Meta's Quest headsets will soon be joined by a new category of glasses with a display. However, the underlying display technology is nothing new.
Meta Ray-Ban Display was unveiled at the Connect conference and will launch in the US on September 17 for 800 dollars before taxes. They will roll out in select European countries in early 2026.
The idea is that, while wearing a pair of sunglasses, you can read messages and watch certain types of video on the small screen in the right lens. It is an a precursor to AR (Augmented Reality), which some believe could become the next big platform after the smartphone. Meta calls them AI glasses.
- "Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are designed to help you look up and stay present. With a quick glance at the in-lens display, you can accomplish everyday tasks—like checking messages, previewing photos, and collaborating with visual Meta AI prompts — all without needing to pull out your phone. It's technology that keeps you tuned in to the world around you, not distracted from it. This new category of AI glasses comes with a full-color, high-resolution display that's there when you want it — and gone when you don't," said Meta.
Meta's presentation video for Meta Ray-Ban Display
Old display technology
The glasses were presented as a breakthrough, but inside sits old display technology. It is a color LCD microdisplay produced on a silicon wafer, known as LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon). The LCD panel is illuminated by LEDs, and the light is projected to the lens via a waveguide.
The resolution is only 600x600 pixels, which is slightly higher than Google Glass from 2013, but significantly lower than the 2048x1080 pixels (per eye) in Microsoft HoloLens 2 from 2019. According to Meta, this corresponds to 42 ppd (pixels per degree), which seems like an optimistic figure.
Meta claims the system delivers up to 5000 nits brightness, but does not specify how much of that light actually reaches the eye after passing through the LCD panel and waveguide. However, Meta did say that light leakage is only 2%, which it says is almost invisible to outsiders. 2% of 5000 nits is 100 nits, which would be clearly visible to others, confirming that a lot of light is lost along the way.
Combined with the only 20-degree low-resolution screen in front of just one eye, we are still far from AR (Augmented Reality), where augmented objects float in the environment around you.
Glasses with a display
Despite the age-old display technology, Meta has managed to put things in a new context. The technology makes the glasses look a bit bulky, but the weight has been reduced to just 69 grams, with up to 6 hours of battery life.
The frame also houses a 12MP camera, speakers and microphones.
They can be controlled by voice, touch and a wristband that can detect hand movements. Meta calls it the Neural Band.
To control the glasses optimally, you also need to wear a wristband. Photo: Meta
The launch of Meta Ray-Ban Display could be the starting shot for an era of glasses with displays. It is a product category that other major tech companies have shown interest in for years, and that even more players are rumored to be researching.
- "Meta Ray-Ban Display is part of our vision to build the next computing platform that puts people at the center so they can be more present, connected, and empowered in the world. We've learned over the past decade at Reality Labs that building something so ambitious comes down to the courage of your convictions and a will to invent new things. No other company has invested as much as we have in this category — in tech, talent, and time," said Meta. "Today marks the start of the next chapter, not only for AI glasses, but for the future of wearable technology and its ability to connect us while expanding our interactions with the world. It's time to look forward."
Also read: New headsets debut with higher-res micro-OLED than Apple Vision Pro
