Meta Unveils Ray-Ban Display Smart Glasses With Hands-Free AI Interface

Meta Platforms rolled out its first smart glasses with an integrated visual display and gesture-controlled wristband during its Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, on September 18, 2025. The Meta Ray-Ban Display pairs a high-resolution in-lens screen with the new Meta Neural Band, enabling users to access AI features, messages and navigation without touching a phone.

Nut Graf By embedding a discreet 600 x 600 pixel display in the right lens and leveraging electromyography-based hand gestures, Meta aims to establish smart glasses as the go-to wearable for on-the-go AI tasks. The launch underscores Meta’s push to make augmented reality a practical daily tool, bridging the gap between audio-only AI eyewear and full AR headsets.

Key Features

  • High-Resolution Display: Full-color, 600 x 600 pixel HUD appears only when activated, preserving natural vision the rest of the time.
  • Meta Neural Band: EMG wristband decodes subtle muscle signals to scroll, type and control apps hands-free, with up to 18 hours of battery life.
  • AI Integration: Instant access to Meta AI for text responses, live translation, reminders and contextual information.
  • Camera & Audio: 12 MP camera, open-ear speakers and microphones for calls, media and environmental awareness.
  • Battery Performance: Approximately six hours of mixed display use, extendable to 30 hours via the charging case.

Availability and Pricing

The Meta Ray-Ban Display will retail for US $799 and launch exclusively in select US brick-and-mortar stores-including Best Buy, LensCrafters and Ray-Ban boutiques-starting September 30, 2025. Meta plans to expand to Canada, the UK, France and Italy in early 2026.

Industry Response and Context

Analysts view these glasses as a practical evolution from Meta’s earlier audio-only Ray-Ban Meta models and a precursor to more advanced AR devices like Project Orion. Forrester vice-president Mike Proulx noted that smart glasses could outpace VR headsets in consumer adoption, provided users find clear everyday uses for the technology. However, skepticism remains over the price point and whether gesture controls will offer reliable performance in real-world settings.

Meta’s announcement follows its $3.5 billion minority investment in EssilorLuxottica, securing deeper collaboration on eyewear innovation. With the Ray-Ban Display, Meta signals its commitment to making AI integration seamless and contextually aware, seeking to accelerate the transition from smartphone dependence to ambient computing.