Nothing is developing AI-powered smart glasses, with a launch planned for the first half of 2027. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman first reported the news, citing people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named.The glasses will come with built-in cameras, microphones, and speakers—but won’t have a display. AI processing will be offloaded to a connected smartphone and the cloud, keeping the hardware lean. Nothing’s approach sounds a lot like Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, which similarly rely on a phone for the heavy lifting.
Carl Pei wasn’t always sold on the idea
The shift is notable because Pei was initially resistant to building glasses at all. He has since changed course and told employees that Nothing is moving toward a multidevice strategy—phones and earbuds won’t be the whole story for much longer.Nothing is also reportedly working on new AI-focused earbuds for later this year, so the glasses aren’t the only hardware in the pipeline.
Nothing’s design DNA will carry over to the glasses
The company has built a cult following on the back of its distinctive aesthetic—transparent backs, LED arrays, square ear pads. According to Gurman’s sources, that same design sensibility will shape what the glasses look like. In a market that has largely defaulted to utilitarian frames, that could give Nothing a real point of difference.The smart glasses space is getting crowded fast. Meta just announced new Ray-Ban variants targeting prescription wearers, while Google and Samsung are both expected to ship Android XR glasses this year. Apple is also reportedly eyeing a glasses launch in early 2027.Nothing, valued at $1.3 billion after a $200 million Series C last year, remains a small player—but one with a devoted following among tech enthusiasts. If the glasses land with the same reception as the Phone 4a, the company might have a real shot at carving out space in what is still a very young market.