Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, has signaled 2025 as a crucial turning point for the company’s augmented and virtual reality division, Reality Labs. In a recent interview, Bosworth suggested that the coming year could either mark significant triumphs in Meta’s AR and VR development or witness its aspirations fall short, characterizing the moment as undeniably pivotal.
Earlier this year, in an internal memo, Bosworth described 2025 as a period that could solidify Reality Labs’ reputation or risk branding its endeavors into the metaverse as a costly misstep. While he now expresses optimism about the potential for success, he acknowledged the ultimate judgment will be determined by market performance over the remainder of this decade.
A notable success for Meta has been its Ray Ban AI smart glasses, launched in October 2023, which by February had recorded sales exceeding two million units. The glasses have reached a level of consumer appeal that surpasses even traditional Ray Ban styles in certain markets, a sign of growing mainstream adoption ahead of the broader competition advancing into the field.
Competitors are indeed gearing up: Google recently announced partnerships with eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to produce Android XR-powered smart glasses, and Apple is rumored to be planning its own significant foray into smart eyewear by 2026. Bosworth highlighted this increasing competition, emphasizing the urgency and importance of achievements made by Meta’s teams during 2025. According to him, advancements and product launches this year will hold disproportionate strategic value compared to preceding or succeeding periods.
However, external competition alone is insufficient to guarantee widespread market success, noted Bosworth. Market adoption and consumer enthusiasm for augmented and virtual reality technologies remain the ultimate determinants of long-term success and the standardized adoption of these technologies industry-wide.
Bosworth, who joined the company as one of its early engineers, drew on lessons from former Meta executive Sheryl Sandberg, emphasizing execution against internal objectives rather than being primarily reactive to competitors’ moves. He underlined that most ventures fail because of poor execution rather than competitive pressures. As a measure of progress, he said Meta would judge its achievements at the year’s end by comparing against internal plans. Longer-term impact, he added, can only be properly assessed in the years to follow.
