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Mark Zuckerberg revealed the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses at Meta Connect 2025 on Wednesday. His on-stage demo was full of problems, but during my private demo on Tuesday, I successfully called and messaged someone, watched Instagram videos, read live captions, and more. So I can share what it's actually like to wear and use them.
Some things, like the promised six-hour battery life and IPX4 water resistance, I obviously couldn't test. But I can judge how readable the monocular display was, how comfortable these thick frames are, and what it's like using the sEMG band for gesture controls.
Here's everything I learned from my Meta Ray-Ban Display hands-on at Connect 2025!
They're thick, but comfortable
While Ray-Ban Meta glasses can blend in as relatively "normal," these Meta Ray-Bans — note the inverted name, emphasizing smarts over style — are very obviously thick to accommodate the display tech.
Unlike other smart glasses with notably thick temples, however, these have a uniform look. Meta credits this to "ultra-narrow steelcan batteries," preserving a jumbo-sized Wayfarer look. If not for the camera cutouts, people might assume it's a stylistic choice.
It's tricky to judge comfort when you're only wearing something for an hour, but these 69g glasses rested comfortably on my face. Meta says it "rounded off the edges," and that helped it feel like it rested against my face instead of cutting into it.
Since these don't have nosepads, you'll need them to be well-fitted, but they're just light enough that I think people could wear them daily without being uncomfortable. For exercise, though, you'll need the lighter, non-display Ray-Bans that won't bounce with motion.
The monocular display is fully readable and invisible
With Google's monocular display glasses, anyone could see what you're seeing from the outside. With Meta Ray-Ban Display, I got up close to Meta's engineer wearing a second pair, looked from various angles, and couldn't see any light leakage. That ensures privacy: you can glance at messages or videos without it being obvious (or rude) to people nearby.
I used the 5,000-nit, 600x600, 90Hz display both indoors and outdoors. Meta's team had me look at content against a sunny pavement and blue sky, and it automatically adjusted the brightness and tone so that I never had trouble with readability or colors. Nor did the transition lenses affect visibility.
These press examples don't quite match my experience; it felt a little less centered in my vision, and the resolution is a little idealized. But it's closer to reality than you might think!
Meta says it hits 42 pixels per degree, surpassing the Apple Vision Pro (34 PPD) and Quest 3 (25 PPD), though only in one postage-stamp spot in your vision.
What matters is that I never had to strain to read or watch content, while my view remained unobstructed. Other smart glasses offer a larger display, but not one that's safe to use while driving.
Adjusting to a monocular display is mostly seamless
Meta confirmed to me that it won't sell any Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses with a left-eye display, but the rep told me that left-eye dominant people have tested and enjoyed using them.
As a righty, I can only judge my own experience. There is a tiny bit of "binocular rivalry," as my left eye reconciles with not seeing anything. I quickly adjusted to it, and I prefer a monocular display since it lets Meta keep the weight relatively light. But you'll want to try it for yourself before buying the Ray-Ban Displays, to ensure it doesn't bother you.
As a side note, these glasses only support a -4 to +4 prescription, a slightly smaller range than the Meta Ray-Bans; this could exclude people with worse prescriptions.
The whole experience hinges on the sEMG gestures
I'm used to keeping my hand in view for Quest gesture controls, but the sEMG premise is that you don't have to; the Meta Neural Band tracks electrical muscle signals to register different finger taps and swipes, even with your hand behind your back. I tried this, and it worked.
You tap your thumb and middle finger to summon or banish the menu, or hold it down to summon Meta AI; swipe your thumb up, down, left, or right to navigate the UI; select options with a pinch; or pinch-and-twist your index and thumb to zoom in the camera viewfinder or change the volume on a music playlist.
I occasionally had to swipe an extra time, or had a right swipe register as up. But it largely worked as intended, and I can see the appeal of swiping around Instagram or WhatsApp during a meeting, no one realizing because your hand is by your side.
My Meta engineer had a beta version of the Neural Band software that let him write a message on his thigh, then send it to me; it works with both plain and cursive writing. I couldn't test it myself, but I found it very cool from afar, and I appreciate that Meta will continue to add new gestures and tricks over time.
It's not as exact as a controller, but it feels more futuristic, and it works.
Everything else I learned about Meta Ray-Ban Displays
The Snapdragon AR1 chip powers several on-glasses functions like 3K photos and videos, video calling, and Meta AI commands. I was able to take a photo of someone, put them in a funny outfit, and then see the preview before saving or sending it.
The coolest to me was Live Captions. It transcribes whatever it's hearing from the 6-mic array, but only whoever you're looking at. It ignored a conversation behind me and accurately captioned one person, only auto-switching once I turned to look at someone else. As an accessibility tool, it's an excellent one.
And as someone who takes a lot of Ray-Ban photos that end up being too far away from my subject, I appreciate having a viewfinder to visualize what I'm actually capturing, as well as an option to zoom in with a quick twist.
So far, I'm impressed
I was impressed when I tried out these glasses, and Meta is counting on in-person demos to wow people. You won't be able to buy the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses online; instead, starting on September 30, you must go to Best Buy, LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Ray-Ban, or Verizon stores to get them fitted. Meta recommends interested people book a demo.
The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses launch at $799 in Shiny Black and Shiny Sand. That's much more expensive than your typical Ray-Bans, but the value will come down to how often you'll want hands-free visual data with your phone in your pocket.
As a work-from-home writer, I lean more toward the new Oakley Vanguard or Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) glasses, simply because I benefit more from a sporty design that I can take running. However, I could see these glasses being quite useful in business contexts, provided people can accept their thick appearance.
