At its annual developer event, Meta Connect 2024 in Menlo Park, California, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the company’s first AI smart glasses featuring an integrated augmented reality (AR) display — the Meta Ray-Ban Display.
Set to launch on September 30 for $799, the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses come equipped with a 12-megapixel camera and a full-color high-resolution display embedded in the right lens. This small digital screen shows notifications, messages, Meta AI prompts, and acts as a viewfinder when taking photos. The glasses offer built-in audio and up to six hours of battery life.
Bundled with the glasses is a new neural wristband, which allows users to control tasks like sending messages or answering calls using small hand gestures.
Zuckerberg highlighted the unique potential of smart glasses, saying, “Glasses are the only form factor where you can let AI see what you see, hear what you hear, and eventually generate what you want to generate, such as images or video.”
In addition, Zuckerberg announced the Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses, designed specifically for runners, cyclists, and athletes. These glasses, launching on October 21 for $499, feature a single wide front lens with a 12-megapixel camera capable of recording 3K video with a 122-degree wide-angle field of view.
The Oakley Meta Vanguard also has a programmable button for custom AI commands, discreetly placed under the frame for helmet compatibility. Battery life extends up to nine hours or six hours of continuous music playback, with fast charging to 50% in 20 minutes via a charging case.
While these glasses are set for release soon, Zuckerberg noted that Meta’s highly anticipated AR glasses prototype, dubbed “Orion,” — described as “the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen” — will arrive in several years, representing the next step toward his vision for the metaverse.