Ray-Ban Meta have been the most successful smart glasses to date, offering an appealing mix of features in a form factor which is visually indistinguishable from normal sunglasses.
So far, all of the AI functionality, notifications, and messaging features have relied on the glasses reading things to you through integrated speakers, but a new report says a future model will get a display, and that it could launch as early as next year …
We’re fans of the existing glasses here at 9to5Mac. My colleague Filipe Espósito said that his experience of Ray-Ban Meta glasses convinced him to believe in smart glasses, and my own experience mirrored that.
I found it was a great way to shoot POV photos and videos in a very unobtrusive way, and to have incoming messages read to me while I’m walking or cycling.
Their AI capabilities are rapidly developing, and really excite me about the future.
A future model will get a display
Having the glasses read to me is often convenient, but there are times when a visual display is more efficient. We can read something faster than it can be read to us, so it would be good to have the choice. And a Financial Times report suggests that’s coming sooner rather than later.
Meta plans to add displays to its Ray-Ban smart glasses as soon as next year, as the US tech giant accelerates its plans to build lightweight headsets that can usurp the smartphone as consumers’ main computing device.
The $1.5tn social media group is planning to add a screen inside the $300 sunglasses it makes and sells in partnership with eyewear group EssilorLuxottica, according to people familiar with the plans.
The updated Ray-Bans could be released as early as the second half of 2025, the people said. The small display would be likely to be used to show notifications or responses from Meta’s virtual assistant.
Another step toward Apple Glasses
Meta showed off an early prototype of its Orion AR glasses back in the summer. While they are undeniably clunky, and reputedly have a manufacturing cost of $10,000, they did provide a persuasive look at what we can one day expect in something that looks and feels more like the company’s existing smart glasses.
A glasses form factor is also believed to be Apple’s long-term goal, with Vision Pro just an early step along the way toward Apple Glasses. While speech will doubtless be included, Apple is expected to major on built-in displays.
Back in 2019, it was reported that Apple believes that AR glasses will eventually replace the iPhone. Whether that will happen is a matter for debate, but I’m already convinced that smart glasses will play a very large role in our tech future.
Meta adding a display to its own glasses helps drive the technology forward, and is something I very much look forward to trying.
Photo: Ben Lovejoy/9to5Mac
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