I’VE already had a go with Mark Zuckerberg’s snazzy new smart glasses with a screen built in.
I’m out in California at Meta Connect where the company has unveiled the new Meta Ray-Ban Display smart specs – and I got an early demo with the new gadget.
8
8
If you’re not familiar with Meta Ray-Ban gear, they’re a fairly simple concept.
They’re a pair of eyeglasses with cameras built in (for taking pics), microphones for calling, speakers for listening to music, and an AI assistant to answer your spoken questions. In fact, you can even ask about things you’re looking at – like a statue or a piece of art. Or your own wardrobe, if you want style advice.
Now Meta and Ray-Ban have created a brand new version with a built-in display, and they’ve aptly named it the Meta Ray-Ban Display.
This hi-tech gadget is the company’s first publicly available pair of smart glasses with a screen built in. And honestly, they’re pretty incredible.
Read more on gadget tests
Before I get into the features that I found most impressive, here’s what you actually get.
META RAY-BAN DISPLAY EXPLAINED
These glasses have all the features of a regular pair of Meta Ray-Ban specs.
But the main difference is that there’s a new full-colour hi-res display.
It has impressive clarity: I could easily read small text, see enough detail in images, and colour was bright and vibrant.
Obviously it’s nowhere near the screen experience of a smartphone, or a mixed-reality headset like the Meta Quest 3 or Apple Vision Pro.
But for an overlay on a pair of glasses, it’s pretty wild.
More importantly, no one else can see what you’re looking at. There’s no sign to the outside world that you’ve even got display running.
The display will show apps from your phone, like WhatsApp text threads, or Instagram Reels, or a Google Maps navigation window.
And you can also chat to the AI helper and see its responses in plain view – rather than simply relying on an audio reply.
To control what you’re seeing, you don a Meta Neural Band on your wrist.
8
This picks up on tiny micro-movements, detects the gestures you make, and translates them as controls on the glasses.
So touching your index finger to your thumb is equivalent to a click or tap on a PC or phone.
You can go back by tapping your index finger to your thumb.
And rolling your thumb on your fist lets you scroll up and down, as well as left and right.
It’s very easy and intuitive.
And because it’s using the wristband and not cameras or sensors, you can have your hand off to the side or even behind you and the controls still work. This is pretty special.
So, what are the special tricks that blew me away?
META RAY-BAN DISPLAY HANDS-ON – MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE SPECS
First up is Live Captions.
8
This will caption the words of someone you’re speaking to in real life.
So as you look at their face, you’ll see their words popping up as text in real time.
This is obviously life-changing for anyone with hearing issues.
But even if you’re just struggling to hear someone in a crowded restaurant, it’s pretty useful.
But that’s not all.
The glasses are directional, so they know where you’re looking.
I was chatting to someone from Meta while another person was nearby having their own conversation.
And my live captions focused in on the Meta person and cut out all of the ambient conversation.
8
Then when I turned my head to look at the other person next to me, the captions switched to their speech instead.
This all happened in an instant. Incredible.
The next thing I was impressed by isn’t necessarily a life-changing mega-feature.
But it’s pretty neat and I think actually very useful. So it shouldn’t be overlooked.
Recipes.
Yes, you can ask Meta AI how to cook something, and it’ll conjure up the recipe.
Then it’ll hover in front of you in easy steps, and you can swipe along with the thumb gesture.
So you can follow along and cook without having a physical book or laptop there.
8
And if you’re baking, you don’t actually have to touch a book or a device while your hands are covered in flour, or pizza dough, or whatever else. Very convenient.
Next is the Google Maps navigation, which is so plainly handy that it hardly needs me to explain why it’s useful.
Your exact directions will appear on the screen, telling you which way to walk.
And yes, it only works with walking. You can’t use this feature while driving. Safety first.
It’s a neat way to find your way around without having to constantly pull out your phone.
And that means it’s also a nice way to avoid falling prey to those pesky phone-snatchers too.
Video-calling is also on my list of incredible features.
Not that video-calling is anything new, of course.
8
But dialling on WhatsApp and having the person’s face pop-up right in front of my eyes without blocking the outside world felt very sci-fi.
Except it’s not sci-fi, because I did it and it was seamless. It’s not quite teleporting, but it’s pretty close.
And lastly, I want to highlight how simple the controls are.
These are exceptionally easy to use, even if you have very little tech experience.
The Neural Band is very responsive, and even gives you haptic feedbacks – which feel like tiny nudges – to let you know you’ve successfully completed an interaction.
It takes literally 30 seconds to learn the moves, and then just a few minutes more to fully master them.
I had the specs on for about 20 to 30 minutes, and by the end, I was easily controlling the apps with my hands behind my back.
If that all sounds like great fun, you’ll be glad to know that the glasses go on sale in the US at select stores on September 30.
8
They’ll cost you $799 for a pair, and that includes the Meta Neural Band and a case too.
If you want one in the UK, Meta says that you’ll have to wait until early 2026.
