Meta’s New AR Device to Lift LCoS Share to 13% by 2026, Intensifying Competition with LEDoS

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TrendForce’s latest investigations reveal that Meta has released its first mass-produced AR device—the Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses—featuring LCoS display technology. This move is expected to boost LCoS’s share of AR displays to 13% by 2026. By contrast, single-panel full-color LEDoS is not expected to achieve major breakthroughs in technology and cost until 2028. Until then, competition between the two technologies is set to intensify.

TrendForce’s “2025 Near-Eye Display Market Trends and Technology Analysis Report” highlights that AI-enabled functions are fueling the rise of information-display AR applications. Global AR device shipments are projected to increase 9.1% YoY in 2025, reaching 600,000 units.

TrendForce notes that Meta’s new AR glasses feature a single-eye near-eye display with 20° FoV, establishing 20-35° FoV range can meet the requirements of AI-assisted information demand. The device is precisely positioned for the information-display market with a resolution of 600 x 600, pixel density of 42 PPD, and a brightness of 5,000 nits.

Instead of adopting the mainstream single-green LEDoS with waveguide route, Meta chose an OmniVision-supplied full-color LCoS display combined with Lumus’s geometric waveguide solution. The choice reflects LCoS’s advantages in technical maturity, full-color capability with a single panel, cost control, and lower average power consumption, making it more attractive to Meta. This decision not only expands the market share of LCoS-based production but could also raise the technology’s profile and spur other brands to invest in resources.

Nevertheless, LCoS still faces challenges when it comes to optical engine miniaturization, high brightness, and high contrast. Current suppliers such as OmniVision, Himax Display, and Avegant are actively advancing next-generation R&D and product iterations.

Meanwhile, single-panel full-color LEDoS still requires significant improvements in both cost and manufacturing processes. TrendForce forecasts that breakthroughs enabled by QD color conversion, vertical stacking, or InGaN technology could deliver higher product-market fit (PMF) for full-color LEDoS products after 2028, pushing their market share to 65% by 2030. Until then, competition between LCoS and LEDoS is set to intensify.