Kerry Wan/ZDNET
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
Meta Connect 2025 kicks off today, and the company is expected to showcase several new products and use the event to sharpen its XR strategy toward AI-driven hardware that can be worn and used today.
Last year’s Connect 2024 conference brought some notable improvements to its Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, including multimodal video support, live translations, and natural language processing.
Also: 5 Meta Ray-Ban upgrades that have me truly hyped for today
Meta also previewed advances in Llama 3, showing how its AI research was driving new features. Connect 2024 showed how consumers could continue to embrace AI wearables, setting the stage for Meta to make a bigger leap into display-driven smart glasses and a full developer platform to support them. Here’s what’s on the docket for 2025, and how to tune in.
How to watch Meta Connect 2025
The main keynote with Mark Zuckerberg begins Wednesday, September 17, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. The developer keynote follows on Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
While developers, media, and industry analysts have been invited to attend the event in person, Meta’s official Connect website, Facebook Live, and YouTube (which wouldn’t require a Meta login) will offer streams for public viewing. Quest users can also experience it in virtual reality inside Horizon Worlds. ZDNET is reporting live from the event, and here are the latest updates.
What to expect at Meta Connect 2025
Meta Ray-Ban Display: A new version of the popular smart glasses features a waveguide display that projects helpful context, including translations, navigation paths, and more. The glasses may also work in tandem with an sEMG wristband to support gesture controls.
Meta Ray-Ban 2: Not to be mistaken for the Display model, the second generation of Meta Ray-Bans shares a similar design and functionality as its predecessor. It serves as a camera-first wearable with more generalized improvements, such as battery life and comfort.
Oakley Meta Sphaera: Based on the popular sports glasses, Meta is expected to extend its partnership with Oakley by releasing a new Sphaera model. The glasses will feature a centered camera and curved lens design.
Asus ROG Tarius VR headset: A new gaming VR headset, made in partnership with Asus ROG, is expected at Meta Connect. How the headset fares against the Meta Quest remains in question, but it’s safe to say that this is a totally different beast.
Latest updates (refresh for more)
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Sept. 17 at 4:37 p.m. ET
There’s a lot happening within the confines of Meta HQ today, much of which we can’t talk about just yet, but I can share this massive skateboard ramp.
It’s safe to say that Meta is continuing to target athletes and sports fans with its smart glasses, pitching the wearables as a hands-free alternative to more traditioanl action cameras.
Show more
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Sept. 17 at 3:46 p.m. ET
Ahead of Meta Connect, CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted on Threads that today’s announcements will include various finger emojis, from writing with a stylus to making finger hearts.
In other words, the neural wristband that’s been teased for almost a year may finally come to market. It would allow users to operate their smart glasses and headsets with pinches, swipes, and taps. The question is how fluid and reliable at tracking the accessory is.
Here’s to hoping for a live demonstration during this afternoon’s keynote.
Show more
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Sept. 17 at 2:50 p.m. ET
ZDNET’s Jason Hiner and I are officially on the ground for Meta Connect. Lots of excitement in the air, Meta signage, and people wearing Ray-Bans. Stay tuned for more.
Show more
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
By Cesar Cadenas, Writer / Sept. 16 at 8:10 p.m. ET
Meta Connect 2025 won’t be completely devoted to Hypernova, as a recent leak has revealed that there will be at least one other product. Earlier this week, Meta accidentally uploaded a teaser trailer for a new pair of smart glasses that could be called the Meta Ray Ban Display.
As the name suggests, these wearables will “feature a monocular HUD that projects navigation pathways [via a map app], translations, messages, and exchange with the Meta AI assistant.” Text boxes, maps, and the like seemingly stay static. They won’t latch onto objects in front of you like an AR (augmented reality) headset would.
Also: Samsung ‘Galaxy Glasses’ powered by Android XR are reportedly on track to be unveiled this month
Compared to current Meta Ray Ban models, the Ray Ban Display is significantly bulkier, especially around the corners. The extra size is probably a consequence of all the additional tech needed to support digital displays.
I should mention that Meta could also announce new smart glasses with its other partner, Oakley. Another leak spilled the beans on the “rumoured Oakley Meta Sphaera,” which will have a camera lens in the center for capturing footage.
Show more
By Jason Howell, Contributor / Sept. 16 at 8:05 p.m. ET
For the event, it appears the tech giant is going big as Meta will reportedly unveil a new pair of high-end smart glasses, codenamed Hypernova, capable of displaying a graphical interface and tracking hand gestures, among other things. Much of the information surrounding Hypernova comes from unnamed sources who spoke to industry insider Mark Gurman of Bloomberg.
According to this report, the smart glasses could cost around $800 (and as much as $1,400.) For comparison, the Oakley HSTN are currently Meta’s most expensive wearables, and they only cost $479. The massive price difference is due to a “monocular panel” located in the bottom right-hand corner of the right lens. Because of the panel’s location, on-screen information will only be displayed over your right eye, and you’ll have to look down to see a home screen.
Also: 2 Meta Ray-Bans leaks that have me truly excited for Connect (including a new Oakley model)
This home screen will consist of preinstalled apps, which include a camera, image gallery, and map. Additionally, Hypernova could possibly connect to smartphones to display texts and notifications on the digital screen. A proper name has yet to be revealed or leaked; however, rumors claim that the $800 smart glasses may be called Meta Celeste.
Show more
By Cesar Cadenas, Writer / Sept. 16 at 7:50 p.m. ET
Gurman’s report mentions that Meta will “begin offering a so-called neural wristband [codenamed Ceres] for the first time.” This will be an accompanying accessory to Hypernova that converts electrical signals from wrist muscles into gesture controls. For example, rotating your hands will let you scroll through apps, and a finger pinch will allow users to select specific items.
Also: Meta wears Prada? Why its next-gen AR glasses might out-style the Ray-Bans
Not much is known about Ceres; however, early renders and images of the accessory have leaked. These renders show Ceres could be a bracelet of sorts made primarily out of gray, elastic textile cloth, with the inner side holding a series of “high-performance EMG sensors.”
These sensors capture the electrical signals mentioned earlier, which are then sent to an internal processor to “produce input events” on the smart glasses. It even has a haptic engine delivering tactile feedback to the user.
Show more
By Cesar Cadenas, Writer / Sept. 16 at 7:31 p.m. ET
Meta may unveil the new Asus ROG Tarius, a VR headset that will be the first third-party device to run on Horizon OS, on Wednesday. Meta opened its operating system to third-party companies in April 2024. It’s taken a little while, but the fruits of these collaborations are bearing fruit.
Considering that it’ll be under the Asus ROG umbrella, Tarius is likely to be a gaming-centric device. Very little is known about the headset. Much of the information that we currently have comes from a single leak that surfaced in January of this year.
Also: I tried smart glasses with a built-in display, and they beat my Meta Ray-Bans in key ways
It claims Tarius will support both eye and face tracking. The screen inside the visor will either be micro-OLED or QD-LED with local dimming. Assuming this is all true, the QD-LED screens could be used to achieve high amounts of contrast.
Sadly, that’s pretty much all we know. No word on what it’ll look like or what kinds of games it’ll support. We don’t even know what chipset it’ll run. Could it eschew more towards the Meta Quest 3 and deliver a top-notch performance, or will it be like the Quest 3S and be less powerful in favor of having a lower price tag? It’s hard to say at the moment.
Show more
