Prime Highlights:
- Meta will launch Hypernova, its first consumer-ready smart glasses with a built-in display, at the Connect 2025 conference.
- Alongside the glasses, Meta will debut a gesture-control wristband, allowing users to interact with the device through hand movements.
Key Facts:
- The Hypernova glasses will cost around $800 and are being developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, owner of brands like Ray-Ban and Prada.
- Meta and Luxottica have already sold over 2 million pairs of their second-generation smart glasses, with sales revenue tripling last year.
Key Background:
Meta is set to introduce a new pair of smart glasses, codenamed Hypernova, at its annual Connect conference in September. These will be the company’s first consumer smart glasses with a built-in display, marking a major step toward its vision of augmented reality.
The Hypernova glasses will feature a small digital screen inside the right lens, showing simple information such as text messages or calls. Priced at approximately $800, the glasses will be sold in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear group that owns popular brands such as Ray-Ban and Prada.
Meta has worked with Luxottica since 2021, when it launched the first Ray-Ban Stories. Their second-generation version, released in 2023, was a surprise success with more than 2 million pairs sold. Sales revenue has since tripled, proving a growing demand for smart glasses.
Together with Hypernova, Meta is unveiling another wristband that, due to the use of hand gestures, allows control of the glasses. The device runs on neural innovations created by CTRL Labs, acquired by Meta six years ago. Rather than camera-based tracking, the band uses microelectrical readings within the wrists and converts them to actions. This would make it more accurate and not so bulky as the existing competitors.
While the glasses will only display basic visuals and cover a small field of view, they are seen as an important first step toward full AR glasses. Sales projections remain conservative, as the upgraded design results in a slightly thicker and weightier frame.
The two-day Connect event will also feature the debut of Meta’s third version of voice-only smart glasses. The event has long been a stage for Meta to highlight progress in virtual reality, AR, and the metaverse.
With Hypernova, Meta is not only introducing display-enabled smart glasses but also laying the groundwork for the next era of immersive, hands-free computing.
