Introduction

Meta’s smart glasses with a built-in display, codenamed Hypernova, mark the company’s first consumer-ready smart glasses designed for everyday use. Unlike earlier models that mainly focused on photo and video capture via voice commands, Hypernova integrates a small color display embedded into the right lens. This display provides a limited field of view of about 20 degrees and serves primarily to show simple notifications such as incoming messages, enhancing convenience while maintaining ease of wear and subtlety.

Accompanying the glasses is a unique wristband control device developed using Meta’s CTRL Labs technology, which allows users to operate the glasses through hand gestures without the need for traditional buttons or cameras. This system reads muscle signals in the user’s arm to translate movements into commands.

The Hypernova glasses run on a modified Android platform powered by a Qualcomm chip and offer touch interaction with capacitive sensors on both temple arms. They feature AI integration for voice commands, messaging, media capture, and assistance.

Positioned as a premium wearable, these smart glasses are expected to launch at around $800 in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban and other luxury eyewear brands. This collaboration builds on the success of the earlier Ray-Ban Stories glasses and signals a significant step forward in augmented reality wearable technology, balancing practical notifications with comfort and style.

Features

Product Name: Meta Hypernova (codename Celeste)
Release Event: Meta Connect 2025, September 17–18
Price: Approximately $800 (includes gesture-control wristband)
Display: Small monocular digital display embedded in the right lens
Field of View (FOV): Around 20 degrees, visible only to the wearer for notifications and simple overlays
Control Method: Innovative gesture-control wristband using sEMG sensors to detect hand and finger movements for intuitive interaction
Operating System: Modified Android-based platform powered by Qualcomm chip
User Interaction: Capacitive touch sensors on both temple arms for additional control options
AI Integration: Supports voice commands, real-time messaging, media playback, and AI assistant features
Use Cases: Displays notifications, images, audio messages, calls, maps, and contextual AI-powered overlays
Collaboration: Made in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban and Prada
Design: Lightweight and wearable design though slightly heavier due to added display and tech components
Strategic Importance: Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of moving towards wearable AI and AR that could gradually replace smartphones
Additional Info: Expected to be an early-stage experimental product, helping gather user feedback to improve future AR wearables

This launch marks a significant milestone in consumer wearable technology, blending practical augmented reality with intuitive natural controls for a hands-free, connected experience.

Price

Meta’s upcoming smart glasses with a display, codenamed Hypernova, are set to launch in September 2025, priced at around $800. This price includes the innovative wristband controller that enables gesture-based interaction. The glasses feature a small built-in HUD (heads-up display) embedded into the right lens, offering notifications, messages, maps, and AI functions visible only to the wearer.

This launch follows Meta’s partnership with EssilorLuxottica (the parent company of Ray-Ban), known for their premium eyewear, and builds on the success of the previous Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses priced from around $299 but without a display.

It’s important to note that additional features like prescription lenses or designer frames could increase the final price. The Hypernova glasses are positioned as a premium, advanced wearable bridging the gap between traditional smart glasses and full mixed reality devices.

To compare, the current Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses (without a display) start at approximately $299 to $35700 INR in the Indian market depending on the model and features, making Hypernova a significantly more advanced but pricier product.

This pricing strategy aims to make Meta’s AR smart glasses more accessible than previously expected, accelerating adoption as part of the company’s vision for the future of wearable technology.