Meta Leaks Next-gen Smart Glasses with Display Ahead of Connect This Week

By
Scott Hayden
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4

It seems Meta has a new generation of smart glasses to show off at Connect this week, and it appears we’ve just got an eye-full of the long-rumored version with a built-in display, previously codenamed ‘Hypernova’.

As first reported by UploadVR, Meta seems to have leaked the next slate of smart glasses built in collaboration with Essilor Luxottica.

The video below, which was reposted by XR analyst Brad Lynch, was unlisted on Meta’s YouTube channel before being deleted.

The video shows off four main models: the recently released Oakley Meta HSTN, the rumored Oakley Meta Sphaera model, what appears to be the next gen version of Ray-Ban Meta, and the rumored variant with display, which also comes with an electromyography (EMG) based wristband for input.

Meta also showed off a few use cases for the new display-clad smart glasses: typing on the back of a laptop to send a message, following turn-by-turn directions, identifying an object using AI, and real-time text translation.

Image courtesy Brad Lynch

Notably, prior to its unintentional unveiling, it was thought the display model would not be built in collaboration with Essilor Luxottica, and instead be marketed under the Meta name, owing to its ‘Celeste’ branding seen in previous leaks. It appears however the company is coopting a slightly larger Ray-Ban Wayfarer design and appending the name ‘Display’.

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What’s more, the new smart glasses with heads-up display are also shown with the previously reported EMG wristband, which is meant to control the device’s UI. Meta has previously shown the wristband input device working with its prototype Orion AR glasses, which picks up movement in the wrist without needing line of sight to camera sensors, like Meta Quest 3 does.

There’s no confirmed pricing info yet, however a previous report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman maintains the display model and EMG wristband controller could cost “about $800.”

Meta Connect kicks off September 17th – 18th, where we expect to learn more about release dates and pricing for all of the company’s newest smart glasses.

Update (11:30 AM ET): A previous version of this article listed Brad Lynch as the source of the information, however UploadVR initially broke the story. We’ve edited the body of the article to reflect this distinction.

We will be at Meta Connect this week, so make sure to check back soon for all of the latest in Meta’s XR hardware and software.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Ondrej

    After spending dozens of billions on VR Meta realized people still prefer archaic Google Glass like HUDs that are not much better than what was available 15 years ago, as long as they look nice and sleek.

    I wonder how Michael "Facebook will make VR mainstream with money" Abrash feels about it. He should make a power point presentation about it. They were almost as good as David Holz's "perfect VR glasses by 2020 – I've seen them in a lab – true story!" videos.

    Or is Abrash just like Carmack and Holz "I don't want to play with you anymore" throwing VR toy to the trash can and doing AI now?

    • Andrew Jakobs

      VR and AR are completely different things.

  • If the new glasses are made with Luxottica and demoed in Luxottica shops, that can be jackpot for the Zuck

  • Popin

    I'm fairly surprised there is no mention of Valve / Steam Frame on this site with all the fervor going on right now from a large amount of VR content creators apparently attending a Valve event; much like they did with the announcement of the Steam Deck… There seems to be quite a lot of evidence that Valve is likely planning to do a repeat of 2019's announcement of the Index.