Meta's Ray-Ban Display glasses are getting a wider retail footprint and a heavier software load at the same time: cycling and transit directions, a voice-driven avatar for video calls, and sales in five more countries.
The expansion matters most for anyone who could not buy the display model before. Shoppers in the US can now order the glasses online, and according to Meta, online ordering and in-store sales in Vancouver, Toronto and London opened on September 23 for Canada and the UK. France, Italy and Germany get staggered pre-orders first, then online and store sales in Paris, Milan, Rome, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich from October 13. Prescription versions reach EssilorLuxottica optical stores in France and Italy that same day, with Germany following later in the year.
Navigation gets the biggest functional upgrade, an area where Meta says owners consistently tell it they value heads-up directions. Wearers ask by voice and see turn-by-turn cycling cues or live transit departures in the lens, so the phone can stay pocketed. That arrives later this month in the US and Canada. Walking directions also change their reference points: rather than naming streets, the glasses will point to visible landmarks, with Meta's own example being a turn at a yellow house.
The hologram feature tackles an awkward asymmetry of face-worn cameras. A wearer on a call sees the other person, while the other person sees nothing of the wearer. Meta's fix starts with a brief self-capture in the Meta AI app, which produces a photorealistic version of the user's face for calls. The avatar is animated by voice alone, the company says, with its model inferring expressions from both the words spoken and how they are said. Early Access starts on WhatsApp for US owners later this fall.
Smaller additions fill out the update. Explore, a new app on the glasses that is also reachable through the Meta AI app, will collect experiences built for the display. The calendar now shows who is attending a meeting and lets wearers accept, decline or join it, in English in the US. Mirrored phone notifications are due soon, with controls to switch off the ones a user does not want, and Threads Community Feeds can be followed and reposted from the glasses. Meta also claims its AI glasses are the first consumer device to record and play back video in Dolby Atmos spatial audio.
Meta has not said when cycling and transit directions will reach the three European launch markets, so buyers there may get the hardware in October before the headline navigation feature.
