Meta’s AI Glasses Launch Draws Glitches at Keynote
The much-anticipated unveiling of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta AI Glasses at the Connect 2025 Keynote took a nosedive, with technical issues playing out live in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
Dubbed the Meta Ray-Ban display, these glasses are priced at $799 and are promoted as an innovative leap in wearable technology—featuring a digital assistant set to manage tasks for users.
However, with two failed demonstrations, the glasses seemed a bit less refined as they malfunctioned in plain sight, leaving the audience somewhat baffled.
At Meta’s Silicon Valley headquarters, the keynote was supposedly a grand introduction for the so-called “Hyper Nova” glasses. Initially, Zuckerberg displayed a live view through the glasses and interacted with responses from a brief list. But things quickly went downhill from there.
Cooking influencer Jack Mankuso joined him on stage to test out the live AI feature, but it didn’t go as smoothly as planned.
During the presentation, Tech Radar’s Lance Ulanoff mentioned, “There were quite a few major hiccups.” He pointed out that the AI seemed disoriented and floundered during the presentation, suggesting perhaps that live demos might not be the best choice. He noted that it can be challenging when many people are on Wi-Fi simultaneously, which could hinder performance.
Ulanoff remarked that no other major tech companies attempt live demos at their keynotes, citing Apple’s practice of showing videos for full control during presentations.
The assistant strayed from the dialogue, even refusing to answer simple inquiries like, “What do you do first?” This led Mankuso to blame the Wi-Fi and hand the spotlight back to Zuckerberg.
A second glitch arose during a demo of neural bands, where Zuckerberg managed to exchange a text with Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth. However, when Bosworth attempted to initiate a WhatsApp video call, the glasses failed to detect it. After fumbling through the interface without success, Bosworth stepped in, joking about the “brutal Wi-Fi,” which elicited laughter from the audience.
“You rehearse these things a hundred times, and yet you still don’t know what will happen,” remarked Zuckerberg.
In spite of the on-stage setbacks, Zuckerberg portrayed the glasses as a significant advancement in AI-driven personal technology. He pitched them as a glimpse into a future where wearable AI assistants effortlessly anticipate and manage user needs.
As Ulanoff put it, “Mark was enthusiastic, willing to take risks, but unfortunately, things didn’t play out as he hoped.” Still, he praised Zuckerberg for handling the situation with grace and humor, despite the awkwardness.
