Meta is taking its smart glasses beyond cameras and speakers with Meta Ray-Ban Display, a $799 pair that adds a full-color screen inside the right lens and bakes in its Meta AI assistant.
The company introduced the device at its Connect event and said sales start September 30 at select U.S. retailers, including Best Buy, LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, and Ray-Ban stores.
Each set ships with the new Meta Neural Band, a wrist-worn EMG controller that interprets tiny muscle signals for subtle, hands-free input.
Expansion to additional markets is planned for early 2026. The display is meant for quick interactions rather than constant overlays.
Meta describes short hits of information such as messages, navigation prompts, translations, and camera previews that appear when needed and disappear when not, aiming to keep wearers looking up rather than down at a phone.
The company says battery life runs up to six hours of mixed use, with as much as 30 hours available via a collapsible charging case.
Mark Zuckerberg framed the product as a step toward ambient computing that blends AI with the real world.
“Glasses are the only form factor where you can let AI see what you see,” he said at the Menlo Park keynote, arguing that on-device perception will unlock more useful assistance over time.
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Meta’s pitch centers on practicality; the Neural Band lets users pinch, scroll, and select without touching the frames, while Meta AI can surface answers in view, provide step-by-step how-tos, and caption or translate speech on request.
The frames ship in Black or Sand, support Transitions lenses, and keep the classic Wayfarer-style profile that helped its camera-only Ray-Ban line find mainstream acceptance.
The launch lands alongside an expanded lineup that underscores Meta’s wearables push.
The company and Oakley introduced a $499 Vanguard model geared to athletes, with tighter integration to fitness platforms and no display, while the camera-centric Ray-Ban line gets better battery life and recording.
Together, the products are meant to seed a larger shift toward consumer AR, even as true holographic eyewear remains a few years out.
Investor takeaway: a $799, display-equipped pair nudges smart glasses closer to everyday utility without the bulk of a headset.
The near-term unit outlook is uncertain, but Meta is clearly betting that getting AI into a familiar form factor will build habits and developer interest ahead of fuller AR hardware.
