Meta’s Next Generation of Smart Glasses May Be Coming in September (and Cost Less Than Expected)

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Meta's next generation of smart glasses may be coming sooner than expected, and for less cash too. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Meta is planning to release smart glasses with a built-in display by the end of September, and the company is aiming at an $800 price-point for the next-gen specs.

What will you be able to do with a pair of Hypernova glasses?

The glasses, code-named "Hypernova," will reportedly offer all the features of Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley shades, but with a dedicated display for alerts and mini-apps, visible to the user on one part of the right lens, and controlled through a wristband. Reportedly, Hypernova glasses will feature apps for taking photos, and viewing media, maps, and notifications. These aren't the full augmented reality glasses the company is developing; they're more like a step between Meta's current AI-and-audio focused spectacles and the AR future.

Previous predictions put the price of these glasses at between $1,000 and $1,400, but according to Gurman's report, Meta plans to set the bottom price at $800, settling for slimmer profits in exchange for greater demand. For comparison, an Apple iPhone 16 retails for around the same price as Hypernovas, a pair of Meta Ray-Bans starts at $299, and XReal's One Pro smart glasses retail for $649.

What Meta's lower-than-expected price means

The relatively inexpensive price is significant. It's a signal that Meta is aiming for the mass-market as opposed to enthusiasts looking for a cutting-edge, high-cost device like the Apple Vision Pro. Whether $800 smart glasses can break out of novelty status and become everyday tech to the masses remains to be seen, but Meta Ray-Bans are excellent. These smart glasses have been part of my daily load-out for nearly a year, and they have become indispensable. If the added display of the Hypernova is as useful and user-friendly as Meta Ray-Bans' camera and AI, these glasses could really take off.

The lower price would also help tether users to the Meta infrastructure of apps and services. Hypernova won't just be hardware; it will no doubt be a gateway to WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Meta's AI too. The company seems to be betting consumers will warm up to smart glasses by degrees: from audio and cameras, to notifications and mini-apps, and eventually, to full augmented reality. Whether consumers will see $800 as a fair ticket price will determine whether Hypernova is just another gadget, or the first step in making smart glasses as ubiquitous as smart phones are now.