Meta unveiled its new VR headset, Meta VR Glasses, at Connect 2026, along with the camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio and the third-generation Ray-Ban Meta. The company also announced new software features for smart glasses while expanding the sales availability of Meta Ray-Ban Display.
Meta VR Glasses are planned to go on sale next spring at a starting price of 1,300 dollars. The approximately 100-gram device features a 5K display, full-color passthrough, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced certification. The processor, storage and battery, which use the Qualcomm Snapdragon Reality Elite platform, are housed in a separate, wired module. The module supports 45W fast charging and offers up to three hours of high-resolution media playback on a single charge. Initially, the glasses will feature 75 games playable with hand gestures; Quest games will also work with Touch Plus controllers. Support for Xbox Cloud Gaming, Windows PC and Mac connectivity, a virtual keyboard, Meta AI, eye tracking and holographic avatars will also be available.
The camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio focuses on Meta AI, music, podcasts and calls. The 43-gram model, which provides up to 12 hours of use on a single charge and up to 48 hours with its case, will start at 349 dollars. Pre-orders are now open, with deliveries planned to begin on October 13.
The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 features a 12-megapixel camera, 3K video, nine-hour battery life and six microphones that reduce noise by more than 90%. The model will start at 449 dollars, while the limited Aviator version will start at 579 dollars.
Meta Adventurer will be available starting at 249 dollars. Pre-orders open on the day of the event, while in-store sales are planned to begin on October 23. Meta Ray-Ban Display will be sold for 799 dollars in the US, 749 pounds in the United Kingdom and 1,149 Canadian dollars in Canada.
Why it matters
These announcements show that Meta is positioning the virtual reality experience not merely as a head-mounted display, but within a broader device ecosystem that brings together gaming, computer connectivity, artificial intelligence and communication features. The differentiation among the products in terms of camera, display and control options shows that smart glasses are not tied to a single use case. In the VR headset, relocating the processor, storage and battery to a separate wired module creates a design trade-off between a high-resolution experience and ease of use. At the same time, the different price points and feature packages leave open the question of which model users will choose for which needs; regional availability will also be part of the decision-making process for products with specified sales markets.
Background
Meta is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 21 news reports mentioning the name in the past 90 days; the latest is dated September 24, 2026.