Amazon May Develop Its Own Smart Glasses to Compete With Meta
Amazon may be developing its own augmented reality smart glasses to compete with Meta, according to Amazon insiders who worked on the project . Codenamed “Jayhawk,” the smart glasses would feature a camera, microphones, speakers, and a full-color display in one eye, all housed in a sleek frame. If the rumors are true, The Information reports, Amazon’s smart glasses could go on sale in late 2026 or early 2027.
The goal, it seems, is to avoid losing the entire smart glasses market to industry leader Meta and newcomers like Google (let’s pretend Google Glass never existed). Whether Amazon can compete in this space remains to be seen, but the company’s latest attempt at tech eyewear, the audio- and Alexa-focused Echo Frames line of smart glasses , failed to make a splash when it launched in 2019, despite being generally considered adequate (if unimpressive) .
Amazon Drivers Can Also Get Their Own Augmented Reality Smart Glasses
Amazon is also reportedly developing smart glasses specifically for delivery drivers. They will feature the same technology as consumer devices, but in a more durable case, and will provide drivers with turn-by-turn navigation on a small built-in screen. According to a Reuters report published in late 2024, the glasses for delivery drivers are designed to provide extremely accurate, location-based directions to “save precious seconds on every delivery by pointing left or right around elevators and avoiding obstacles like gates or aggressive dogs.”
It’s hard not to think of the nightmare possibilities of an employer who can literally see through the eyes of their employees — imagine your boss yelling at you through your own eyes. Smart glasses could easily track eye movements, pauses, and even emotions of employees through facial expressions and voice analysis. It’s unclear whether Amazon, which is being sued for enforcing such strict hours that drivers were forced to urinate in bottles , will use the technology for these or other selfish purposes.