By Mike Prospero

Copyright tomsguide

Skip to main content

Tom’s Guide

Newsletters

View Profile

Search Tom’s Guide

You May Like

Meta’s Ray-Ban Display smart glasses have a mind-blowing feature — and it’s all because of its wrist strap

I just tested the futuristic Rokid Glasses — bringing AR and AI together to make Meta nervous

Ray-Ban Meta vs Oakley Meta smart glasses: Biggest differences explained

Phone Insights

Phone Best Picks

Phone Deals

Phone Face-Offs

Phone How-Tos

Phone Reviews

Network Carriers

Android Phones

Google Phones

Motorola Phones

OnePlus Phones

Samsung Phones

Nothing Phone

TV Best Picks

TV Face-Offs

Audio Insights

Audio Best Picks

Audio Deals

Audio Face-Offs

Audio How-Tos

Audio Reviews

Over-Ear Headphones

Bluetooth Speakers

Smart Speakers

TV & Audio Brands

Entertainment

Streaming Devices

Prime Video

Paramount Plus

PlayStation

Handheld Gaming

Gaming Peripherals

Connections

Computing Insights

Computing Best Picks

Computing Deals

Computing Face-Offs

Computing How-Tos

Computing News

Computing Reviews

VPN Best Picks

VPN Face-Offs

VPN How-Tos

VPN Reviews

Operating Systems

Identity Theft Protection

Parental Controls

Malware & Adware

Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality

Smart Glasses

Chromebooks

Gaming Laptops

Apple Desktops

Gaming Desktops

Android Tablets

Computing Brands

AI Insights

AI Best Picks

AI Face-Offs

Google Gemini

Apple Intelligence

Mattress Best Picks

Mattress Deals

Mattress Face-Offs

Mattress How-Tos

Mattress News

Mattress Reviews

Mattress Care

Mattress Toppers

Pillows & Bedding

Smartwatches

Fitness Trackers

Smart Rings

Apple Watch

Home Insights

Home Best Picks

Home Face-Offs

Home How-Tos

Home Reviews

Home Topics

Home Appliances

Home Office

Home Security

Home Brands

Popular Brands

View Phones

Phone Insights

Phone Best Picks

Phone Deals

Phone Face-Offs

Phone How-Tos

Phone Reviews

Network Carriers

View Network Carriers

Android Phones

View Android Phones

Google Phones

Motorola Phones

OnePlus Phones

Samsung Phones

Nothing Phone

TV Best Picks

TV Face-Offs

Audio Insights

View Audio Insights

Audio Best Picks

Audio Deals

Audio Face-Offs

Audio How-Tos

Audio Reviews

Headphones

View Headphones

Over-Ear Headphones

View Speakers

Bluetooth Speakers

Smart Speakers

TV & Audio Brands

Entertainment

View Entertainment

View Streaming

Streaming Devices

Prime Video

Paramount Plus

View Gaming

PlayStation

Handheld Gaming

Gaming Peripherals

Word Games

Connections

View Computing

Computing Insights

Computing Best Picks

Computing Deals

Computing Face-Offs

Computing How-Tos

Computing News

Computing Reviews

VPN Best Picks

VPN Face-Offs

VPN How-Tos

VPN Reviews

View Hardware

View Software

Operating Systems

View Security

Identity Theft Protection

Parental Controls

Malware & Adware

View VR & AR

Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality

Smart Glasses

View Laptops

Chromebooks

Gaming Laptops

View Desktops

Apple Desktops

Gaming Desktops

View Tablets

Android Tablets

Computing Brands

AI Insights

AI Best Picks

AI Face-Offs

AI Engines

Google Gemini

Apple Intelligence

View Wellness

Mattresses

View Mattresses

Mattress Best Picks

Mattress Deals

Mattress Face-Offs

Mattress How-Tos

Mattress News

Mattress Reviews

Mattress Care

Mattress Toppers

Pillows & Bedding

View Fitness

Smartwatches

Fitness Trackers

Smart Rings

Apple Watch

Home Insights

Home Best Picks

Home Face-Offs

Home How-Tos

Home Reviews

Home Topics

Home Appliances

Home Office

Home Security

View Outdoors

Home Brands

Popular Brands

Meta Connect LIVE
iPhone 17 Pro Max Review
iPhone Air Review
iPhone 17 Review
Best laptops

Best Mattress

Don’t miss these

Augmented Reality
I replaced all my monitors with the Viture Luma Pro — here’s why they take the fight to Xreal for the best AR glasses crown

Smart Glasses
I live in AR glasses, and the only bundle I recommend is the Xreal One Pro — now $170 off for Labor Day

Smart Glasses
Meta Hypernova smart glasses: Rumors, leaks and everything we know so far

Smart Glasses
Meta Connect 2025: 5 huge announcements we expect to see

Augmented Reality
The best VR headsets in 2025

Augmented Reality
I’ve worn smart glasses for over 4 years — here’s the best AR and AI glasses

Smart Glasses
Meta’s Ray-Ban Display smart glasses have a mind-blowing feature — and it’s all because of its wrist strap

Smart Glasses
I just tested the futuristic Rokid Glasses — bringing AR and AI together to make Meta nervous

Smart Glasses
Ray-Ban Meta vs Oakley Meta smart glasses: Biggest differences explained

Smart Glasses
I know the one thing Meta needs to win the smart glasses race at Meta Connect — and it’s harder than it looks

Smart Glasses
I spent my first 24 hours with the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses — they’re brilliant except for one glaring problem

Smart Glasses
Ray-Ban Meta 3 Smart Glasses rumors: Everything we know so far

Smart Glasses
Snap OS is finally ready for Snap Specs in 2026 — I just tested the game-changing update

Smart Glasses
I wore the Even Realities G1 for a month — and they’re smart glasses I’d actually wear despite their flaws

Smart Glasses
Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses review: What I love (and what’s still missing)

Smart Glasses

I went hands-on with the Meta Ray-Ban Display — 5 features that will actually make them worth $800

Mike Prospero

20 September 2025

This will make or break these smart glasses

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Future)

Earlier this week, I attended meta Connect and had a chance to go hands-on with the Meta Ray-Ban Display, the newest set of smart glasses from Meta. The defining features is a display in the lenses, and work with a neural wrist strap to translate small gestures into controls to navigate the interface.

I only had a few minutes with the Ray-Ban Display, but came away largely impressed. The screen is bright and crisp, and while there’s a learning curve, the hand gestures felt very intuitive. However, there’s a few things I’d want to try with them first to really see if they’re really worth the $800 investment. Here are the five things I’m most interested in trying with the Meta Ray-Ban Display.

♬ Beat (Acoustic) – Breno Beats . P R O D

Turn-by-turn directions

(Image credit: meta)
One of my least favorite things about navigating somewhere unfamiliar with my phone is that I’m constantly looking at its screen to see if I’m going the right direction. While you can use one of the best wireless earbuds or even meta’s smart glasses to pass along guidance from your phone, I’m looking forward to having it in the glasses themselves.

You may like

Meta’s Ray-Ban Display smart glasses have a mind-blowing feature — and it’s all because of its wrist strap

I just tested the futuristic Rokid Glasses — bringing AR and AI together to make Meta nervous

Ray-Ban Meta vs Oakley Meta smart glasses: Biggest differences explained

According to meta, the Ray-Ban Display will launch with pedestrian turn-by-turn walking directions in select cities, and will expand this feature over time. My hope is that, in addition to voice guidance, the glasses will also show arrows or some other visual indicator of which way to turn.

Video calls

(Image credit: meta)
This was one of the demo fails at meta Connect, so I can’t wait to see how it actually works. If someone calls you via Whatsapp or Messenger, you’ll be able to see their face in the Ray-Ban Display’s screen, and they’ll be able to see what you’re looking at via the glasses’ camera. (Of course, this will mean that they won’t be able to see you, unless you’re looking at a mirror.)
I can see this feature being handy if you want to, say, livestream your kid’s recital to a relative who can’t attend, or get help from your mom if you’re trying to prepare a meal. Otherwise, your callers might be miffed that they can’t see your face.
Live captions and translation

(Image credit: meta)
I think one of the best uses for AI on mobile devices is live translation. Having a universal translator at the ready is really helpful when you’re traveling for a new country.

Sign up to get the BEST of Tom’s Guide direct to your inbox.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
The Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses have had live translation in them for a while (they are getting more languages via an update), but the Ray-Ban Display takes it a step further, by displaying the translated text in front of you.
In addition, they can also be used to help those who have trouble hearing, by showing live captions of the person talking. (It also works for ad-hoc subtitles in movies and TV shows). I tried the live captions in my demo, but really want to see how the other functions work in the real world.

(Image credit: meta)
In terms of functionality, the Ray-Ban Display’s Neural Band is as important as the screen itself. Otherwise, navigating the display would be a really tedious affair.

You may like

Meta’s Ray-Ban Display smart glasses have a mind-blowing feature — and it’s all because of its wrist strap

I just tested the futuristic Rokid Glasses — bringing AR and AI together to make Meta nervous

Ray-Ban Meta vs Oakley Meta smart glasses: Biggest differences explained

The Neural Band wraps around your wrist, interprets muscle movements you make with your fingers, and translates them into commands to move around the display.
In my demo, the things I tried worked pretty well: For example, If I was in the music app, I could pinch my fingers and rotate my wrist to adjust the music volume. I was surprised at how quickly it responded.
However, I think the real test will be with typing. When using the Ray-Ban Display’s chat apps, you’ll be able to tap your fingers on pretty much any surface to type out a message. Zuckerberg claimed he could get up to 30 words per minute, so while you’re not going to use these glasses to write the next Great American Novel, it could turn the Displays into a very effective communications platform.
I’ve tried my share of virtual keyboards over the years — none of which have been great — so I really want to see how well it performs on the glasses.
And, as someone who likes playing the piano, I’m hoping a developer can come up with another sort of virtual keyboard, so I could practice my Beethoven and Brubeck.
Weight and Comfort

(Image credit: Future)
During his presentation, Zuckerberg stressed that one of the pillars for all of Meta’s smart glasses is that they had to be comfortable to wear for long periods of time. More so than meta’s other smart glasses, the Ray-Ban Display are meant to be a wearable computer that you use all day long — or at least until their 6-hour battery needs recharging.
To that end, the Displays all come with transition lenses, and you can even get them with prescription lenses. But it also comes down to weight and fit. At 69 grams, they’re significantly heavier than the Ray-Ban Meta gen 2 (51 grams), and they have a chunkier frame. By comparison, my favorite non-smart sunglasses, the Smith Lowdown, weigh a scant 45 grams.
So, I really want to see if they do feel comfortable for me to wear as long as I would my regular glasses.

The Meta Ray-Ban Display go on sale on September 30, and could be on their way to being the best smart glasses around. However, a lot rides on how well all of their new features perform — not just the ones I highlighted here, but especially Meta AI.
I suspect that using the AI on the glasses won’t be the primary reason people pick them up; things like voice calling, music, photography and other tasks we primarily use our phones for will be the more popular apps on the Ray-Ban Display.
Of course, it will all come dowdn to the comfort of the glasses themselves; no one’s going to use them if they can’t stand wearing them. We hope to try out the Ray-Ban Display more fully, so rest assured we’ll try all these features out — and more.
More from Tom’s Guide

Oakley Meta Vanguard hands-on: GoPro has some real competition
Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) hands-on: I’m a skeptic, but I’d wear these AI glasses
Meta Connect — Meta Ray-Ban Display, Oakley Meta Vanguard and more

Mike Prospero

Social Links Navigation
U.S. Editor-in-Chief, Tom’s Guide

Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom’s Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Meta’s Ray-Ban Display smart glasses have a mind-blowing feature — and it’s all because of its wrist strap

I just tested the futuristic Rokid Glasses — bringing AR and AI together to make Meta nervous

Ray-Ban Meta vs Oakley Meta smart glasses: Biggest differences explained

I know the one thing Meta needs to win the smart glasses race at Meta Connect — and it’s harder than it looks

I spent my first 24 hours with the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses — they’re brilliant except for one glaring problem

Ray-Ban Meta 3 Smart Glasses rumors: Everything we know so far

Latest in Smart Glasses

Meta Ray Ban Display fail: Here’s why Mark Zuckerberg’s demo didn’t work

Meta’s Ray-Ban Display smart glasses have a mind-blowing feature — and it’s all because of its wrist strap

I just tried the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses — and it feels like the future

Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses announced— release date, price, features, neural link band and more

Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) hands-on: I’m a skeptic, but I’d wear these AI glasses

Oakley Meta Vanguard hands-on: GoPro has some real competition

Latest in Opinion

I finally tried the DualSense Edge pro controller — and playing on PS5 will never be the same

Should you upgrade to iPhone 17? Here’s who should buy (and skip) from the iPhone 13 and up

I went hands-on with the Meta Ray-Ban Display — 5 features that will actually make them worth $800

New iPhone 17? These privacy apps should be your first download

Chrome just got 10 new AI features — these are the 3 best ones

Forget the Apple Watch 11 — 5 reasons to buy the new Garmin Venu 4 instead (and 2 reasons to skip it)

LATEST ARTICLES

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2 — which smart ring rules them all?

Should you pre-rinse dishes before using your dishwasher? I asked the experts to settle the debate

Should you upgrade to iPhone 17? Here’s who should buy (and skip) from the iPhone 13 and up

5 best new movies to stream this weekend on Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu and more (Sept. 20-21)

Want to fall asleep faster? I swear by a warm drink before bed — here’s why

Tom’s Guide is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Terms and conditions

Contact Future’s experts

Privacy policy

Cookies policy

Accessibility Statement

Advertise with us

Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait…