced yourself the “aesthetic upgrade” outweighs minimal sound differences.

While appreciating beautiful gear isn’t wrong, true audiophiles don’t sacrifice sound for style. They buy with their ears, not their eyes. If visual appeal consistently trumps audio performance, it’s a sign you’re more of a collector than a listener.

8. You Ride Every New Hype Train

If it’s trending, you’re either unboxing it or waiting for it to ship. New gear shoots to the top of your wishlist the moment forums light up or YouTubers scream “giant killer!” One month it’s a “steal” of a planar headphone, the next a “$99 IEM that punches way above its weight.” You didn’t know you needed it until the buzz hit, but now it feels urgent.

You’ve probably owned all the “hits”: HD6XX, Sundara, whatever Focal model is currently trending – not because your current setup needed them, but because the hype made your perfectly fine rig suddenly feel inadequate.

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) won’t tune your ears. It just drains your wallet and clutters your shelves with gear you didn’t truly need.

9. You Consistently Spend More Than You Can Afford

That budget you set? It vanished the moment a new amp dropped or a “deal” appeared on the used market. You hit “buy now,” figuring you’d sort out the finances later – maybe sell something, maybe float it on a card. You just craved that hit of new gear.

Now you’re performing mental gymnastics to justify purchases. Boxes are stacking up, bank alerts are pinging, and you’re always planning to “flip” something, but rarely follow through unless pressure mounts.

Audiophiles might stretch for something that makes a real difference, but they think it through. They consider if the sound improvement is worth the cost, or if that money could be better spent on music, room treatment, or other life priorities. Big purchases are planned, not panic-bought and then desperation-sold.

10. You’re Obsessed with “Weird Audio Hacks”

You’ve ventured into the far reaches of audiophilia, where logic gets a bit fuzzy. Demagnetizing CDs? Applying green markers to disc edges? Buying mystical stones or resonance dampers for your components? Pondering “quantum signal purifiers” and $1,000 Ethernet cables, despite basic engineering principles suggesting they can’t possibly make an audible difference?

You tell yourself, “What if that final tweak really completes the system?” But at some point, it stops being about the music. You’re not fixing real issues; you’re chasing ghosts. A true music lover would simply press play and enjoy. If you’re busy debating whether freezing power cords “opens up the sound,” and belief overtakes engineering, the music becomes secondary. That’s when the hobby starts to lose its way.

So, how many of these signs resonated with you? It’s a good moment for self-reflection. Remember, the goal of this hobby is to enjoy music to its fullest. If your gear is getting in the way of that enjoyment, it might be time to refocus your passion.

Source; Headphonesty – 10 Signs You’re More of a Gear Addict Than an Audiophile

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ASUS has now officially announced the ROG Phone 9 series and it’s coming a lot sooner than the previous model. Aimed at gamers the ROG Phone series has always been about delivering top-end performance for mobile gaming and that isn’t changing. What is changing is ASUS’s launch timing. With the ROG Phone 8 series, ASUS announced the phone in late December of 2023. It then fully revealed the phone at CES this year in January. The phone was available by the end of the month, with the US launch happening at the beginning of March.

This time around ASUS is pushing things up a bit. Now that the phone is officially announced, it plans to have a full reveal of the phone in November. Naturally, this is also going to push up the launch date of the phone, too. However, availability will vary depending on the region, and launch dates will be different for the US.

ASUS has announced the ROG Phone 9 will launch on November 19

Today’s announcement of the phone really only serves as a means to confirm that the phone’s launch date is coming up.

At this time ASUS hasn’t shared much information about the phone itself. Those details are being saved for the November 19 launch date, where the company will reveal the full set of specs and features for the phone. That being said, ASUS has shared an official image of the ROG Phone 9, along with one major spec detail. ASUS also teases that the ROG Phone 9 series will offer some new AI features. Again there are no specifics here. But, there is a message that says “AI on, Game on” that accompanies the event page.

AI features aren’t new to the ROG Phone series. The ROG Phone 8 series offered a handful of AI features that would help enhance gaming. It seems like the company will have more up its sleeve for the latest ROG Phone.

The ROG Phone 9 series will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

The only specification that ASUS has confirmed at this time is the phone’s chipset. It’ll be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the new mobile platform that Qualcomm just announced at the Qualcomm Summit this afternoon. The Snapdragon 8 Elite comes with “an innovative Oryon CPU and the enhanced Adreno GPU,” ASUS says.

The phone will no doubt be powerful when it comes to performance. That being said, this is always the case with every ROG phone. ASUS always used the most powerful Qualcomm chipset at the time and there was no reason to believe it would be any different with the new phone.

Although ASUS doesn’t mention specifics, it does state that the ROG Phone 9 will deliver unparalleled performance. “The ROG Phone 9 series pushes the boundaries of mobile gaming to new limits, delivering industry-leading speed, power, and graphical fidelity,” ASUS says.

Now judging by the image that ASUS shared, the phone’s physical design is hardly changing from the ROG Phone 8 series. Which we love since we loved the ROG Phone 8’s design. The rear camera bump is the same shape and it has three sensors. It does appear to have a slightly different finish on the back that’s more like the ROG Phone 8 Pro models. Additionally, the standard model now appears to be using the AniMe Matrix LED display.

Update: October 21 – 3:23PM PST

While ASUS didn’t initially mention any specs details about the ROG Phone 9 series in its press release, there are some details that were now mentioned during the Snapdragon Summit. The ROG Phone 9 will come in two colors, black and white, although it’s still unclear what the official color names will be. ASUS also notes that the phone will have advanced cooling. This will presumably go above and beyond what you’d experience with the ROG Phone 8 series.

The ROG Phone 9 will have up to 30% power improvement so you can game for longer. Games like Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, Honkai Star Rail, and Wuthering Waves were specifically mentioned. So expect a decent drop in battery drain when playing these kinds of high-end, demanding games.

ASUS only mentions a standard model

For now, ASUS hasn’t confirmed anything other than the standard model of the ROG Phone 9. However, it does refer to this announcement as being about the ROG Phone 9 “series.” There will no doubt be more than just the standard model launching, but it’s unclear what ASUS will officially call it. It’s also likely to have most of the same specs as the standard model. What you can expect to be different are the RAM and storage.

With the ROG Phone 8 for example, ASUS offered the device with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM, but only with 256GB of storage. The ROG Phone 8 Pro bumped up the RAM to 16GB only, and the storage went up to 512GB. Then there was the ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition model which came with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

We can’t say for certain if ASUS will do something like that again this year. What is certain is that ASUS has offered a “pro” version of the ROG Phone for several generations now. So that probably isn’t changing here.

Source

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