Meta announces first Ray-Ban smart glasses with in-built augmented reality display
Meta Ray-Ban Display have screen on inside of lens that can translate conversations, display information on landmarks and give directions
Meta has announced three new pairs of AI smart glasses, including the first Ray-Bans with a built-in screen for augmented reality.
The Meta Ray-Ban Display will be the first smart glasses with a heads-up display from a mainstream brand since the ill-fated Google Glass. They use a classic Wayfarer-like styling to avoid looking too obviously like wearable technology, while still having a camera, speakers and microphone.
A small, bright and crisp colour display is projected on to the inside of the right lens, which appears to float just below the wearer’s eye line, and can show anything from text and images to live video calls. The display appears when interacting with the glasses, but isn’t visible from the outside. An LED alerts others when the camera is active.
The glasses were showcased by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the Meta Connect event on Wednesday. “Glasses are the only form factor where you can let AI see what you see, hear what you hear,” and eventually generate what you want to generate, such as images or video, Zuckerberg said, speaking at the tech giant’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
There were some hiccups during the demo, which Zuckerberg attributed to the wifi at the event.
Similar to the company’s popular Ray-Ban Meta AI shades, the new glasses have a touch panel on the arms and voice control for direct interactions. They also ship with a water-resistant bracelet that can detect the electrical impulses in the forearm for controlling the phone-like interface in the lens using hand gestures. The Neural Band fits like a screenless smartwatch and can detect pinches, swipes, taps, rotations and other familiar gestures, including using a virtual d-pad with the thumb. Later this year it will enable handwriting using a finger.
The glasses require a Bluetooth connection to an Android or iPhone and support messaging and video calling through texts and Meta’s various apps, including WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. They can show live captions or translations of conversations, provide turn-by-turn walking directions, music playback controls, and the display can be used as a viewfinder when taking photos before sharing them.
Meta’s AI chatbot can also show picture and text answers to questions, including step-by-step recipes, details on paintings or landmarks, or other information about the real world using the camera.
They last up to six hours of mixed use and charge in a collapsable case for up to 30 hours of battery life.
The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses will be available in the US from 30 September starting at $799 before being available in the UK, France, Italy and Canada in early 2026.
Oakley Meta Vanguard
Alongside the display glasses, Meta also revealed a set of display-free Oakley smart glasses designed for sport. The Oakley Meta Vanguard have a wrap-around design similar to the brand’s Radar or M-frame sport glasses, but have a central camera in the nose piece, microphones and speakers for music, calls, AI and content capture during exercise. They weigh 66g, have swappable lenses, are water-resistant, last up to nine hours per charge and have a secure fit with replaceable nose pads in different sizes.
Meta has partnered with the leading sport-tracker maker Garmin to link the glasses with the firm’s watches and bike computers. Users can ask for data such as their current speed, pace, heart rate or distance during runs or other activities, while an LED inside the glasses flashes when reaching a certain target metric.
The camera can also automatically capture video clips when the wearer hits milestones such as every kilometre, certain speeds, elevation or heart rate thresholds, stitching them with data overlays to create a highlight real of key events from races, climbs or workouts. Images and videos can be shared straight to the sport social network Strava.
The Oakley Meta Vanguard will cost £499 (€549/$499), shipping from 21 October, while a revamped second generation of the original Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses with double the battery life and a higher resolution video camera are available for £379 (€419/$379/A$599).