Meta’s Ray-Ban Display Glasses Bring Telepathic Controls to Your Eyewear

Meta just dropped something that could change how we interact with technology forever. The Ray-Ban Display glasses the first consumer smart glasses with a built-in display that you can actually buy and use daily. After years of false starts from Google Glass to various AR prototypes, Meta and EssilorLuxottica have cracked the code on making augmented reality both fashionable and functional.

A Quick History Lesson

Meta’s journey into smart eyewear started back in 2021 with Ray-Ban Stories, which offered basic photo and video capture with social sharing. The second generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses in 2023 added AI capabilities and improved cameras, selling millions of pairs. But those were essentially cameras with speakers — no visual feedback beyond LED notifications. The Display model represents the next evolutionary leap, finally adding the missing piece: a screen you can actually see and interact with.

Just 69 Grams

The Display glasses maintain Ray-Ban’s iconic Wayfarer look while housing some seriously impressive tech. The frame got a subtle redesign — taller, more square, with rounded edges for comfort and durability. The titanium over-extension hinges accommodate wider faces without sacrificing strength. At 69g (~2.4oz), they’re remarkably light considering what’s packed inside.

The real engineering feat is the monocular display system. Meta rebuilt their entire display architecture to fit a fashionable frame, cramming 42 pixels per degree into the right lens — a pixel density that rivals much larger AR headsets. The display offers 600×600 resolution across a 20-degree field of view, with brightness ranging from 30 to 5,000 nits. Thanks to photochromatic Transitions lenses and auto-brightness algorithms, the screen stays crisp whether you’re indoors or in direct sunlight.

Getting the Band Together

The included Meta Neural Band uses electromyography (EMG) to read muscle signals from your wrist, letting you control the glasses through subtle finger movements. Pinch once to select, twice with your middle finger to dismiss the display, swipe your thumb to scroll. The band even detects movement before it’s visually perceptible, creating an almost telepathic control experience.

You can control everything discreetly from your side, under a table, behind your back. The band packs 18 hours of battery life and IPX7 water resistance, with electrodes coated in diamond-like carbon and reinforced with Vectran — the same material used on Mars Rover crash pads.

More Than Just Notifications

The Display glasses excel at tasks that traditionally require pulling out your phone. Live translation and captioning appear directly in your field of view, with the microphone array smart enough to focus on whoever you’re looking at. Navigation shows turn-by-turn directions with visual maps. The camera preview eliminates guesswork when framing shots, while EMG gestures let you zoom and capture photos hands-free.

Meta AI gets supercharged with visual responses — instead of just hearing recipe instructions, you see step-by-step cards you can navigate through while cooking. Video calls from WhatsApp and Messenger appear directly in the display, while messaging lets you read and respond to texts without ever touching your phone. If that’s not enough, coming soon is handwriting recognition that lets you trace letters on any surface to compose messages silently.

Spec Sheet

Pricing & Availability

The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses launch September 30 for $799, including the Neural Band, at Ray-Ban stores across the U.S. in two colors (Black and Sand) and two frame sizes.

Recap

Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses

Meta’s new Ray-Ban Display glasses are the first mainstream smart glasses with a built-in screen and EMG wristband controller, offering features like live translation, navigation, and messaging without needing to pull out your phone

Learn More: Meta