Meta Platforms Is Preparing for AI's "iPhone Moment": Is the Stock a Buy?

In 2007, Apple launched the first iPhone, a device that eventually became the model for other smartphones. The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone, but it completely changed the industry and made Apple immensely successful. It remains its largest source of sales to this day.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is trying to pull off something similar. The company believes it has identified how most people will interact with artificial intelligence (AI) in their day-to-day lives within a few years. And if Meta Platforms can lead this revolution, it could pay rich dividends to the tech leader down the road.

Image source: Getty Images.

Are AI glasses the future? Zuckerberg thinks so.

By now, everyone is familiar with AI chatbots. Although they are very useful, they are limited in that they only respond to questions and requests that users explicitly ask. AI glasses could be upgraded versions of chatbots. AI glasses are equipped with cameras and microphones, which, in a sense, make them AI chatbots with eyes and ears. They can interact with the world around those wearing them in real time, anticipate needs and requests, and, of course, still respond to questions and requests via voice commands.

These added perks make AI glasses the "ideal form factor for AI," as Meta Platforms' CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, once argued. And anyone who doesn't have them will be at a severe disadvantage in a few years, or at least, that's what Zuckerberg thinks. During the company's recent fourth quarter earnings conference call, he said the following regarding where AI glasses are right now and where we could be heading in the near future:

I think that we're at a moment similar to when smartphones arrived, and it was clearly only a matter of time until all those flip phones became smartphones. It's hard to imagine a world in several years where most glasses that people wear aren't AI glasses.

An attractive opportunity, with some caveats

According to consulting giant McKinsey, the smart eyewear industry alone could exceed $30 billion by 2030. But this view might turn out to be too conservative. If Zuckerberg is correct, with billions of people wearing glasses or contact lenses, Meta Platforms could lead this new revolution that will transform this market. The company has partnered with famous eyewear companies, and sales of its AI glasses are growing at a good clip -- they more than tripled in 2025. In short, this could be a highly lucrative opportunity.

But how fast will this change happen? AI glasses aren't cheap, which could slow their growth, at least somewhat, especially in markets outside the U.S. Meta Platforms will also face stiff competition, including from Apple. Further, this business will carry lower margins than Meta Platforms' core advertising operations, though it could help expand its customer base and create even more high-margin monetization opportunities in the future.

Should investors buy the stock because of Meta's work on AI glasses? My view is that the company's advertising business, which it is significantly improving through AI, will remain its central growth driver for a while and is a good enough reason to invest in Meta Platforms. AI glasses could contribute meaningfully down the line, though, so it's important to keep an eye on that.

Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.