Meta's dominance in the smart glasses space just got a serious upgrade. At Connect 2025 the company unveiled three new models that push wearable tech forward. Meta's Reality Labs hit $370 million in Q2 2025 revenue, a 5% jump year over year, and with 73% global market share, they are clearly doing something right. The growth is not a blip, it shows a pivot from experimental wearables to mainstream computing platforms, a real step toward true augmented reality integration.
Three models, three different visions for the future
Meta's lineup makes a simple point. Each model targets a different habit, not just a different spec sheet. It is a move beyond one size fits all and toward purpose-built experiences for specific users.
The Ray-Ban Meta Display launches September 30 for $799, Meta's first serious dive into display-enabled smart glasses. Think a wearable computing system for augmented reality that shows WhatsApp messages, Instagram Reels, and video calls on the lens. The specs serve a clear goal, seamless computing integration. The display outputs up to 5,000 nits of brightness using liquid crystal on silicon, LCOS, in the right eye with 42 pixels per degree resolution. That placement allows augmented overlay without blocking natural vision, a crucial design choice for mainstream use.
The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 takes an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach, same styling, bigger gains where it matters. Battery life doubled to eight hours of mixed use, turning a novelty into something you wear all day. The camera now shoots 3K footage with added slow-mo and hyperlapse modes, landing it squarely in creator territory. At $379, they are available today, it is the most accessible entry point into premium smart glasses.
The Oakley Vanguard brings serious athletic credentials
The Vanguard is Meta's most specialized play so far, built for people who train, not just stroll. For fitness-focused users, the Oakley Meta Vanguard costs $499 and ships October 21, with engineering choices that put performance ahead of general use.
The IP67 waterproof rating shrugs off rain and sweat. The speakers are six decibels louder than previous Oakley models, a small bump that matters when you are fighting the whoosh of wind during hard efforts.
What makes Vanguard sport-optimized rather than sport-styled is its tie-in with the fitness apps people already use. Garmin and Strava integrations let you ask Meta AI for real-time performance metrics, a hands-free coach. The glasses can auto-capture photos at mile markers when you follow a Garmin course, so workouts get documented without fiddling with buttons. The 12-megapixel ultrawide camera with 122-degree field of view sits at the center of the lens for cleaner action shots, a real upgrade over corner-mounted cameras that skew the frame.
Neural control: the real game-changer
The glasses show steady progress. The Neural Band is the leap. The Meta Neural Band wristband reads electrical signals from wrist muscles and turns them into gesture controls, offering the first practical neural interface for consumers.
This EMG neural wristband lets you pinch, swipe, and tap to run the Display model with no voice or touch on the frames. Zuckerberg's live demo had technical difficulties, par for the course with bleeding-edge interfaces, yet the working pieces hint at computing that feels ambient, almost unconscious.
Daily use is the point. The wristband delivers 18 hours of battery life and a water resistant build. Pair that with the Display's 6 hours of mixed-use battery life and 30 hours from the charging case, and you get a rig that lasts the day instead of a toy you baby.
Market positioning in a crowded field
The ecosystem lens explains the three models, not one do-it-all flagship. Apple's Vision Pro targets high-end professionals at $3,500 and Xiaomi offers AI-powered wearables at lower prices. Meta is chasing complete experiences across price points and use cases.
Results back it up. Meta's Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses sold over 2 million units since their October 2023 launch, and revenue tripled versus 2024. Reuters reports 110% year-over-year growth in the global smart glasses market for the first half of 2025, with Meta taking the lion's share.
Zoom in on the specs and the segmentation snaps into focus. Gen 2 is the easy on ramp, Vanguard serves athletic specialists, and Display is for early adopters who want AR computing now. Together they set Meta up for the larger prize, and market forecasts predict $936B metaverse hardware value by 2030.
What this means for the AR revolution
With 73% market share and clear consumer uptake, Meta has done what competitors have not, made smart glasses useful instead of merely novel. The plan to launch six smart glasses models between 2025 and 2027 suggests this three model drop is the base layer of an ecosystem, not a set of one offs.
The tech foundation in these three models supports a strategy aimed at the next computing platform. With Meta's $66 billion 2025 capital expenditure plan prioritizing AI and hardware R&D, the company has moved from experiments to a methodical platform build.
These three new models are not just product launches, they are the foundation for Meta's vision of ambient computing, where technology seamlessly integrates into daily life without the friction of constantly pulling out a phone. By giving different users their own path instead of a compromise device, Meta tackles the core problem that has dogged smart glasses for years, making them feel essential, not optional. Will the vision fully land? I think the next few product cycles will tell, but with this lineup, Meta has created the strongest foundation yet for the AR revolution the entire industry has been waiting for.
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