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Meta plans to add displays to its Ray-Ban smart glasses as soon as the second half of 2025, The Financial Times reports.
The second-generation glasses—which Meta released in partnership with eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica in November 2023—already offer a slew of AI integrations. The glasses can remember your spot in long-term parking for you and let you record and send voice messages on WhatsApp and Messenger on the go.
But we’re not going to see the $300 sunglasses become a full-fledged augmented reality device like the Apple Vision Pro after the update. The new small display will instead be used to show notifications or responses from Meta’s virtual assistant.
The Financial Times’ sources said plans to turn its augmented reality glasses prototype, Orion—unveiled in September—into a consumer product had been “brought forward,” though its release is still likely to “be years away.”
Though we don’t have a firm release date for Orion, Meta promises to combine some of the mixed-reality features found in Meta's much larger Quest 3 VR headsets, but in a lightweight piece of eyewear. CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised the "most advanced glasses that the world has ever seen" during the announcement event.
The reports come as more big tech firms are announcing their entry into the mixed-reality glasses space. In September, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said that the chipmaker is partnering with Samsung and Google to develop mixed-reality glasses that can be connected to a wearer's smartphone.
Meanwhile, Apple may be targeting a cheaper version of the Apple Vision Pro for release at some point after 2027, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts, offering an alternative to the $2,500 headset for budget-conscious audiences.