When asked which criteria are important to them when buying sunglasses, an increasing number of respondents across countries cite smart features. This is according to Statista Consumer Insights. In the U.S., the home of AI glasses, 14 percent of people mention these smart features as a purchase criterion for sunglasses, up from 12 percent last year. In India, these numbers are even higher, rising from 25 percent of respondents in 2025 to 27 percent in 2026 saying that features such as taking photos or pairing the glasses with a smartphone are important to them.
Germany was the odd one out among the surveyed countries. Germans were less interested in smart sunglasses features, at just 7 percent saying so as of the latest available survey. This number flatlined since 2025.
Smart sunglasses have features like recording video, playing sound, displaying AR features, connecting to smartphones and other internet services and commanding AI assistants via microphones. Meta is the market leader in the sphere with its Ray-Ban and own-branded sunglasses (as well as clear, subscription and transition glasses). Smaller market shares are held by Chinese sellers like Xiaomi, Even Realities and Alibaba as well as U.S. and Hong Kong-based company Solos.
