After months of teasing, Meta officially unveiled its newest smart glasses, the $800 Meta Ray-Ban Display, during a software development conference in Menlo Park, California. According to the New York Times, Meta hopes that their new app-controlled smart glasses, which resemble conventional eyewear and offer a more streamlined and stylish look than competitor models, will dominate this niche of the smart wearable market.
But when Mark Zuckerberg attempted to demonstrate the Display during the slickly produced presentation, the Buddy Holly-style smart specs failed to initiate a video call on command, and then failed again. Instead of a dramatic reveal that wowed the tech-savvy crowd, the event spawned viral videos and countless jokes that spiraled across social media and damaged the product's reputation before it ever reached consumers.
Will smart eyewear, whether it comes from Meta or not, ever grow beyond its tiny niche and become a mainstream smart accessory like the Apple Watch? Possibly, but skeptics worry about more than just functioning technology and a stylish appearance. Smart glasses make it easier for the wearer to film others without their knowledge, creating a new set of headache-inducing privacy concerns for everyone.