SAN FRANCISCO — Smart glasses with built-in displays are still a developing category, but Meta’s new Ray-Ban Display shows just how quickly the tech is moving. After wearing the $800 glasses daily for 10 days, my experience lands somewhere between excitement and hesitation.
The Frames Make a Statement — Not Always a Good One
There’s no getting around it: the frames are thick, wide and noticeably heavier than Meta’s other Ray-Ban models. The pair I tested came in glossy black, which makes the extra bulk even more obvious. They weigh 69 grams and start to press down after six or seven hours of wear. The arms also slide down the nose with normal movement.
Face shape plays a big role here. What looks awkward on one person might look bold on someone else. The lighter “sand” color feels more forgiving, but the size doesn’t change. Early adopters may be fine with the look, but the average person browsing glasses at LensCrafters is going to hesitate.
That said, when the display powers on, people instantly forget how they look. Almost everyone I showed them to reacted with the same word: “whoa.”
Display: Small, Bright, and Surprisingly Practical
Unlike full AR headsets, the Ray-Ban Display uses a single micro display over the right eye. You glance slightly up and right to see it. The 20-degree field of view is small, but the content isn’t immersive, so it never feels clipped. The interface includes:
An app launcher
A home screen with Meta AI and notifications
A settings pane for brightness, volume and preferences
Available apps are limited and all built by Meta for now: Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Meta AI chat, navigation, live translation, live captions, music/audio playback, camera tools and a mini puzzle game called Hypertrail.
Being able to read Instagram DMs or open Reels without taking out a phone is surprisingly fun. WhatsApp photos and videos in group chats land instantly on the display, though I still found myself revisiting them on my phone later. The camera preview and on-display zoom finally fix the framing issue from Meta’s previous smart glasses.
Video calling works, but the screen size feels cramped. On Wi-Fi, several callers said my video quality didn’t hold up.
Live translation and captions are where the display shines. I tried Spanish-to-English translation with a native speaker and found it far smoother than using audio-only glasses. It’s not perfect, but comprehension was easier and more immediate.
Navigation through OpenStreetMap and Overture works, though my first walking test sent me to an alley behind the office instead of the front entrance — a reminder this is still a 1.0 experience.
Meta AI is far more usable with text responses instead of audio. While cooking, I asked for a teriyaki salmon recipe and got one instantly — but the display went to sleep before I could actually use it.
Texting and Notification Gaps
Messaging is where the limitations feel real. You can read texts, but replies don’t always land in the correct thread. On iOS, group messages show up with no indication they’re from a group, and replies go to individuals instead of the thread. Meta blames Apple’s restrictions and says Android users have a smoother experience.
Sending a photo directly through SMS from the glasses isn’t seamless either. You either wait for a preview to hit your phone and then send manually, or rely on a Meta cloud link — something most people won’t click.
Notifications also only work with a few apps, so you still end up grabbing your phone more often than you’d like.
Neural Band: Better Than Expected
The glasses are controlled via Meta’s Neural Band, a wrist accessory that uses EMG to register micro-gestures from your fingers. The fit has to be snug, and the look won’t appeal to everyone, but it works impressively well. Over more than a week, I never had a false trigger or a missed gesture.
Core gestures include:
Double-tap (thumb + middle finger): wake/sleep display
Single-tap (index + middle finger): select or go back
Thumb swipe along index finger: scroll or navigate
A tiny vibration confirms each action. Compared to air gestures on VR and AR headsets, this feels far more natural — even with your hand in a pocket. Charging is daily if you’re using the glasses full-time.
Battery Life: Depends on How You Use It
Meta claims the glasses can last about six hours on a charge. That’s true only if you rarely activate the display. Translation, video calls and on-screen navigation drain it quickly. I occasionally stretched runtime to seven hours, but only with light use.
The charging case provides extra juice but also needs recharging every day or two — far more often than the case for Meta’s display-free Ray-Ban glasses.
Privacy: Same Questions, Same Answers
The privacy questions haven’t gone away. There’s no facial recognition for everyday use, and the camera still triggers an LED when recording. But Meta’s history with data collection means skepticism stays high. Some people I talked to simply assumed the glasses could identify faces.
Live translation could be used to listen in on conversations unintentionally or otherwise, though that’s also possible with Meta’s earlier Ray-Ban models.
Situational awareness wasn’t a problem while walking, but using the display while driving feels risky. There is a “driving mode” that switches to audio-only, but it’s optional.
Who Are These For?
For most people, they’re not. At $800, the Ray-Ban Display glasses cost more than twice as much as the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which are lighter, come in multiple styles and don’t draw attention.
The form factor feels clearly first-generation, and key features don’t go far enough. Even buying them isn’t straightforward: only a handful of physical retailers carry them, and many require scheduled demo appointments.
That said, the tech itself is impressive. Seeing someone react to the display for the first time is almost as fun as using it. Meta already has additions in the pipeline, including:
A standalone Reels app
Teleprompter mode
Gesture-based handwriting replies
If you’re deep into wearable tech and have been waiting for a functional display on eyewear, these glasses are legitimately exciting — as long as you’re fine with the chunky look.
Everyone else should wait for version two.