Why Smartglasses Apps Will Change Everything (And How You Can Get Ready)

Smartglasses aren’t some distant fantasy. They’re already here, quietly reshaping how people are discovering new products, how they’re interacting with information, media, and brands.

The Ray Ban Meta smartglasses are a good example. They’re not sci-fi. They’re not techy or clunky and crucially, they’re not trying to replicate your phone. Instead, they bring AI directly into your everyday life through audio-first interactions powered by Meta AI’s LLM (Large Language Model). Soon, Oakley will follow suit with their own version, again designed to layer intelligent audio assistance on top of the real world.

Right now, there’s no App Store equivalent for smartglasses. But make no mistake: it’s coming, and its coming faster than you think.

Audio-first apps are the gateway

The first wave of smartglasses apps will likely be adapted versions of existing mobile experiences that have been reworked for an audio-first interface. Think navigation, health tracking, coaching, language learning, productivity, and more. But the real unlock is what comes next: native smartglasses apps designed specifically for sensory-rich, multimodal experiences.

For example, imagine a native audio app that taps into the smartglasses’ onboard sensors to read your heart rate and breathing patterns during your commute. As your stress rises, it could prompt a 90-second breathing session, offer you a calming soundscape, or even check your calendar to suggest moving a meeting. 

These kinds of sensor-driven, context-aware experiences are what will make smartglasses feel like a real leap forward, not just a bolt-on to your phone. 

And then the visuals arrive

Once true visual augmentation arrives (we estimate around 2027-2028), either via display projection, waveguides, or full AR lenses the shift will be seismic.

 Let’s say you’re training for a marathon. Instead of following a flat 2D app on your phone, you’ve got Eliud Kipchoge in your field of view. Not a voice, not a podcast, an avatar of the world’s greatest distance runner pacing you down the trail, giving you real-time feedback on stride length, heart rate zones, and split times! 

He’s not just there for inspiration. He’s your coach. He’s logging your performance. And most importantly, the experience is brand-owned, not platform-owned.

This is where things get serious for marketers 

Smartglasses apps won’t be apps. They’ll be experiences.

In the same way brands once scrambled to optimise for mobile, we’re now looking at the dawn of a new format: spatial, immersive, brand-controlled ecosystems. Custom GPT-style agents, native audio tools, biometric insights, avatar coaching, live product overlays, the rules are about to change.

Influencer partnerships will evolve. Product placements will become product companions. And new subscription models or in-app purchases will unlock new revenue streams just as games today offer digital upgrades.

Even more radically, avatars and digital spaces could become customers themselves, consuming digital goods, sharing content, or representing you in new virtual ecosystems. We’ve seen this logic play out in gaming. Now it’s stepping into real life.

What should you be doing now?

This shift won’t happen overnight. But it will happen faster than most brands are prepared for. The same way mobile caught many off guard, smartglasses could become the platform shift that reshapes digital strategy all over again.

Here’s how to prepare:

•   Audit your current mobile experiences and identify which services or content could be adapted to an audio-first interface or made sensor-aware.
•   Start developing spatial thinking. Imagine how your brand’s voice, visual identity, and customer experience could live in a persistent, head-worn world.
•   Experiment with GPT-style agents. Start training brand-safe, contextual AI models that could one day sit inside a smartglasses OS.
•   Think beyond content, design ecosystems. Smartglasses aren’t about pushing information. They’re about building intelligent, interactive layers that support and inspire users throughout their day.

At Elluminate Me, we help brands translate this vision into action through research, prototyping, and future-first experience design. If you’re a channel marketer looking to get ahead of the curve, now’s the time to act.