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Meta is planning to announce a brand-new pair of its tech-packed specs at their annual Connect conference in mid-September, sources say. According to anonymous sources speaking to CNBC, CEO Mark Zuckerberg will use the conference to announce new smart glasses, which will supersede the existing Ray-Ban Meta glasses.
"Join Mark Zuckerberg as he shares the latest on AI glasses and lays out Meta’s vision for artificial intelligence and the metaverse," the blurb on the website teases about his keynote address.
Signs that new specs could be incoming are piling up. Mobile network Three has listed the current models as sold-out, which could indicate that supplies are dwindling ahead of the new models.
If you're not familiar with Meta's annual conference, it's a two-day event for developers that focuses on Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Metaverse — the concept that pushed Facebook to rebrand its entire company.
Previously called Oculus Connect, it was rebranded after the switch to Meta back in 2021.
So, what does Meta have up its sleeves for this new pair of smart specs?
The current Ray-Ban glasses let you take photographs and video from a first-person perspective with a hands-free voice command
| META PRESS OFFICECodenamed Hypernova, this will be Meta's third generation of camera-equipped glasses.
The new model will reportedly feature a digital colour display in the right lens of the device — a first for Meta's lineup of glasses. The display is rumoured to showcase notifications, maps, and photos, removing the need to pull your smartphone out of your pocket.
It may only have a 20-degree field of view, though, meaning it's a small display in a fixed position, rather than being large enough to take over the full right lens. If you're imagining an immersive Apple Vision Pro-style view with app windows floating around you, that doesn't sound like what Meta has planned.
Meta CEO and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg puts on the Orion prototype glasses with the ability to display digital software — like calendars, WhatsApp conversations, and recipes — in your real-life surroundings in a previous Meta Connect conference
| REUTERSThe glasses are also expected to have an improved camera to capture even crisper photos and videos.
Sources also confirmed that a new wristband will be revealed, which will reportedly allow you to control the glasses with hand gestures. This could give you even more capabilities with the glasses and even more streamlined use.
In terms of price, there have been whispers of them setting you back $800, which is roughly £590. If this is true, then the new model will cost nearly twice as much the current pair for sale.
Meta AI glasses made their initial appearance in 2021, but it wasn't until their most recent release of Meta Ray-Ban glasses in 2024 that they began flying off the shelves.
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"We thought that Ray-Ban Meta was probably going to sell three or five times more than the first version did. And we just dramatically underestimated it," said Mark Zuckerberg, co-creator of Facebook.
The current Ray-Ban glasses let you take photographs and video from a first-person perspective with a hands-free voice command, making them a hit with social media content creators and parents.
Meta has partnered with French-Italian brand EssilorLuxottica since 2019 to build two generations of Ray-Ban-branded smart glasses, and the new glasses will reportedly be a continuation of the partnership.
However, it's not confirmed if Luxottica is using Ray-Ban in its newest development.
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Luxottica owns several glasses brands, like Ray-Ban and licenses others, such as Prada, so it's possible another brand will be used for this new release.
In fact, Meta and Luxottica are already planning to release Prada-branded smart glasses, with a focus on integrating high-fashion styles into wearable tech. These would be separate a model from the anticipated Hypernova. There has been no confirmation on when these will be released, but the Connect conference could provide additional details.
Meta Connect won't just be about new hardware. The social media brand will hold a handful of sessions on how to take advantage of a “new developer toolkit”, that'll be announced at Connect.
Based on some sleuthing by the team at Techradar, the three members of the Meta team who will be hosting these sessions are specialists in bringing apps to Meta glasses. That suggests we could see a blockbuster new software update that brings apps and other functionality to the specs.
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