It takes time to realize you don’t have to hold your hand out in front of you for these gestures to be recognized, but a surprisingly short amount of time to find yourself using them with very little second thought.
Of course talking to Meta AI remains a key way of interacting with the glasses, but Meta hopes that adding the visual elements will enhance the chatbot experience. For example, live speech captioning and language translation is still switched on by voice—but with Meta Ray-Ban Display, you can see the translations and captions appearing in real time on the glasses rather than on your phone’s screen. This is the same with commands like “Hey Meta, what am I looking at?” which can now offer more visually rich information about whatever the front-facing cameras are pointing at. Asking Meta to navigate to a local attraction results in the glasses displaying turn-by-turn directions directly on top of the real world as you walk.
For times when talking might be difficult, Meta also showed off a feature that tracks handwriting input as an alternative to voice commands. Aimed at quick messages, the user can “draw” letters with an outstretched finger on a flat service (or your leg), and the Neural Band will turn it into text. Though the feature was part of the demo we received, Meta says it won’t be available to users at launch, but will arrive soon. Who knows, maybe this will be the thing that helps save handwriting.
Meta has acknowledged some limitations with features at launch. For example, the built-in Spotify integration is only able to show what’s playing on your phone and give you basic playback controls, and Instagram is currently limited to just Reels and messages. Meta intends to broaden out the capabilities soon.
Also notable: The Orion prototype we saw last year required an external puck to power its most computing-intensive capabilities. But that prototype design provides a full range of augmented-reality features. The AR feature set of this new Display model is more limited, so the puck isn’t needed. Also, this means the Display’s frames are slimmer. Meta does eventually plan to offer a full slate of wearable options to consumers: smart glasses, display glasses, and full AR glasses.
The Ray-Ban Displays will be available in either black or sand colors starting on September 30 for $799 and will initially only be available as in-store purchases in the US. Meta says you need to buy them in person because the wristband has to be fitted correctly to the wrist of your dominant hand. Also, the folks selling you the system will show you the hand gestures that control the glasses—though there will be a tutorial walk-through when you first power on the glasses too.
Be ready to move quickly if you want them, though. Meta says there are limited quantities available, and other countries won’t get them until early 2026.
Oakley Meta Vanguard
The Vanguard.
Photograph: Meta
Louder speakers are built into the arms.
Photograph: Meta
The ultrawide camera is right in the middle.
Photograph: Meta
Following on from the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses announced earlier this year, Meta’s newest Oakley collaboration evokes the timeless look of a pair of wrap-around Oakley Sphaera glasses—but with a twist. That twist of course is a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera with a 122-degree field of view that’s positioned smack in the middle of the lens, right on the bridge of your nose. This is the optimum placement for recording POV action-sports videos at up to 3K, as well as for capturing scenes in the glasses’ new slow-mo and hyperlapse modes.
The Vanguards are very much being marketed to sports enthusiasts—those who might be inclined to choose the Meta glasses over a GoPro, for instance. To that end, the Vanguards have an IP67 waterproof rating, the best waterproofing on any pair of Meta glasses. The speakers built into the arms of the frames are 6 decibels louder to make up for any loss of clarity caused by wind noise, and a new five-mic array lets your commands be clearly heard even when an arctic gale is blasting you in the face while you careen down the slopes.
