Are sensible glasses cool but? In sure circles, the reply would seemingly be sure, however there are nonetheless loads of individuals who’ll want extra convincing (and sure, I am certainly one of them).
This week, we obtained a touch of a potential new entrant to the sensible glasses market – one with the potential to place a trendy new twist on tech specs. British tech firm Nothing is finest recognized for making smartphones and headphones, however based on Bloomberg, it is contemplating branching out into sensible glasses.
The corporate is hoping to launch the glasses within the first half of 2027, mentioned Bloomberg, citing individuals accustomed to the matter. The glasses will reportedly characteristic cameras, microphones and audio system, and have AI capabilities that can largely be dealt with off system. Nothing declined to touch upon the rumors.
Good glasses are booming as a product class, with Counterpoint Analysis figuring out 139% year-over-year progress for the section within the second half of 2025. The market is dominated by Meta, making it ripe for a disruptive challenger – ideally a relative renegade – to come back in with a contemporary strategy.
I’ve tried sensible glasses — I am but to be satisfied.
I am somewhat a sensible glasses skeptic, however I might take pleasure in seeing a fashion-forward tech model similar to Nothing department out into eyewear. With the corporate’s emphasis on design, it looks like a pure match for it to sort out wearable tech and hopefully put a singular spin on it that may persuade individuals like me that sensible specs are certainly the way in which ahead.
Listed here are three issues I feel Nothing may do to make a splash and set itself aside:
A continuation of the corporate’s clear aesthetic
Nothing has constructed its model round its clear design language, which exposes the underlying circuitry and wires inside its merchandise. It is nostalgic, daring and imaginative – and crucially would translate simply and successfully to eyewear.
Clear frames are already very a lot a factor on the planet of glasses – and even Meta has experimented with them. However I really feel assured that Nothing may apply its signature aesthetic sensibilities in a method that might be distinctive and authentic. It may play with coloration – the blue and pink seen on the Nothing Cellphone 4A and 4A Professional, for instance.
Clear design is in Nothing’s DNA.
Once I assume again to my dialog final month at Cellular World Congress with Nothing’s chief model officer, Charlie Smith, it strikes me that branching out into wearables feels not solely like a pure subsequent step for Nothing, however one thing the model is significantly better positioned to sort out than its much less fashionable opponents.
Smith, contemporary off the boat from luxurious vogue model Loewe, spoke of being impressed by Nothing’s “rebellious creativity” and the much-needed spirit of enjoyable it was injecting into an business lengthy been dominated by minimalism. “There’s one thing about this sort of retrofuturism, this nostalgia that we’re tapping into – persons are loving it,” Smith mentioned.
“Private expertise is definitely lots about self expression,” he continued. “Our units are actually like an extension of us.”
Bonus factors from me if Nothing finds a solution to incorporate components of its glowing glyph interface into the glasses.
A collaboration with a British indie model
In a market flooded with units made by huge companies based mostly within the US, South Korea and China, UK-based startup Nothing feels just like the closest factor the telephone business has to an indie darling. What higher solution to cement that standing than by collaborating with one other British unbiased model?
Meta’s collaborations with Ray-Ban and Oakley have been a successful formulation in its personal bid to ascertain sensible glasses as a mainstream product class – however there’s additionally one thing predictable about a big firm collaborating with one other massive firm. Wayfarers may be timeless and simply wearable by anybody with a face, however they do not precisely scream authentic pondering or sturdy sense of private model.
It might be way more thrilling for Nothing to work with up-and-coming British designers (it did, in any case, host a launch occasion final month at iconic London design faculty Central Saint Martin’s). Equally, it may decide to hitch forces with a extra established designer, similar to JW Anderson. Certain, the ensuing glasses may not be a lowest-common-denominator product worn by each Silicon Valley govt, however that is not likely Nothing’s vibe.
Luckily, there’s precedent for Nothing selecting unbiased British manufacturers to work with somewhat than hitting up the business’s most recognizable names. Its audio collaboration with KEF has already yielded a number of the most distinctive headphones available on the market. I am assured it may do the identical with glasses.
Nothing’s KEF collaboration within the flesh.
A significant give attention to audio and music
Let’s not overlook that earlier than Nothing was a smartphone firm, it was a headphones firm.
The experience it is established in audio over the previous few years would possibly simply give a aggressive edge over most firms at present making sensible glasses. Many individuals have been stunned by how good the sound high quality could be on present sensible specs, together with Meta’s, however Nothing has a chance to take it to the following degree.
Nothing’s earbuds have been its first product.
Encouragingly, Nothing’s audio credentials have been one other factor Smith introduced up in our dialog.
“The audio facet of the enterprise is absolutely vital to us due to the connection to music tradition,” he mentioned. “We love the concept of [our community] being tech and music and vogue… like this subsequent technology of creatives all coming collectively across the model.”
Leaning closely into embracing music tradition may very well be a key differentiator for Nothing, and will additionally assist make sensible glasses a extra compelling product for people who find themselves but to be bought on video seize and AI options.
Up to now I’ve argued that headphones are the last word AI wearable, however I am ready to revise my opinion if these headphones occur to be inside a pair of glasses I genuinely like to put on.
