Overview

• Purchases require a scheduled in‑store demo at select Best Buy, LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, or Ray‑Ban locations, with many appointments already pushed into mid‑to‑late October and some into November, according to ZDNET’s checks.
• The glasses embed a full‑color display in the right lens for messages, photo previews, video calls, captions, and turn‑by‑turn guidance, and ship with the Meta Neural Band EMG wristband for gesture‑based control.
• Hardware upgrades include a 12MP ultra‑wide camera with 3K video, improved audio, and longer battery life; the Display starts at $799 in the U.S. on Sept. 30 with an international rollout planned for early 2026, while Ray‑Ban Meta Gen 2 is available now from $379.
• Early hands‑on reports praise the Neural Band’s intuitive gestures and live captioning but note a learning curve, murky readability at times, and added weight and bulk versus prior models.
• Meta acknowledged Connect demo failures—including a mass activation triggered by the wake word—with CTO Andrew Bosworth citing many AI instances running simultaneously, and analysts expect tight supply at roughly 150,000–200,000 units over two years.