The Meta Ray-Ban Display delivers some of the best hardware and controls you’ll find in a pair of smart glasses, but its tightly closed software ecosystem makes it hard to recommend over more open alternatives.<\/b>
\nDisplay-equipped AI smart glasses are finally gaining traction. Meta’s first attempt, the $799 Ray-Ban Display, impresses with a full-color waveguide in-lens display and a gesture-sensing Neural Band controller, avoiding the need to tap the glasses themselves. The hardware is excellent, but it’s limited by Meta’s first-party ecosystem focus, preventing it from being truly groundbreaking. For broader functionality, the Even Realities G2 ($599) is a better choice. Otherwise, it’s worth waiting to see how Android XR shapes the market.Design: A Fashion Statement\u2014Whether You Like It or Not
I hope you like the look of the Wayfarer-style Meta Ray-Ban glasses, because the Meta Ray-Ban Display is more of the same. The plastic frames (available in black or sand) have the same rectangular lens shape, flat front, and integrated saddle bridge, but they\u2019re noticeably bulkier and have a glossy finish rather than matte. At 2.47 ounces, they\u2019re also heavier than other AI glasses; the non-Display Wayfarers are 1.87 ounces, the Rokid Glasses are 1.73 ounces, and the cameraless Even G2 is a featherlight 1.27 ounces. That said, the heft fits the chunkiness of the frames, and it isn\u2019t unwieldy.
A friend diplomatically described the design as \u201ca choice.\u201d I haven\u2019t gotten that kind of reaction from any other smart glasses before. All the other pairs I’ve tested have passed as ordinary eyewear without a problem. I wouldn\u2019t call these ugly, but they look a bit like costume \u201cnerd\u201d glasses, or a caricature of Ray-Bans.
The temples are mounted on spring hinges and have typical thin, slightly curved ear hooks. Combined with the integrated saddle bridge and its almost flush rubber nose pads, the glasses at least feel very natural and comfortable. A touch strip sits on the right temple and provides limited physical controls: tapping to play, pause, or skip music tracks, and activating Meta AI with a long press.
The included faux-leather case keeps the glasses charged with a touch of style. Two flaps open to let the case almost unfold, exposing a T-shaped plastic lever that holds the frames in place at the nose bridge, keeping them aligned for consistent charging. A USB-C port sits on the right end of the case, with an indicator LED next to it.Display: Crisp Color in One Eye
In many ways, the Meta Ray-Ban Display’s titular display is the best of its class. It uses a waveguide projection system, which means microprojectors in the frame send light directly through the lens, where an etched pattern, called a waveguide, bounces it into your eye through one lens. The lens is completely transparent when not showing a picture and doesn’t significantly obstruct your view even when it’s projecting something.
The trade-off of waveguide projection systems versus the bulkier prism-based alternatives found in many other AR glasses is a narrow field of view, relatively low resolution, and, usually, a monochrome green image instead of color. Situated in the right lens, the Ray-Ban Display’s 600-by-600 monocular display is full color, putting it ahead of the green-only Even G1, G2, and Rokid Glasses. It enables an interface filled with blues, reds, purples, whites, grays, and greens. The color isn’t particularly vibrant, but it’s still much more pleasant to look at than monochrome green alternatives resembling early-’80s CRT monitors. The display is bright and sharp enough to show graphical interface elements like icons, diagrams, and even small photos and videos.
Its biggest weakness is its field of view. At 20 degrees, it’s narrower than the Even G2’s 27.5 degrees and the Rokid’s 30 degrees, which themselves are small compared with prism-based AR glasses like the RayNeo Air 3s Pro (46 degrees) and the XReal One Pro (57 degrees). To Meta’s credit, the 20-degree field of view doesn’t feel small, since its square aspect ratio has a higher resolution than the rectangular displays of the Air 3s Pro (640 by 480) and One Pro (640 by 350). It might take up less real estate in front of your eye, but it can show more information.Neural Band: A New Gold Standard for Input
Most interaction with the Meta Ray-Ban Display is through the included Neural Band controller. It\u2019s a dark gray fabric wristband lined with eight capsule-like sensors that can recognize hand gestures by detecting muscle movements through your arm. It\u2019s meant to be worn a few inches lower on your forearm than a watch, and I can wear it and my Pixel Watch 3 on my right arm at the same time. It\u2019s comfortable, unobtrusive, and closes securely thanks to both a small buckle and a magnetic tab that makes it feel kind of like a slap bracelet. The band is waterproof with an IPX7 rating, meaning it can withstand most conditions, including swimming. Just don\u2019t bring the actual glasses into the pool because they\u2019re rated IPX4, which is only lightly water-resistant.
Using the Neural Band to control the glasses is as simple as tapping and rubbing your fingers together. With the band on your arm, tap your thumb to the tip of your index finger to select an item on the in-lens display, and tap your thumb to your middle finger to go back from the menu layer or app you\u2019re in. Double-tap your thumb and middle finger to bring up the display or put it to sleep. Swipe your thumb across the side of your index finger to navigate through menus. Pinch your thumb and index finger together and rotate your wrist left or right like you\u2019re turning a knob to adjust volume. And, if you want to use Meta AI without saying the wake word, you can double-tap your thumb to the side of your index finger (but you\u2019ll still have to speak after that). For all of these gestures, the Neural Band will vibrate gently to let you know it\u2019s detecting an input.
This is easily one of the best control systems I\u2019ve seen on waveguide display smart glasses. Of course, every other remotely similar pair of smart glasses I\u2019ve used has relied on limited and often unwieldy touch controls on the frames themselves (and the touch controls on the Meta Ray-Ban Display\u2019s temple aren\u2019t exactly useful, either). The Even G2 comes close with the optional R1 smart ring, which provides a more convenient and easier-to-use touch surface, but that\u2019s an $249 accessory not included with the glasses.
I found it easy to get used to the Neural Band, and it was mostly responsive and accurate in testing. It consistently detected my finger taps and horizontal thumb swipes, though it often took a few tries to register vertical swipes to navigate up or down in menus. The dial-twist gesture was also a bit hit-or-miss. This isn\u2019t the precise hand-tracking that mixed reality headsets like the Apple Vision Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR can do on their own without a wearable band, but they\u2019re much larger and much more expensive devices you generally wouldn\u2019t be walking around wearing.Interface: Polished, Capable, and Weirdly Organized
The visual interface of the Meta Ray-Ban Display is a clean, colorful, well-labeled menu system that leverages four-directional navigation via the Neural Band. For comparison, every other pair of waveguide glasses I\u2019ve tried before this has only offered single-axis scrolling menus because of the limited inputs. Meta’s interface on the glasses is easy to use, but it\u2019s laid out strangely.
The home view consists of three tabs. The center tab is for notifications and Meta AI, but most of the time it will just be a bar that says \u201cAsk Meta AI.\u201d That\u2019s because the notifications on the glasses are so limited, which I\u2019ll go into more detail about in the next section. From here, you can tap the Meta AI bar and ask a question from this tab, but you can also just say, \u201cHey Meta“, or double-tap your thumb to the side of your index finger, and the glasses will start listening for a command. The tab feels superfluous since it doesn\u2019t really have any functions to navigate visually, and you\u2019re going to be talking to the AI when you activate it anyway.
The left tab is a more useful settings and quick-features menu. Here, there are buttons to immediately start live captioning or translating, open the camera tool to take photos or videos, and open the Music app, which displays whatever is playing on your phone and lets you play, pause, rewind, or skip tracks. The tab also has Volume and Brightness dials you can adjust by selecting either of them and performing the knob-turning gesture, as well as buttons to toggle audio-only and do-not-disturb modes. It also offers access to a dedicated, limited settings menu with two options: tilting the display slightly left or right for comfort, and configuring whether message notifications wake the display when it\u2019s off.
On the right tab is the full app list, with buttons that open WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, calls, the camera, live captioning and translating, Maps, the music player, an on-glasses photo gallery, text messages, and tutorials. The app list doesn\u2019t seem to be arranged in any logical order besides putting Meta\u2019s own apps at the top by default, and you can\u2019t rearrange them directly, which is frustrating. You can, however, pin the apps you use most and unpin the ones you don\u2019t, so there\u2019s at least some control.
The interface isn\u2019t hard to learn, but it makes some awkward choices. The Quick Settings tab and the Notifications\/Meta AI tab could have been combined. It would have been better to place the captioning, camera, and music buttons below the AI button, rather than in the settings tab, for easy access outside the apps tab. Phone functions like calls and text messages could also have been moved to a quick menu in the AI tab. There aren\u2019t a ton of apps to scroll through, but that leads to one of the glasses\u2019 biggest problems.Apps and Features: Locked Into Meta’s World
The Meta Ray-Ban Display is built around using Meta\u2019s services and, if possible, only Meta\u2019s services. The AI is Meta AI, the messaging apps outside of phone text messages are Messenger and WhatsApp, the photo-sharing app is Instagram, and those are the only choices you get (and they are all owned by Meta). You can\u2019t talk to Gemini, message over Discord or Slack, or post photos on Bluesky. You can connect your Amazon Music, Shazam, and Spotify accounts, but that\u2019s probably because Meta doesn\u2019t have its own music streaming service. Even without them, you can at least control any audio playing on your phone through the glasses\u2019 Music app, as if it were a widget on your lock screen.
Notifications are the biggest issue. Text messages and voice calls through your phone are supported, and you\u2019ll get notifications for them. But those, and messages from Meta apps, are the only notifications the glasses will show. Unlike every other pair of waveguide smart glasses I\u2019ve tested, these won’t read your phone\u2019s push notifications.
In addition, all of the Meta apps, including Instagram, are primarily for communication, not for browsing your social feeds. The Instagram app only brings you to your messages, so you can\u2019t browse stories, and Facebook isn\u2019t on the glasses at all.
Calendar support is also limited. There\u2019s no dedicated calendar app, so you have to ask Meta AI to tell you what your appointments are. You can link your Google or Outlook calendars to your phone, but not if they\u2019re work accounts with any kind of managed IT security. And you have to speak every time you want to check your next meeting.
I had initially planned to take the glasses to CES and write an account of covering the show with them. I didn\u2019t, because the inability to see incoming Slack messages meant I couldn\u2019t use the glasses to keep up with coverage discussions. Moreover, since my Google-based work calendar is protected by IT policies, I couldn\u2019t ask Meta when or where I needed to go next for my many appointments. Simply supporting push notifications from third-party apps on my phone would have solved both of those problems on the Meta glasses. That feature is available on the Even Realities G2, which I ended up taking to CES instead.
If you\u2019re a regular Meta user and the software limitations don\u2019t bother you, the Meta Ray-Ban Display generally works quite well in executing its main functions. Closed captions are quick and accurate most of the time, and the text is easy to read. All AI-powered voice transcription depends on good sound quality, so it can make mistakes if the speech isn\u2019t completely clear or if there\u2019s significant background noise, but even then, it\u2019s still very usable.
Translation is also effective, within its very limited scope. I watched some Spanish-language soccer programming on my TV, and the glasses translated it into English with surprising accuracy. They can likely do the same with French or Italian. Those are the only options, though, and that\u2019s paltry compared with the Even G2 (31 languages) and the Rokid Glasses (89 languages). There\u2019s no Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, or Vietnamese. Visual translation of other languages is supported using the camera, but not voice.
You\u2019ll have to commit to one language at a time for the glasses to translate. The translation function on the glasses interface doesn\u2019t offer any language choices and relies on the app to load a single language pack, a process that can take half a minute.
These are the first smart glasses I\u2019ve used where the navigation feature is genuinely useful and provides a readable map. Opening the Maps app on the glasses pops up a large, easily understandable map of your location. Only a few major streets are labeled, but notable locations nearby, like movie theaters, are displayed as pins, and you can use the knob-turn gesture to zoom in closer for additional landmarks. From this view, you can use voice dictation to search for a location, or tap buttons for nearby cafes, restaurants, parks, or attractions. Selecting a destination will display the route as a blue line. From that view, you can start navigation, send the location to your phone, or, if it\u2019s a business with a phone number, call it. I found the navigation to be direct and accurate, with the map view tracking my location and orientation as it gave me turn-by-turn directions.
The Music app is simple, with only track forward, track back, and play\/pause buttons, plus a tile showing the time on the track. You’ll also see album art if it’s available and the app is compatible. No art came through my Android phone using Pocket Casts or YouTube Music, whereas both show album art and podcast icons on the phone itself. As mentioned, its phone widget-like universality also means it can control any audio playing from your phone. However, it doesn\u2019t offer the same benefits as a phone widget because it only shows those controls when the app is open and on the display. An icon in the quick settings menu shows you the track playing, but to do anything with it, you have to tap it to open the app first. An in-glasses widget for the app to help populate the central tab would have been really helpful here, rather than requiring you to open its full view.
You can play\/pause and skip tracks with single and double taps on the touch strip on the glasses, but that\u2019s all you get for audio gesture support. The Neural Band doesn\u2019t give you any audio controls or even provide a shortcut to bring up the Music app quickly. This is baffling because the Meta AI app lets you assign the double-tap gesture to \u201cyour favorite feature,\u201d but the only options are the default Meta AI activation or disabling it completely. Sound: Loud Enough for You\u2014and Everyone Else
Audio quality is pretty good for smart glasses. The speakers on the temples produce fairly robust sound that can be easily heard even in a crowded, noisy coffee shop. There\u2019s little bass to speak of, but that\u2019s just a reality for smart glasses that have a physical gap between their small speaker drivers and your ear canal.
Don\u2019t expect any privacy for what you\u2019re listening to, though; sound leakage is significant, and anyone near you will be able to hear whatever\u2019s playing if it\u2019s higher than half volume, which is the floor for comfortable listening on your end in most situations.Camera: Good Enough to Post, Not to Zoom
The built-in camera seems to be the same as the one on the second-generation non-Display Meta Ray-Ban glasses. It can shoot 12MP photos or capture 3K video in vertical orientation. Captures are colorful and fairly sharp for smart glasses, with fine detail like my cat\u2019s fur coming through clearly. Noise can soften pictures in low light, but in a fairly unobtrusive way. You won\u2019t likely notice it if you view or post your full capture, but you won\u2019t get much more detail out of them by zooming in. Basically, it\u2019s good enough for social media and matches what we\u2019ve seen from Meta\u2019s other recent smart glasses.Battery Life: Not Quite a Full Day
Meta says the glasses themselves can last up to six hours with mixed use, and the charging case adds another 18 hours. It falls short of the Rokid Glasses‘ 8-hour battery life, but Rokid’s charging case is a $99 accessory sold separately. While using the Meta glasses intermittently and tucking them into the charging case when not in use, I consistently saw all-day use with the battery meter seldom dropping below 50%.
The Neural Band can last up to 18 hours per charge.<\/p>\n