Mark Zuckerberg believes the smartphone’s replacement is already sitting on people’s faces — and he says it works even at full throttle on the water.

In an interview with Complex published this week, the Meta Platforms chief executive said he has fielded business calls while riding a jet ski without the person on the other end realizing where he was. “I’ve taken business calls on a jet ski,” he said. “The other person could not tell that I was on it.” He credited a microphone built into Meta’s smart glasses, saying it captures clear audio even in extremely noisy conditions.

The story highlights Meta’s biggest consumer technology bet. Zuckerberg has become the company’s leading salesman for AI-powered smart glasses, arguing they will eventually replace smartphones as people’s primary way of interacting with technology. Meta sells several models through its partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban and Oakley eyewear. Prices range from the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 at $379 to the new Meta Ray-Ban Display at $799, which includes a built-in display inside the lens.

His reasoning is simple. About two billion people already wear prescription glasses, giving the company an enormous potential customer base. Zuckerberg compared today’s smart glasses to the early days of smartphones, saying that just as flip phones eventually disappeared, he expects AI-powered eyewear to become the next major computing platform. He envisions glasses that can see what users see, hear what they hear and provide real-time AI assistance without forcing people to constantly look down at a phone.

The business momentum is growing. During Meta’s January earnings call, Zuckerberg said sales of the company’s smart glasses tripled over the past year, making them one of the fastest-growing consumer electronics products the company has introduced.

The investment, however, remains extraordinarily expensive. Meta’s Reality Labs division lost approximately $19.2 billion in 2025, including a $6.02 billion operating loss during the fourth quarter on $955 million in revenue, according to the company’s annual report. Zuckerberg and Chief Financial Officer Susan Li told investors they expect similar losses in 2026 before the business begins improving.

The spending extends well beyond smart glasses. Meta forecasts 2026 capital expenditures of $115 billion to $135 billion, nearly doubling the $72.2 billion it spent in 2025 as the company rapidly expands artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centers.

The technology has also sparked privacy concerns. Earlier this year, a Los Angeles judge threatened members of Zuckerberg’s entourage with contempt after recording-capable glasses were worn into a courtroom where recording devices are prohibited. Privacy advocates have likewise questioned how easily the devices can record people in public without their knowledge.

Despite the criticism, Zuckerberg said Meta has been developing the technology since 2014 and is already designing future generations, including products planned for 2028.

JBizNews Desk | Menlo Park, Calif.
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