Key Highlights :

Meta launched Ray-Ban Display smart glasses at $799 that have an in-lens color display and neural wristband control.

Battery life provides six hours of use, backed up to 30 hours by the charging case.

Coming to U.S. on September 30, with wider international availability in early 2026.

Meta also launched new Ray-Ban glasses and a sports-focused Oakley Meta Vanguard model at $499.

Key Background :

Meta has been progressively developing its wearables technology vision, seeking to bring AI into everyday life with useful and fashionable devices. Its previous Ray-Ban devices enabled photography and video recording, music listening, and AI-powered voice interactions, but did not have a display integrated. The new Ray-Ban Display represents the company's first effort to blend augmented graphics with consumer-level smart glasses.

The Neural Band is a major advance in input technology. By reading electrical signals in the wrist and fingers, it allows for intuitive control without apparent hand movement. It attempts to sidestep the social and practical limitations of touch-only or voice-only commands to make wearables feel more natural in public or work environments.

In addition to the Display model, the Oakley Meta Vanguard highlights Meta's expansion into niche markets. Built for athletes, it combines fitness tracking and in-the-moment performance information and includes hands-free video capture of training sessions. The updated Ray-Ban glasses also enjoy battery and performance enhancements, reflecting a stronger lineup at various price points.

In spite of the product demonstration, the Connect event exposed persistent challenges. A few of the live demonstrations did not work, with users complaining of lag and misunderstood gestures. All these problems show how difficult it is to provide consistent consumer hardware that integrates AI, screen tech, and neural inputs into one device.

However, Meta continues to believe in wearables as the bridge to its ultimate vision for completely immersive augmented reality glasses under the codename "Orion." Though still years from mass market availability, Orion is Meta's vision for doing away with smartphones and replacing them with AI-driven eyewear that blends smoothly into daily life.

The rollout of the Ray-Ban Display glasses represents a significant leap in that direction, however, and widespread popularity will ultimately rest on user confidence, comfort, and Meta's AI infrastructure being able to provide useful, frictionless functionality in actual use cases.

About the Author

Ryan Parker

Ryan Parker is a Managing Editor at Business Minds Media.