Next Meta Ray-Ban specs may have a display, but would it ruin the allure?

The next-generation of the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses could get closer to being a legitimate pair of augmented realist sunglasses, according to reports.

The Financial Times reckons the next-generation of the collaboration between the fashion giant and the social media company could arrive as soon as next year.

The purported display-toting specs would deliver notifications as well as responses to questions coming from Meta’s artificial intelligence, the report says.

“The updated Ray-Bans could be released as early as the second half of 2025, the people said. The small display would be likely to be used to show notifications or responses from Meta’s virtual assistant,” the FT’s sources claim.

It’s not clear how the addition of a display in the eye-line would alter the design moving forward, but there’s something to be said for the simplicity of the current solution that enables users to simply capture images and videos from their eye-line and post it seamlessly Meta platforms, while also enjoying audio through the built-in speakers.

Some folks might actively be avoiding a display in their eye-line and simply like the idea of being able to capture photos and video without picking up their phone and wrestling with the camera shutter and touchscreen for five seconds of their lives.

Meta is also working on its true AR glasses it has dubbed Orion, which are set to be a showcase of the latest available technology that’s likely to be very expensive. However, the Ray-Ban glasses with a display that simply shows incoming notifications might be a happy-enough middle ground for some.

Of the current generation product, our reviewer concluded a 4.5 star review by stating: “The Ray-Ban Meta Glasses remain a niche in the tech world, but if you’re after a smart pair of sunglasses that can take photos and videos, deliver decent audio playback and provide handy AI capabilities, they remain one of the best options available right now.”