Meta accidentally leaked four models of smart glasses, featuring a display screen, HUD navigation, and a wristband for air typing. The price may exceed 5,000 yuan.

On September 16th, Zhidongxi reported that early this morning, Meta accidentally leaked the upcoming full - line of smart glasses product lines jointly developed by Meta and EssilorLuxottica:

1. The regular Ray - Ban Meta smart glasses;

2. The recently released Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses;

3. The Oakley Meta Sphaera smart glasses with eye - protection function and a center - mounted camera;

4. The monocular head - up display (HUD) smart glasses controlled by a sEMG wristband, which have been in long - term development by Meta. This device is labeled as “Meta Ray - Ban” with the word “Display” below it.

Meta posted a video on its YouTube channel showcasing the new Ray - Ban smart glasses and Oakley smart glasses, but quickly deleted it. The foreign media UploadVR was the first to report the leak and uploaded video clips to the X platform. People familiar with the matter have confirmed the leak to Business Insider.

▲UploadVR's report tweet (Source: X)

01. Equipped with an sEMG wristband and a monocular head - up display, but not truly AR

There are two leaked videos. One of them shows the new Meta Ray - Ban glasses, which are equipped with a head - up display (HUD) that allows wearers to overlay map and text information in the real world. A matching interactive wristband also made an appearance.

The monocular head - up display (HUD) glasses controlled by an sEMG wristband, which are rumored to have been in long - term development by Meta, are not surprising. Many foreign media have reported that Meta plans to release such devices this year, and renderings of the device and the wristband were found in the early firmware in July.

UploadVR believes that these “Meta Ray - Ban” glasses are not truly augmented reality (AR) technology. The video clips show that this fixed head - up display is only visible to the right eye and can be used to call the Meta AI assistant and for walking navigation. The video also demonstrates the function of replying to messages by sliding fingers on a physical surface through the wristband to input characters.

Previously, it was reported that the starting price of this product will be $800 (approximately RMB 5,691.8). According to The Information last year, these glasses will weigh 70 grams, while the existing Ray - Ban Meta glasses weigh 50 grams.

02. With an investment of 3 billion euros, Meta still cooperates with Ray - Ban

Surprisingly, these “Meta Ray - Ban” glasses will still use the Ray - Ban brand.

Last year, The Information reported that these glasses would be independently released by Meta without involving EssilorLuxottica because the brand owners of Ray - Ban and Oakley thought that “the design of thickened temples for the display function was unacceptable.”

UploadVR believes that the reason for EssilorLuxottica's change of attitude may be that in July this year, Meta invested 3 billion euros (approximately RMB 25.17 billion) in it to acquire a 3% stake, and there are reports that Meta is considering increasing its stake to 5%.

This investment is likely to give Meta more say in deciding which products can use the precious luxury brands under EssilorLuxottica. However, the decision on this brand cooperation may have been made earlier. The Financial Times reported as early as January this year that the new - generation Ray - Ban Meta glasses would be equipped with display functions this year.

According to UploadVR, using the Ray - Ban brand is expected to attract a wider range of consumers than if Meta launched the product alone. It also creates the possibility for these glasses to be demonstrated and sold in thousands of EssilorLuxottica stores around the world.

03. Conclusion: The surprise is leaked in advance, and the family of smart glasses with built - in displays adds a new member

This leak seems to have prematurely exposed the surprise product that Meta planned to launch at the Connect conference. Foreign media believe that the integrated head - up display technology marks a key step for Meta towards mass - producing commercial - grade smart glasses, getting closer to the technological level demonstrated by the previous Orion prototype.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Meta, has always been optimistic about the future of smart glasses. At the Q2 earnings conference call in July, he claimed that smart glasses will eventually become the main way of human - machine interaction, and those who do not use the device will face a “cognitive disadvantage.”

Meta is not the first company to showcase smart glasses with built - in displays. Google launched a prototype device based on the Android XR augmented reality platform in May this year and cooperated with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to design the frames. It is expected to be released later this year.

More and more specific product information about Meta's smart glasses will be revealed at the Meta Connect 2025 keynote. The conference will be live - streamed at 8 a.m. Beijing time on Thursday, and Zhidongxi will also conduct follow - up reports.

Source: UploadVR, Business Insider, X, The Information, The Financial Times

This article is from the WeChat official account “Zhidongxi” (ID: zhidxcom). Author: Wang Han. Republished by 36Kr with permission.