Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses can do a lot more than you probably think.
They're surprisingly capable Bluetooth audio conduits, have a decent camera, and even come equipped with Meta AI, which imbues them with computer vision and other tools like live translate.
However, the one thing they don't have is the one thing that would make them truly next-gen — a screen.
And according to a recent report, that revolution might already be in the works.
The screen we've been waiting for
If recent reports are any indication, Meta is on track to make the smart glasses breakthrough we've all been waiting for.
According to a report from the Financial Times, Meta plans to add a display to its Ray-Ban smart glasses as soon as next year. This would make them the first significant pair of glasses since Google Glass to feature an inter-lens screen.
The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the project, reports that the display will be used for precisely what you might think — delivering notifications and showing responses from Meta AI.
It's not difficult to imagine why a small display — even a limited one — could be useful. Screens, generally speaking, are ideal vectors for conveying information. Right now, Meta's Ray-Ban glasses lean heavily on Meta's voice assistant. If you've ever tried to use Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant, you'd probably agree that the experience of using voice input can leave something to be desired.
To augment the non-display experience, Meta's Ray-Ban glasses pair with the Meta View app, which allows you to view pictures or get information about your glasses. The extended app experience works fine but makes the Ray-Ban glasses feel less like a standalone gadget and more like a smartphone accessory.
While a display might not seem like a big deal on the surface, it would mark a significant step toward the company's ultimate vision of lightweight, low-impact AR glasses like its Project Orion prototype.
It might finally convince people of something that Mark Zuckerberg and anyone pursuing AR desperately try to prove: smart glasses are the real deal.
A new computing platform
Zuckerberg and companies like Apple and Samsung, rumored to be developing their own pairs of glasses, have big expectations for the future of smart glasses. Smartphone-upending expectations, to be specific.
In case you had doubts about the smart glasses fervor, Zuckerberg recently made a confident claim on Threads, calling them the "next major computing platform."
Post by @zuckView on Threads
On one hand, that's a lofty claim, but on the other, it doesn't feel entirely impossible.
Smart glasses are perhaps the most underrated gadget of the year. The addition of a display will make them even more helpful, and notifications are just the start.
With a savvy enough display and deep enough integration, a display could augment functional capabilities like turn-by-turn navigation or even enable video calling features. In the future, you might even be able to browse the web or see recent photos and videos.
In essence, a display would drive glasses closer to becoming a true, standalone wearable with genuine interest. Before smart glasses become the next platform, they have to become genuinely helpful — useful in the way that a watch or a smart ring is.
Of course, there are many "ifs," and Meta isn't alone in its ambitions. Recent rumors about Samsung suggest it's readying its own pair of smart glasses that could (in theory) outperform the Ray-Bans.
Coupling smart glasses with the tight integration of Samsung's phones would undoubtedly deliver the most seamless smart glasses experience we've seen yet. So, if Meta is going to remain top dog in the burgeoning world of smart glasses, it will have to push the boundary even further.
Whether it will be able to do that before the competition beats Meta to the punch is anyone's guess, but adding a display is a significant step toward defending its foothold.
Either way, there's never been a more exciting time to get into smart glasses, even if you're scarred from the controversial days of Google Glass.
