Meta's Ray-Ban Display demo derailed by Wi-Fi glitch at Meta Connect 2025
Live demonstration of Meta's flagship Ray-Ban Display glasses is interrupted by connectivity issues, overshadowing the launch of a three-device lineup.
Meta Connect 2025 opened with a stumble for Mark Zuckerberg as the company unveiled its latest Ray-Ban smart glasses lineup. During the live demonstration of the flagship Ray-Ban Display glasses, the on-stage demo repeatedly misfired, and Zuckerberg attributed the hiccups to bad Wi-Fi as the audience laughed. The moment underscored the challenges of introducing a new generation of wearable AI-enabled hardware while streaming to a global audience.
In the execution of the demo, Zuckerberg was joined virtually by chef Jack Mancuso, who asked the glasses’ AI for step-by-step help making a Korean-inspired steak sauce. Instead, the AI misread the ingredients as already combined, skipped steps, and repeated the error when Mancuso tried to restart. The scene highlighted the growing tension between ambitious real-time AI capabilities and the reliability of on-demand guidance in a live setting. When Zuckerberg later attempted to answer a video call using a neural wristband paired with the glasses, he failed multiple times before giving up as the ringtone droned on, drawing further attention from attendees and stream viewers alike.
The setback came as Meta rolled out a three-tier lineup intended to show off hands-free photos, real-time translation, and AI-powered assistance. The lineup includes the flagship Ray-Ban Display, priced around $799 (often described as $800), the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 at $379, and the Oakley Meta Vanguard at $499. The Display marks Meta’s first consumer glasses with a see-through, high-resolution display built directly into the lens, a feature that the company says is bright enough to be seen in daylight and sharp enough for detailed overlays in the user’s field of view. The tiny screen can beam texts, maps, and images directly into sight, with live captions and real-time translation appearing like sci-fi subtitles.
Meta describes the Display as a high-end wearable with a lens-integrated display offering 5,000 nits of brightness and 42 pixels per degree, enabling an overlay of texts, maps, and images. The glasses are controlled by a Neural Band wristband that reads subtle finger movements to translate intention into actions, a design choice Meta says minimizes the need for physical buttons or voice prompts. Battery life is listed at about six hours under mixed use, and the package includes Transitions lenses to adapt to indoor and outdoor lighting. The Display is paired with features such as on-device translation, real-time captions, and the ability to passively share content in the user’s line of sight.
The other devices in the lineup expand the capabilities. The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 upgrades the original with a 12-megapixel camera capable of 3K video at 60 frames per second, and it more than doubles the battery life to up to eight hours, with an additional 48 hours of use available in the case. Meta AI is described as seeing through the glasses, offering real-time directions, conversation mode for noisy environments, and on-the-spot translation, leveraging the broader AI roadmap the company is pursuing across devices. The Oakley Meta Vanguard is pitched as a rugged sport model, with a 12-megapixel camera, a five-microphone array for improved calls, louder speakers, and quick charging that can reach 50% in about 20 minutes.
The devices are scheduled to go on sale Sept. 30, marking a concrete timeline for consumers looking to adopt this early wave of AI-assisted eyewear. Early reviewers, however, have been more charitable than the on-stage reaction. A tech writer praised the Display as “the best of its kind” and said it “feels like the future” when functioning as intended, suggesting that the saturation of demos with glitches did not erase the potential of the technology when it works smoothly.
In practice, Meta emphasizes that the glasses are meant to augment daily life with real-time information and hands-free capture rather than replace smartphones or dedicated cameras. The Neural Band approach aims to streamline interactions without fiddling with on-device controls, while the high-brightness lens display seeks to remain legible in varied lighting conditions. The combination of high-end hardware and AI-powered software is central to Meta’s strategy of weaving together social, practical, and translation features into wearable tech.
The event and its reception illustrate the broader challenge facing Meta and other AI-forward hardware makers: balancing ambitious capabilities with the stability and reliability that consumers expect in a live product reveal. While the on-stage glitches drew attention, the company’s messaging around real-time assistance, translation, and seamless content sharing in a wearable form remains a central thrust of Meta’s technology and AI push. The company has indicated that more software improvements and user experience refinements will accompany the hardware as it scales, underscoring that initial demonstrations are part of a longer product journey rather than a final verdict on the tech’s potential.