Meta's first smart glasses with display will be cheaper than expected

Bloomberg reported in April that the price of Meta's new smart glasses was expected to be between 1,000 and 1,400 US dollars, significantly higher than the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which are available from 300 US dollars. The business journal now reports that Meta has found ways to reduce the price to around 800 US dollars.

According to the report, this reduction is partly due to the company accepting lower margins. However, the 800 US dollars is only the entry-level price; design variants or corrective lenses would quickly drive up the overall price.

According to Bloomberg, the smart glasses will be unveiled in September. They are likely to be the focus of Meta Connect, which takes place on September 17 and 18.

Control via wristband

Meta has hinted several times that it wants to launch smart glasses with a mini display on the market. Bloomberg reported that the display would offer its apps for taking photos and accessing maps, as well as displaying smartphone notifications from Messenger and WhatsApp, for example. The display is located in the bottom right-hand corner of the right-hand lens and is monocular.

According to Bloomberg, the smart glasses come with a sEMG wristband that captures electrical muscle signals on the wrist and translates micro-gestures into computer commands using an AI model: a new input method for hands-free control of smart glasses and AR glasses. The wristband was shown back in 2024 together with the Orion AR glasses prototype.

The smart glasses are intended as an intermediate stage between displayless AI glasses such as the Ray-Ban Meta glasses and fully-fledged AR glasses, which Meta plans to launch on the market from 2027, according to reports. According to tech magazine The Information, the wearable developed under the codename “Hypernova” will weigh around 70 grams, which is around 20 grams more than the Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

(dmk)