Meta Expands AI Glasses Line in a Bet on the Future

Meta unveiled its latest AI-powered smart glasses on Wednesday, signalling the company’s ongoing commitment to blending real and virtual experiences, despite the heavy financial losses its virtual reality ventures continue to incur.

The highlight of the announcements was the Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, featuring built-in screens that allow wearers to view messages, photos, and other content as if looking at a smartphone screen. These are billed as Meta’s most advanced AI glasses and include sensor-packed bracelets known as neural bands, which enable control through subtle finger movements. They are priced at $799.

“Our goal is to build great-looking glasses that deliver personal superintelligence and a feeling of presence using realistic holograms,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the company’s annual developers conference.
“These ideas combined are what we call the metaverse.”

Zuckerberg has predicted that AI-infused smart glasses will become the next major computing platform, eventually replacing smartphones.

Meta began investing heavily in virtual reality and the metaverse around four years ago, with Zuckerberg renaming the company from Facebook to Meta in late 2021 to reflect the strategic shift.

However, Reality Labs, Meta’s VR and AR division, continues to post substantial losses. In Q2 of this year, the unit lost $4.5 billion on revenue of just $370 million, highlighting the challenges in monetising metaverse ventures.

“There’s no realistic chance that smart glasses sales will make this division profitable in the short term,” commented Leo Gebbie, principal analyst at CCS Insight.
“This is about playing the long-term game to break free from smartphones, where Meta has been throttled by rivals Apple and Google, and to control its own destiny in wearables.”

Smart glasses have been anticipated for over a decade, dating back to Google Glass in 2013. Meta has seen more success with its Ray-Ban collaboration, offering built-in cameras, music playback, and AI-powered voice interactions.

The global smart glasses market was valued at nearly $2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $8.26 billion annually by 2030, according to Grand View Research.

Meta emphasises that: “AI glasses connect us to real-world superpowers as we move throughout the day, tapping into a wealth of information while staying present in the moment.”

Zuckerberg also unveiled Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses, continuing the 2019 partnership between Meta and EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban and Oakley.

Ray-Ban Meta has become the world’s top-selling AI glasses, with millions of units sold. Features include:

• Built-in cameras for hands-free photos or video
• Access to a digital assistant
• Real-time language translation

New Ray-Ban smart glasses start at $379.

Oakley Meta Vanguard, designed as performance AI glasses for athletic use, are priced at $499 and include:

• Action-ready camera for sports
• Integration with fitness apps
• Immersive audio to enhance workouts

“We designed Oakley Meta Vanguard for high-intensity sports, with an action-ready camera, integrations with fitness apps, immersive audio to elevate your workouts, and more,” Meta said.

Summary Table: Meta’s AI Smart Glasses

Meta continues to bet on the long-term shift toward AI and AR wearables, aiming to create a computing platform that moves beyond smartphones while expanding its influence in the metaverse and smart device market.