Meta Bets On Smart Glasses

Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled Meta’s first pair of smart glasses with a built-in display, setting out his ambition to replace smartphones with wearables that can deliver what he calls “personal superintelligence”. The launch, however, was hindered by technical faults that underscored the risks of the company’s costly hardware strategy.

A bold step beyond smartphones

Speaking at the Meta Connect conference, Zuckerberg introduced the Meta Ray-Ban Display, which overlays text messages, video calls and answers from Meta’s artificial intelligence assistant directly onto one lens. Priced at $799, the glasses will go on sale later this month.

Controlled by a wristband that picks up subtle hand movements, the device is billed as the “world’s first mainstream neural interface”. Zuckerberg argued that glasses are the ideal platform for AI-driven computing. “They are the only form factor where you can let it see what you see, hear what you hear, talk to you throughout the day, and very soon generate whatever user interface you need in your vision, in real time,” he told the audience.

The chief executive’s pitch reflects his long-standing belief that the future of computing lies in wearables rather than phones. For Meta, it is an attempt to regain ground lost to Apple and Google in the smartphone era and to shift focus away from the faltering metaverse experiment that defined the group’s last strategic push.

From metaverse to AI

In 2021, Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook as Meta, tying the company’s identity to his vision of immersive digital worlds. But technical hurdles and weak consumer demand have stunted progress. The metaverse bet consumed billions of dollars while failing to deliver a breakthrough product.

AI has now taken centre stage. Earlier this year, Meta reorganised its research units for the fourth time in six months, rebranding them as the Meta Superintelligence Lab. Zuckerberg has personally courted leading researchers from rivals such as OpenAI and Google, offering sign-on bonuses of up to $100 million to build an elite group under a division known as TBD Lab.

The new smart glasses are presented as proof that this investment in AI will soon pay off in consumer products. By integrating real-time AI responses into a wearable, Meta hopes to position itself as a front-runner in the race to embed artificial intelligence into everyday life.

Technical flaws at launch

The high-profile debut was undermined by glitches. Zuckerberg failed to answer a demo call from Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer, forcing him to joke that he had practised “a hundred times” without issue and blame poor Wi-Fi. In a second demonstration, the updated version of Meta’s existing Ray-Ban smart glasses failed to respond correctly to basic questions.

The stumbles cast doubt on Meta’s claim that wearables are ready to become mainstream computing devices. Investors and analysts have long been wary of Meta’s hardware ambitions, given the group’s patchy record in consumer electronics and the vast costs involved in competing with Apple and other incumbents.

Expanding partnerships

The new product builds on Meta’s collaboration with EssilorLuxottica, which produces the Ray-Ban line of smart glasses already on the market. Those earlier models, equipped with cameras and speakers, have sold reasonably well as lifestyle accessories but stopped short of challenging smartphones.

Alongside the display model, Meta unveiled a new version of its existing Ray-Ban range, offering longer battery life, upgraded speakers and improved cameras. The group also announced a partnership with Oakley to create glasses for sports enthusiasts. These will integrate with fitness apps and pair with Garmin watches to deliver real-time data during training.

By extending its partnerships with eyewear groups, Meta is betting that brand strength can help it cross the gap between early adopters and mass-market users. But its core challenge remains persuading consumers that smart glasses can be more than a niche accessory.

Supply chain contradictions

The launch has also highlighted Meta’s reliance on Chinese manufacturing at a time when Zuckerberg has been vocal in criticising Beijing. The new glasses are being built by Goertek, a contract manufacturer that has rapidly expanded its presence in the industry through a string of acquisitions.

The dependence on a Chinese supplier sits awkwardly with Zuckerberg’s increasingly anti-China rhetoric, which has become more pronounced during Donald Trump’s second presidency. Trump has sharply raised tariffs on Chinese goods, creating tensions for global technology companies that continue to depend on China’s supply chain.

Meta, like Apple, now faces the delicate task of managing supply risks while navigating political hostility towards Beijing. The reliance on Goertek underscores how difficult it is to decouple from China’s manufacturing ecosystem, even as Washington pushes for alternatives.

Strategic risks

For Meta, the stakes are high. The company is already spending heavily on AI development and on hardware such as its Quest virtual-reality headsets, which compete with Apple’s Vision Pro. The addition of a new product line increases financial pressure at a time when digital advertising growth — Meta’s core revenue source — is showing signs of slowing.

Sceptics argue that the glasses may be too expensive for mainstream adoption, while their reliance on a wristband interface could deter consumers accustomed to touchscreens and voice commands. Others question whether wearables can ever deliver the functionality of a smartphone without compromising on design or comfort.

Still, Zuckerberg insists that smart glasses represent the logical next step in computing. “This is about building the ideal form factor for superintelligence,” he said. “It is the path to the future.”

A crowded field

Meta is not alone in pursuing this vision. Apple is expected to expand its own work in augmented-reality glasses, while Google has revived parts of its shelved Glass project. Smaller players, including Snap and several Chinese start-ups, are also experimenting with AR wearables.

The crowded field means Meta must deliver products that are not only technically sophisticated but also affordable and appealing to consumers. History suggests that success in hardware depends as much on design and ecosystem as on raw innovation — areas where Meta has yet to prove itself.

Outlook

The unveiling of the Meta Ray-Ban Display signals Zuckerberg’s determination to move beyond the metaverse and reassert his company’s role in shaping the future of consumer technology. Yet the faltering demonstrations at its launch underline how far Meta still has to go.

The company must overcome technical limitations, convince sceptical consumers, and manage supply-chain and geopolitical risks — all while shouldering the cost of building out one of the world’s most ambitious AI research operations.

For now, the promise of “personal superintelligence” remains more aspiration than reality. Whether these glasses mark the beginning of a new computing era, or another costly detour in Meta’s search for relevance, will depend on how quickly Zuckerberg can turn vision into execution.