Meta requires an in-store demo before you can buy a pair of its new $799 smart glasses, but we found appointment availability to be quite limited in major cities across the US.
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Eager to try Meta’s new Ray-Ban Display augmented-reality glasses? Better hope you live near the limited number of stores that have them in stock.
Meta started selling these $799 smart glasses on Tuesday, each equipped with a computer, camera, and microphone, plus a tiny display embedded in the right lens. But it’s not following a traditional marketing strategy. The tech giant requires an in-person demo. And that can only happen at a limited selection of Best Buy locations and certain eyewear retailers.
The first attempt of tech analyst Avi Greengart, president of Techsponential, to try out Ray-Ban Display turned into a fruitless retail odyssey across northern New Jersey. « Meta doesn’t really want to sell them to you,” he wrote in a post on LinkedIn on Wednesday.
“I went to the Secaucus, NJ location listed on Meta’s site and discovered that it is a shoe warehouse, not an electronics store,” Greengart wrote. “The actual Best Buy two miles away does not have any Displays on display, and although they can order them for you, projected availability isn’t until at least November.
