Meta Accelerates Innovation: Ray-Ban Smart Glasses with Displays Planned

Meta, the American technology company, plans to equip its Ray-Ban smart glasses with displays starting next year. This is part of the company's ambitious goal to replace smartphones as the most important consumer computer. The $300 sunglasses, made in collaboration with EssilorLuxottica, are expected to feature screens that will likely display notifications or responses from Meta's virtual assistant. This development is part of Meta's push into the wearable device sector, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg describes as the next computing platform. Besides Meta, competitors such as Apple, Google, and Snap are also working on similar products. In September, Meta unveiled the prototype of the augmented reality glasses Orion, whose development has been accelerated due to positive feedback from test users. Orion's progress is evident in its compact design, lightweight frame structure, and innovative displays that integrate 3D content into the real world. These features mark a breakthrough after a series of failed AR headsets. However, Meta is just beginning to experiment with AR headsets. Orion's glasses are controlled via armbands that receive signals through neural interfaces. While integrating a display into a future Ray-Ban version represents a significant step toward Zuckerberg's vision of AR glasses, Meta still faces challenges in hardware performance and battery life while maintaining fashion appeal. The use of silicon carbide lenses in Orion, which have been rarely used in optics so far, could help, but high costs and production issues stand in the way of mass production. Although Meta's Metaverse plans are taking a back seat, the company is increasingly investing in artificial intelligence. Products like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses and Apple's Vision Pro contribute to familiarizing society with smart headsets and pave the way for the acceptance of this technology.