Mark Zuckerberg’s Live Demo of New Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the company’s latest Ray-Ban Smart Glasses during a live event on Wednesday.
At Meta Connect 2025, Zuckerberg’s presentation experienced multiple setbacks, which led him to attribute the mishaps to “bad Wi-Fi.” The audience, amused, couldn’t help but laugh at the blunders.
During the demonstration, chef Jack Mancuso joined Zuckerberg and requested the AI in the glasses to help him make Korean-style steak sauce. Unfortunately, the AI mistakenly assumed certain ingredients were already combined, resulting in another mix-up when Mancuso tried to skip steps.
“The irony of all this is that you spend years making this technology, and Wi-Fi is… well, it sort of gets you that day,” Zuckerberg said with a chuckle, adding, “It’s all good.”
But things didn’t improve. When he attempted to answer a video call using a neural wristband linked to the glasses, he faced repeated failures, ultimately giving up as the ringtones echoed before the audience.
The technical issues obscured what was meant to be an exciting announcement: a new three-tier lineup including the flagship Ray-Ban Display at $799, the updated Ray-Ban Meta Generation 2 priced at $379, and the sporty Oakley Meta Vanguard at $499.
These smart glasses promise features like hands-free photo capturing, real-time translation, and integration with Meta’s AI.
All three models are set to be released on September 30th. Despite Zuckerberg’s on-stage struggles, early reviewers have praised the display glasses, with one tech writer expressing that they “feel like the future.”
Notably, the $799 Ray-Ban display is Meta’s first pair of consumer glasses with an integrated high-resolution display directly on the lenses. It boasts brightness powerful enough to shine at 5,000 nits and clarity of 42 pixels per degree.
This small screen can project text, maps, and images directly into the user’s line of sight, with live captions and real-time translations appearing like sci-fi subtitles.
Instead of traditional buttons or voice commands, users can control the glasses with a new “neural band” wristband that detects subtle finger movements.
The glasses have a battery life of about six hours with mixed usage and come equipped with TransitionS® lenses, allowing for indoor and outdoor use.
The $379 Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 enhances the original model with a 12-megapixel camera capable of capturing 3K video at 60 frames per second and a battery life that has doubled to over 48 hours with a case. It also features classic Ray-Ban frames in fresh colors like Cosmic Blue and Mystic Violet.
Meta AI functionality, displayed through the glasses, delivers real-time navigation, conversational modes for noisy settings, and on-the-spot translations.
The $499 Oakley Meta Vanguard is designed for sports enthusiasts. It’s resistant to sweat and water, equipped with a robust 12-megapixel camera, a five-microphone array, and large speakers, promising a quick charge that reaches 50% in just 20 minutes.
