Meta To Expand Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Lineup With Display-Enabled Model

Since late summer or fall of 2024, Ray-Ban Meta Glasses have surged in popularity with US consumers, a trend we previously highlighted citing several Goldman reports. The data was primarily based on app downloads worldwide. 

Building on this momentum, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta’s Reality Labs division is preparing to capture further market share in the smart glasses segment by releasing a new iteration of its Meta Glasses later this year. The glasses will feature an integrated screen for displaying photos and applications, according to a Bloomberg News report. 

These glasses are expected to be priced between $1,000 and $1,400, positioning them as an affordable offering in the smart glasses realm, considering Apple’s Vision Pros cost more than $3,000. 

Ray-Ban Meta Glasses have been a hit with consumers considering that many other smart glasses options are unaffordable: Apple Vision Pro. As we previously noted, Tim Cook’s space goggles have bombed:

• Vision Pro’s Success Hinges On Cheaper Version As Consumers Balk At $3,500 Price Tag

• Apple Reportedly Halts Work On Vision Pro 2, Focuses On Cheaper Version As Demand Falters

• Apple “Might Wind Down” Vision Pro Production Next Month Due To “Weak Demand”

• Number Of Apple Vision Pro Apps Hit By “Significant Slowdown” As Demand Plunges

For months, readers have been briefed on the shift to Meta Glasses…

• Popularity Of Meta Smart-Glasses Erupt As Apple Vision Pro Demand Vanishes

Bloomberg provided further color about the Meta prototype version of the Hypernova glasses ahead of commercialization:

• When they are turned on, the display shows a “boot screen” with logos for Meta and other partners — such as chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. — on the product.

• Once the device is on, the user will see a home screen comprised of circular icons laid out horizontally, similar to the app dock on Apple devices or Meta’s Quest mixed-reality headset.

• The glasses include dedicated apps for taking pictures, viewing photos and accessing maps. There is also support for notifications from phone apps, including Meta’s Messenger and WhatsApp.

• The glasses will otherwise work similarly to the current Wayfarer-style Ray-Ban Metas, focusing on capturing images and video, accessing AI via built-in microphones and pairing with a phone for calls and music playback. The new version will continue to rely heavily on the Meta View phone app.

• Like Meta’s other new devices, the glasses will run a highly customized version of the Android operating system from Alphabet Inc.’s Google. The company isn’t currently planning to include an on-board app store.

• Users will be able to control the glasses using capacitive touch controls on the sides of the glasses, meaning they can scroll through apps or photos by swiping against the temple bars and then tapping to open something specific.

• Meta also plans to begin offering a so-called neural wristband for the first time, which will allow a wearer to control the glasses with gestures, such as rotating their hand to scroll through apps and photos and pinching their finger and thumb to select items. Meta is currently planning to bundle the accessory, codenamed Ceres, in the box with the glasses

“The Hypernova glasses are still months away from being introduced, and the company’s current plans could change,” Bloomberg noted.