Legislators and advocacy groups are not the only people who have strong opinions about Meta’s smart glasses. Apparently Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has some ideas, too. one Interview with YouTuber David SenraSpiegel had some choice words about Meta’s reputation in space. Spoiler alert: she’s not a big fan.
“It’s more damaging for (Essilor) Luxottica than it is for Meta. I think Meta should have partnered with Luxottica because the Meta brand is not something people want to put close to their faces,” Spiegel said. “I think Meta really needed (the partnership).”
Spiegel also predicted a potentially unsuccessful partnership for Ray-Bans maker EssilorLuxottica. Ray-Ban Meta AI Sunglasses and Meta Ray-Ban Display.
Evan Spiegel talks about Snap Spectales and Meta Raybans.
A more high-end, vertically integrated approach (eg Tesla with Roadster, Apple with iPhone) is the move for smart glasses.
Also, he says the brand merger is risky for Luxxotica:
“I think it’s more harmful… https://t.co/tOx4LTpX6Q pic.twitter.com/LqOBbVz05T
— Bearly AI (@bearlyai) April 12, 2026
“The challenge for Luxottica is that they took what was the most iconic, crazy-high-margin product and destroyed the margin and then associated it with Meta,” Spiegel said. “We’ll see in time if it’s the right brand choice for them, but I’m sure why Meta needs to camouflage their brand, I don’t think it resonates with a lot of people and they don’t like it.”
On the one hand, Spiegel is not wrong. The meta, to no one’s surprise, looks like this is actively trying to discredit its semi-successful smart glasseseither by collection and mishandling of user data or through it nightmare potential plans to add facial recognition-both are privacy landmines in their own right. By most measures, Meta’s presence in the world of smart glasses is becoming increasingly toxic, and that doesn’t even take into account that many people oppose putting cameras and AI into glasses at a basic level, regardless of their privacy practices or nuances.
On the other hand, Snap hasn’t been particularly successful in its efforts on the AR glasses/smart glasses front. Glasses, Snap’s AR glassesit’s been around for quite some time, but it’s still pretty inconvenient and bulky. The latest generation is still only for developers and creators, which isn’t a glowing endorsement of its success in the space, nor is it an indication that people are eager to wear Snap-made smart glasses on their faces.
Even without his own great success, Spiegel is not wrong. There’s a reason why the Ray-Ban name has traditionally been preferred over the Meta in Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, and it’s not because the Meta is generous. It is too early to say whether the partnership will blow up in EssilorLuxottica’s face. Meta has sold a surprising amount of smart glasses so far, but from the competition Google, Samsungand perhaps apple grows tall. Meanwhile, Meta is making itself a pretty big punching bag, and many other names in the space are happy to take their swings.
