Meta Platforms unveiled its first consumer-ready smart glasses with a built-in digital display, called the Meta Ray-Ban Display, on September 17, 2025, at its annual Meta Connect developer conference. Priced at $799, these glasses represent a significant advancement in wearable technology and artificial intelligence integration, aiming to create a form of "personal superintelligence" as described by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The glasses will be available for purchase starting September 30, 2025, in the United States, with wider international releases expected in 2026.
Features and Design
The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses have a small high-resolution, full-color digital display embedded inside the right lens. This display is discreet and only activates when needed, remaining invisible otherwise to avoid obstructing vision. The built-in display allows users to receive notifications, check messages, preview photos, get live translations, watch videos, and navigate turn-by-turn directions. The glasses also include a 12-megapixel camera capable of photo and video capture.
Accompanying the glasses is the Meta Neural Band, a wrist-worn device that acts as a highly sensitive controller by reading subtle muscle signals from the user's hand. This electromyography (EMG) band allows users to interact with the glasses using intuitive hand gestures such as sliding, pinching, and rotating motions for scrolling, selecting, and adjusting volume. The Neural Band is water-resistant, has up to 18 hours of battery life, and is built from a durable yet flexible material called Vectran, used in Mars Rover crash pads.
User Experience and AI Capabilities
Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated the smart glasses during the keynote, showing functionalities like messaging, photo previews, AI-powered assistance, translation services, and calls (with some live-call glitches during the demo). The glasses support key Meta apps including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram direct messaging, along with some third-party apps like Spotify. The device relies on smartphone connectivity and does not have its own cellular modem, positioning it as a complement to mobile devices.
Zuckerberg highlighted that glasses are an ideal platform for “personal superintelligence,” providing users the ability to stay engaged with their environment while seamlessly accessing AI-enhanced capabilities such as improved communication, memory aids, and sensory sharpening.
Market Position and Future Outlook
This launch builds on Meta’s earlier smart glasses collaborations with Ray-Ban and EssilorLuxottica, where millions of pairs of AI-enabled eyewear have been sold. The new Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses bridge the gap between audio-only smart glasses and more advanced augmented reality devices, marking a step closer to a phone-less future integrated with AI technology.
Meta is also expanding its smart glasses portfolio with related products like the Oakley Meta Vanguard, geared towards athletes, and next-generation Ray-Ban AI glasses with improved battery life and features. These efforts reinforce Meta’s strategic push into wearable computing, AI-powered personal devices, and the broader metaverse vision.
This comprehensive innovation marks Meta’s bold leap in consumer AI wearables, integrating advanced neural control and high-resolution display in stylish eyewear, underscoring the company’s ambition to redefine human-computer interaction through personal superintelligence. The Meta Ray-Ban Display is poised to be a major player in the evolving landscape of smart glasses and AI-enhanced daily life.