Meta Plans AI Pendant as Part of Wider Wearables Effort

Meta is reportedly planning an artificial intelligence pendant as part of a larger wearables project.

The tests on this device could happen in the next year as the tech giant looks to revitalize its hardware division, The Information reported Friday (May 29), citing an internal memo.

That memo, written by Alex Himel, Meta’s vice president of wearables, also outlines plans for a substantial expansion of Meta’s AI glasses lineup, and to develop a business-focused service called “Wearables for Work,” the report said.

That service will focus on commercial customers, which Himel wrote have proved willing to pay for devices with “vertical-specific capabilities.” The aim is to secure pilot programs with at least 10 companies, as well as deployments within at least two large organizations with north of 100 seats or devices each, he added.

According to the report, Himel wrote that the strategy is to promote more use of Meta’s AI models and products such as subscription versions of its apps and the company’s consumer AI agent Hatch.

“To build a sustainable business beyond hardware margins we need to monetize the software experiences that differentiate our devices,” Himel wrote, per the report.

He added that Meta has set a goal of selling 10 million wearable devices in the second half of this year, driving sales by introducing new products and selling them in more markets.

The company aims to reach 6.8 million monthly active wearable users by the end of the year, the memo added. Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica reported in February that it sold upwards of 7 million smart glasses with Meta last year.

“Wearables have become a serious product category because they live where behavior happens: on your body,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this year. “That makes them ideal for passive health signals, payments, authentication, and increasingly ambient AI that can capture context in real time.”

The market is “already massive,” the report added, citing IDC data showing that 136.5 million wearable devices shipped in the second quarter of 2025, a 9.6% year-over-year increase.

More recently, PYMNTS looked at the evolution of AI-powered smart glasses, arguing that their next phase would be defined “more by iteration” than by breakthroughs.

“Incremental improvements in battery life, display quality and comfort will continue,” the report added. “AI capabilities will expand, becoming more personalized and context-aware. Partnerships between hardware makers and software developers may begin to seed more robust ecosystems.”