Smart glasses are wearable devices that combine traditional eyewear with digital technology, displaying information directly in your field of vision. They connect to your phone or the internet, letting you read messages, navigate maps, take photos, or even control apps — all without reaching for another screen.
After trying out the new $799 Meta Ray-Ban Display, You can easily assume that this is the closest we’ve ever come to the dream Google Glass sold us more than a decade ago.
At first glance, the glasses look like a slightly chunky pair of Ray-Bans. But once you put them on and double-pinch your middle finger, a small display pops up in front of your right eye. It’s not quite full-blown augmented reality — it’s more like an on-demand floating menu where you can check texts, scroll Instagram Reels, follow maps, or preview photos, all without pulling out your phone. Since it pairs with your phone, it feels like a seamless extension of it.
The display is crisp, with a 600×600 resolution, 20-degree field of view, and an impressive 5,000 nits of brightness. Despite this, only 2% of the light leaks out, so nobody around you can see what’s on your screen. The glasses come with transition lenses that adapt to UV light, making them usable indoors and outdoors. The image sits in just one lens, which can feel a little distracting at first, but it doesn’t block your vision.
Meta has also redesigned the frame — it’s bolder, squarer, and more comfortable, with a universal-fit nose bridge and flexible hinges for wider faces. They’re surprisingly light at 69 grams, and you get about six hours of mixed use on a charge, plus 30 hours with the new collapsible charging case.
The star of the show, though, is the new Meta Neural Band. It uses electromyography to read tiny muscle signals in your wrist, letting you control the display with subtle gestures. Pinch to select, swipe to scroll, rotate your hand to adjust volume or zoom — all while keeping your hand by your side or even under a table.
This combination of display and gesture control feels like a true leap forward. You can take video calls straight to your eye, reply to messages by tracing letters on any surface, and see live previews of photos and videos hands-free. It’s the first time smart glasses have felt practical — and genuinely exciting.