Meta – first Ray-Ban smart glasses with in-built augmented reality display (www.theguardian.com)

Meta unveiled three new AI smart glasses at Meta Connect, led by the Ray-Ban Display — the first mainstream heads-up AR glasses since Google Glass. The Wayfarer-styled frames house a camera, speakers, mic and a bright full‑color microdisplay projected onto the inside of the right lens (visible only to the wearer) for text, images and live video calls; an LED signals camera activity. Controls include touch, voice and a novel Neural Band bracelet that reads forearm electrical impulses (EMG) to detect pinches, swipes, taps, rotations and a virtual d‑pad, with handwriting planned later. The glasses tether to Android/iPhone via Bluetooth, support WhatsApp/Messenger/Instagram, live captions/translations, viewfinder/photo sharing and on‑camera answers from Meta’s AI. Battery is ~6 hours mixed use with a charging case providing up to 30 hours; US launch is 30 Sept from $799 (other markets early 2026). Meta also showed the Oakley Meta Vanguard — a display‑free sports model with a nose‑piece camera, mics, speakers, 66 g weight, swappable lenses, up to nine hours battery and Garmin integration for real‑time telemetry and auto‑captured milestone clips (shareable to Strava) — shipping 21 Oct (£499). The announcements mark a significant push to normalize AR eyewear and new input modalities (EMG bracelet), but reveal ongoing constraints: tethering, battery limits, connectivity reliance (demo hiccups blamed on Wi‑Fi) and persistent privacy/usability tradeoffs for always‑on, camera‑equipped wearables.