As with all big tech companies, Meta spends billions each year on acquisitions and partnerships it hopes will become vibrant investments in the future. The company is on schedule to spend $70 billion on AI investments in 2025 alone, but its decade-long investment of around the same amount into AR/VR research is the one about to pay off big time.
I’m talking, of course, about the upcoming launch of several new Ray-Ban and Oakley-branded smart glasses scheduled to be announced at Meta Connect 2025 on September 17 at 5 p.m. PT. Central to that is a new paradigm for smart glasses, seemingly called Ray-Ban Meta Display, based on a new leak. These glasses offer a true next-generation upgrade over existing Ray-Ban Smart glasses, but Meta isn’t stopping there.
The company is also expected to announce a new line of Optical and Sunglasses Ray-Bans complete with Meta technology inside, in addition to an even sportier pair of Oakley smart glasses in the company’s trademark Sphaera visor form factor. The company is seemingly going all-in on glasses from EssilorLuxottica brands, and it’s just the beginning of what we’re going to see from the partnership when they’re likely to be unveiled at Meta Connect 2025 this week.
Brand power
Just this week, Amazon announced a new hardware event at which they’re expected to announce their own pair of next-generation Echo Frames. These smart glasses are supposed to be a major upgrade on older audio-only Echo Frames, said to offer similar functionality to Ray-Ban Display glasses, including cameras and a display embedded in at least one of the lenses.
But the kicker is that they’re rumored to cost $800, the same price tag as Ray-Ban Display glasses. Even assuming Amazon somehow packs more power and technology in their frames for the same price, I’m not sure I can see most consumers choosing Amazon-branded glasses over Ray-Bans, especially for that price.
This perfectly illustrates the place Meta has now found itself after years of promising investors that a proper return on their money is right around the corner. Miniaturizing technology enough to make an attractive pair of glasses has been an incredibly difficult venture, but it’s clear Meta has impressed EssilorLuxottica enough to make an even more powerful pair, and I expect customers will also be impressed.
Seeing this trend in action, Google is taking the same steps to make smart glasses for popular eyewear brands. The company announced a partnership with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster earlier this summer. As someone who only started wearing glasses two years ago, I had never heard of these brands before Google’s announcement, but I have certainly heard of Oakley and Ray-Ban since my childhood days.
Meta seems to have scooped up the right ones with universal appeal, and further rumor has it that the company will be targeting Prada wearers next, potentially with an even more expensive price tag to match the brand’s pedigree.
The Devil might wear Prada, but so do all the other people with a ton of money, and Meta’s position as the stylistic smart glasses brand will cement its legacy in a way I don’t even think Mark Zuckerberg could have dreamed up just a few years ago.
