Meta pushes wearables forward with Ray-Ban Display and Next-Gen Smart Glasses

At its annual Connect 2025 event, Meta unveiled a pair of ambitious new entries into the smart glasses market, signaling that the company sees eyewear as central to the future of consumer technology. The spotlight fell on the Ray-Ban Display, a pair of glasses with a built-in micro display, and the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Together, they highlight Meta’s evolving strategy of merging fashion, utility, and artificial intelligence into everyday accessories.

The Ray-Ban Display is the more striking debut. The glasses house a full-color, 600 by 600-pixel panel embedded directly in the right lens. This heads-up display boasts a refresh rate of 90Hz, a 20-degree field of view, and brightness levels reaching 5,000 nits, making it viable even in direct sunlight. For static images and video playback, the refresh rate scales down to 30Hz to conserve power.

Meta has designed the Display’s features around communication and quick access to information. The glasses can project WhatsApp and Messenger texts and video calls directly into the lens, provide real-time turn-by-turn navigation, and even act as a camera viewfinder. They also support live captions and instant translations, show what’s playing on Spotify, and pull up responses from Meta AI on command.

Driving interaction with the Display is the Meta Neural Band, a lightweight wristband that uses sEMG (surface electromyography) to interpret muscle signals. This allows users to control the glasses with subtle hand gestures rather than touch inputs. The Neural Band carries an IPX7 water resistance rating and promises up to 18 hours of operation on a charge.

On the hardware side, the glasses feature a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera capable of recording at 3K resolution with 30 frames per second, supported by 3x digital zoom. Audio is handled through two open-ear speakers and six integrated microphones designed to capture sound from multiple directions. The result is a pair of glasses positioned as a multimedia hub for both creation and communication.

Battery life is claimed to be six hours with mixed use, while the included charging case extends runtime to 24 hours. Under the hood, the Display packs 32GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM, alongside support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3. The frames are also prescription-ready, covering a range from -4.00 to +4.00 diopters.

Visually, the Ray-Ban Display looks bulkier than the company’s previous eyewear efforts, weighing in at 69 grams. They hold an IPX4 water resistance rating, which should protect against light splashes but not immersion. Buyers will be able to choose between Black and Sand finishes. The glasses are priced at $799 in the US and will be available starting September 30. A wider rollout to Canada, France, Italy, and the UK is scheduled for early 2026.

Alongside the Display, Meta introduced the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2), an update to its earlier smart glasses that places greater emphasis on practicality and performance. The new model delivers up to eight hours of battery life on a full charge, nearly double its predecessor, and can reach 50 percent charge in just 20 minutes. The charging case extends usage up to an impressive 48 hours.

The second-generation glasses now support 3K video recording at 60 frames per second, marking a leap forward for creators who want higher fidelity from wearable cameras. Meta also confirmed that upcoming software updates will unlock new recording modes, including hyperlapse and slow-motion, making the glasses more appealing for casual videographers and influencers.

Another feature arriving in a future update is called Conversation Focus. This enhancement uses the glasses’ microphone array to isolate the voice of the person the wearer is speaking with, reducing background noise. For crowded or noisy environments, this capability could make the glasses more than just a gadget—they could be a real tool for communication.

Design remains central to Meta’s pitch. The Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) is available in several familiar frames, including Wayfarer, Skyler, and Headliner, allowing buyers to choose a style that blends technology with fashion. At $379, the Gen 2 model undercuts the Display by a wide margin and is already available for purchase in the US.