New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) Global shipments of augmented reality (AR) smart glasses surged almost doubled year-on-year (YoY) in 2025, reaching a record high, according to a report released on Monday.

As per Counterpoint analysis, the AR smart glasses global shipment climbed by 98 per cent in the year. The market saw even stronger momentum in the second half of the year, with shipments rising 148 per cent year-on-year, it said.

Segment-wise, video-centric AR smart glasses grew over 80 per cent year-on-year in H2 2025.

Meanwhile, the waveguide-based AR glasses segment surged over 600 per cent year-on-year, with a more diversified competitive landscape

The segment’s share in total shipments rose sharply to 38 per cent in H2 2025 from 13 per cent a year ago.

The growth in waveguide-based devices has been driven by increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, enabling features such as real-time translation, navigation, and image recognition.

Counterpoint said AR smart glasses equipped with AI capabilities accounted for around 70 per cent of waveguide-based shipments in H2 2025, up from negligible levels a year earlier, with China and the US emerging as key markets.

“We expect the upward growth momentum in the global AR smart glasses market to continue in the coming years, supported by international expansion from leading OEMs, more new entrants, and improving maturity and production yields in key display and optical components,” the research firm said.

Nevertheless, recent memory price hikes and geopolitical tensions involving the US, Israel and Iran, along with their impact on the global economy, may pose challenges, it said.

Earlier in March, another report said that the industry witnessed a growth of 139 per cent year‑on‑year in the H2 CY25.

India recorded a 15‑fold surge in shipments in H2 CY25 following Meta’s official launch in the country in May 2025, though the country still accounted for only 2 per cent of global volume, according to the report.

–IANS

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