Meta unveils new smart glasses with a display and wristband controller

Meta on Wednesday unveiled a new pair of Ray-Ban branded smart glasses with a built-in display for apps, alerts, and directions on the right lens. The smart glasses are controlled by a wristband that picks up on subtle hand gestures, called Meta Neural Band, the same one it unveiled at last year’s Connect as part of its Orion demo.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new product, called Meta Ray-Ban Display, onstage at the company’s annual developer conference, Meta Connect 2025. Unlike Orion, Zuckerberg says this is a product that people can buy in a couple of weeks, starting September 30, and they’ll cost $799.

This is Meta’s latest attempt to ship a pair of consumer smart glasses that can handle many of the tasks users traditionally do on a smartphone. For years, Meta has been forced to reach users through its competitors’ devices, namely those sold by Google and Apple. While Meta has invested billions in virtual reality headsets, AI-powered smart glasses now seem like the most promising way for the company to connect with users on its own hardware.

With the Meta Ray-Ban Display, Meta aims to build off the success of its original Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which the company has sold millions of pairs of with its eyewear partner, EssilorLuxottica. Much like Ray-Ban Meta, the Meta Ray-Ban Display comes equipped with an on-board AI assistant, as well as cameras, speakers, and microphones. The glasses let users connect to the cloud to access the internet and social media apps.

Meta says the display enables users to do much more with their smart glasses. Users are capable of displaying Meta apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. Users can also view directions and see live translations in the smart glasses’ display.

The Neural Band that ships alongside the device looks similar to a Fitbit, but without a screen, and allows users to navigate apps with small hand movements. Zuckerberg said onstage that the Meta Neural Band has 18 hours of battery life and is water resistant.

The device uses electromyography (EMG) to pick up on signals sent between your brain and your hand when performing a gesture. Meta is betting this interface will be a new way users can control their devices.

Earlier this week, a video leaked of Meta’s latest smart glasses. CNBC and Bloomberg previously reported that the smart glasses, which were internally codenamed Hypernova, would be unveiled at this year’s Connect conference.

It’s worth noting that Meta Ray-Ban Display are far less capable than the Orion smart glasses Meta showed off at Connect 2024. That device featured augmented reality lenses and eye tracking, while this pair uses a much simpler display. It may be years before Meta ever sells Orion.

Still, Meta is hoping it can win the smart glasses race by being first to market with a real product. However, it seems likely that Google and Apple will launch smart glasses of their own in the years to come. Those devices will undoubtedly be able to integrate into Google and Apple’s respective operating systems, giving them a significant leg up over Meta.