Meta’s next big wearable reveal appears to have been spoiled early. An unlisted — and now removed — video posted briefly on Meta’s official YouTube channel leaked what looks like a final marketing clip for a new pair of Ray-Ban-branded smart glasses with an integrated monocular heads-up display (HUD), paired with a surface-electromyography (sEMG) wristband for gesture control. The leak arrives just days before Meta Connect 2025, the company’s annual developer and product event.
What the leak shows:
Screenshots and copies of the pulled video show a Ray-Ban style frame labeled “Meta Ray-Ban Display,” with a visible HUD overlay in the right eye that delivers turn-by-turn navigation, message previews, on-screen translations, and short-form Meta AI responses. The clip also depicts a chunky temple to house the new optics and electronics — noticeably thicker than the current Ray-Ban Meta frames — and highlights interactions driven by voice commands and simple gestures captured by a matching wristband.
That wristband is described and shown as an sEMG accessory — a band that reads tiny electrical signals from muscles in the forearm to infer finger movements and gestures. Meta has explored similar ideas in its Orion prototypes, and the video implies the wristband will be the primary hands-free input for the monocular HUD experience.
A practical HUD for everyday use
If authentic, the Meta Ray-Ban Display would mark a major shift from audio-first smart glasses (Meta’s earlier Ray-Ban Stories and the later audio/AI models) toward a visual AR experience that overlays information directly on the wearer’s view. Practical uses shown in the leak — walking navigation, translated text floating over real signage, short Meta AI replies — aim squarely at everyday utility rather than purely experimental AR demos.
The leak also underscores how competitive the smart-glasses market is becoming. Google, Samsung and other players are rumored to be racing toward display-equipped glasses, and Meta’s move would help position Ray-Ban (via its EssilorLuxottica partnership) as a mainstream supplier of display wearables rather than niche dev kits.
Design tradeoffs and privacy questions
From the leaked footage and images, it’s clear Meta prioritized fitting a readable display and sufficient battery into a frame that still resembles fashionable Ray-Ban eyewear — hence the thicker temple. That compromise is familiar: adding optics, projection hardware, and compute pushes up weight and thickness, and manufacturers must balance style against capability. Early reactions from industry watchers note the change in silhouette is significant but arguably acceptable if the user experience is genuinely useful.
Privacy is another flashpoint. Display-equipped glasses make it simpler for wearers to process, store, and display contextual information in real time — and raise fresh questions about when it’s acceptable to record, translate, or surface other people’s data in public. Meta’s previous devices and policies have already attracted scrutiny; an always-visible HUD tied to sophisticated sensing (including muscle signals from an sEMG band) will likely intensify regulatory and social debate.
What to expect at Meta Connect
Several outlets that examined the leak suggest the Ray-Ban Display may appear at Meta Connect 2025, which is scheduled for mid-September — and that earlier rumors had placed a display version of Ray-Ban glasses into late-2025 or early-2026 timelines. Some reporting on the leak has floated an estimated price in the hundreds of dollars (roughly in the ballpark of $400–$800 in different leaks), but nothing definitive has been confirmed by Meta. Expect Meta Connect to clarify availability, pricing, and whether the sEMG wristband ships with the glasses or as an optional accessory.
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