These cost $799 and ship September 30th. The big difference is there's actually a display in the right lens instead of just cameras and speakers like the previous versions.
The Screen Sits in Your Peripheral Vision
The display is in the right lens and doesn't block your main view. Shows info when you need it, disappears otherwise. Google Glass was annoying because it was always there in your face - this seems less intrusive.
Battery life is supposedly 6 hours of "mixed use." No idea what mixed use means exactly, but I'm guessing closer to 3-4 hours if you're actually using the display regularly. Navigation and video calls all day will probably drain it faster.
This Wristband Reads Your Muscle Signals
The Meta Neural Band is probably more interesting than the glasses. It's an EMG sensor that detects muscle movements in your wrist to control the glasses without touching anything.
You can:
- Swipe with your thumb to navigate
- Twist your wrist to control volume
- Pinch to select stuff
- Scroll without touching
EMG is tricky though. I tried some prototypes a while back and they worked fine when sitting still, but got confused when I was actually moving around and doing normal stuff. The question is whether it still works reliably when your wrist is sweaty or you've been wearing it all day.
What These Are Actually For
Navigation makes sense - turn-by-turn directions in your peripheral vision without looking at your phone. Could be useful for walking around cities.
Notifications show up as text messages and Instagram stuff. Video calls let you see the other person while you're talking to them, which is weird but might work for quick calls.
Translation shows live captions for conversations in different languages. Probably works about as well as Google Translate - fine for basic stuff, not great for nuanced conversations.
Wristband Specs and Accessibility
The wristband gets 18 hours of battery life and can handle sweat and rain. Meta says it's made of some fancy titanium alloy that probably costs more than my car.
The accessibility side is interesting - EMG control could work for people with hand tremors or limited finger movement in ways touchscreens can't. That might be the most practical use case.
The Competition
Apple's been working on AR glasses for years but hasn't shipped anything yet. Google tried Glass and it didn't work out. So Meta's basically alone in actually shipping display glasses to consumers right now.
$799 gets you both the glasses and wristband, which seems reasonable for what you're getting.
Availability
Ships September 30th at Best Buy, LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, and Ray-Ban stores. International rollout to Canada, France, Italy, and UK starts early 2026.
Comes with Transitions lenses that adjust to light. The charging case gives you about 30 total hours. Available in Black and Sand colors.
Maybe This Time It'll Work
Meta's burned through billions on Reality Labs trying to make this stuff work. Remember Google Glass? That died because nobody wanted to look like a cyborg and the battery lasted about 45 minutes.
The EMG wristband might be the more interesting piece here. Gesture control has been promised forever - Kinect worked great until you tried using it in your living room with furniture. Leap Motion was amazing in demos, then you'd bring it home and it couldn't detect shit.
But at least Meta's putting an actual display in the glasses instead of just cameras and speakers. Whether people will pay $799 to wear computers on their face is the real test. Most folks can barely remember to charge their Apple Watch.