Smart glasses won't generate specs appeal just yet

Juniper expects sales to be buoyed slightly by fresh releases from several key players in 2015-2016, including Samsung, Recon Instruments and the Osterhout Design Group. The report argues that, at this point, greater utility within the enterprise and healthcare segments is likely to spur development until the devices catch on in mainstream markets.

The report also found that smart glasses continue to raise privacy and safety concerns from many consumers and government bodies, and are slow to achieve social acceptance. It argued that these concerns need to be addressed before the devices become accepted, although prices and their status as supplementary devices mean that smart glasses will remain niche for the medium-term.

According to the report, the development of smart glasses is at a comparable stage to smartphones in the early 2000s, primarily focused on the enterprise sector. As workplaces that do make purchases are likely to share devices between users, rather than bulk-buy devices for all their employees, this will result in high investment but low shipment volumes for the next five years.

The report predicts that Android is likely to remain the dominant smart glasses OS, although the anticipated release of the Samsung Gear Blink in 2015 will bring Tizen into the space. Visible software progress will remain low, excepting a few showcased achievements, until software-sharing spaces emerge, as most current smart glasses software is supplied on a bespoke basis to enterprise users.