Meta Is Gearing Up For Its Breakout Moment, With The $1000+ AI Glasses  

Meta is accelerating the development of a high-end luxury version of its popular smart glasses. The new device will incorporate more advanced and powerful AI large language model systems, add gesture control functionality, and feature a high-definition screen capable of independently displaying photos and other applications. According to informed sources, meta plans to launch its first AI smart glasses with a built-in HD electronic screen by the end of this year—a critical move in its strategy to challenge Apple's ecosystem dominance in the smart consumer electronics market, including iPhones and other mobile devices.

The device, codenamed "Hypernova", is expected to be priced above $1000, potentially reaching $1300 or $1400. Sources indicate the final price may not be determined until closer to launch. Meta's current most popular AI smart glasses are the Ray-Ban Meta, which start at $299, and Meta says the company will continue selling these "entry-level" products even after the higher-end models are launched.

Ask Aime: Will Meta's new luxury smart glasses challenge Apple's ecosystem dominance?

The Rise of Smart Glasses as AI's Ideal Edge Device

For Meta's AI smart glasses sector, these devices are widely seen as the consumer electronics most likely to benefit from AI model advancements. By leveraging continuous updates to cloud + edge-based generative AI models, they can deliver more intuitive, immersive, and personalized AI experiences—potentially approaching their NVIDIA moment of simultaneous stock and sales surges.

The significant price increase for Meta's new smart glasses stems primarily from its innovative HD screen configuration—a monocular display positioned in the lower right quadrant of the right lens. This means essential information will appear only in the wearer's right field of view, not across the entire screen, with optimal clarity when looking slightly downward.

Meta's smart glasses team has already begun developing the second-generation product (codenamed Hypernova 2), which will feature a more advanced binocular display system with dual HD screens. This model is tentatively slated for a 2027 release.

Screen-equipped smart glasses represent another milestone toward Meta's vision of true AR + AI glasses. The company previewed related technologies last year.

Hypernova's Breakthrough Feature:

Home screen: Horizontally arranged circular icons resembling Apple's app dock or Meta Quest's MR interface

Dedicated apps: Includes camera, photo viewer, maps, and notifications from paired smartphone apps (Messenger, WhatsApp)

Other features: Retains current Ray-Ban Meta capabilities like photo/video capture, AI voice commands, calls, and music playback, still reliant on the Meta View smartphone app

Running a customized Android OS, the glasses will use capacitive touch controls on the temple arms—swipe to browse, tap to select. Meta also plans to debut a neural wristband (codenamed "Ceres") for gesture control (e.g., palm rotation to scroll, pinching to select), likely bundled with the glasses.

Camera upgrades aim to match the iPhone 13's quality (2021), a leap from the current 12MP (iPhone 11-level) system. A new triangular folding case (codenamed "Heres") will accompany the glasses.

Other Products

In addition to "Hypernova", Meta is also developing the screenless smart glasses Supernova 2. According to media reports, its intelligent operation logic is similar to the current Ray-Ban Meta, but adopts Oakley's eyewear design, targeting sports scenarios like cycling, and has recently begun public environment testing.

Scheduled for launch in 2027, Hypernova 2 will partially overlap with Meta's development of true "AR+AI" smart glasses. The latter requires superimposing interactive images, videos, and information onto the real world—a technical requirement far more advanced than Hypernova's simple heads-up HD display and significantly more expensive to develop.

Media previously reported that Meta's AR smart glasses prototype Orion, unveiled last year, is currently only used for internal software testing and application development at Meta, and may eventually be made available to developers. The first product targeting the broader consumer market is more likely to be the subsequent model Artemis, expected no earlier than 2027.

Insiders reveal that Meta's Reality Labs division—responsible for developing AI smart glasses and AR consumer electronics—is still internally debating product development plans and details, such as whether to eventually merge the Artemis and Hypernova product lines or launch them separately at different price points.

Market Outlook

According to Counterpoint Research's Global Smart Glasses Model Tracker report, worldwide smart glasses shipments surged by 210% year-over-year in 2024, primarily driven by strong demand for Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. This unprecedented growth propelled the global smart glasses market past the 2 million unit milestone for the first time in history.

The research firm defines Ray-Ban Meta as the market's first true AI smart glasses. These devices integrate an NPU-equipped SoC with advanced camera and audio components, enabling core intelligent features like photo/video capture and audio playback. By combining on-device AI algorithms, smartphone-based edge AI, and Meta's Llama AI models, they support a wide range of application scenarios.

Ray-Ban Meta has fundamentally redefined the AI smart glasses category through its user experience. Prior to its launch, early-generation smart glasses primarily focused on hardware improvements like connectivity, audio quality, and battery life to address issues such as sound leakage, inaccurate voice pickup, and limited wear time. While these iterations added voice assistant capabilities, they failed to transform the user experience. The Ray-Ban Meta's introduction triggered explosive market growth - Counterpoint data shows global shipments grew 156% YoY in 2023 and 210% in 2024, with Meta capturing over 60% market share in 2024.

The rapid development of edge computing, 5G networks, and AI technologies has enabled consumer edge devices to process data in real time while seamlessly interacting with cloud-based AI models. This allows smart glasses to not only collect environmental data (visual, audio, location, etc.) but also perform local preprocessing before connecting with cloud AI for real-time generative AI applications. Complex AI workloads are handled in the cloud, while time-sensitive or privacy-critical tasks like voice interaction, real-time translation, AR navigation, and contextual information overlay are processed locally.

Counterpoint notes that following Ray-Ban Meta's successful launch, a new wave of AI smart glasses has emerged, ranging from reference designs by supply chain companies to commercial products from eyewear brands, all hitting the market since late 2024. The firm predicts smartphone leaders like Xiaomi, Samsung, and Transsion will debut their first AI smart glasses in 2025, with more device manufacturers expected to enter the market through 2026. Counterpoint forecasts the global smart glasses market will achieve 60% YoY growth in 2025 and maintain a CAGR exceeding 60% from 2025 through 2029.