Meta is turning its Ray-Ban Display smart glasses into a proper platform in a single week, opening the device to third-party developers, expanding its signature neural handwriting feature to all users, and mapping out when its next-generation AI arrives. The company opened the Ray-Ban Display to third-party app and game submissions through its developer platform, offering two build paths for mobile and web apps. Developers can create "display-enabled" experiences and tap into the Neural Band controller for gesture-based input, according to Meta's developer announcement.
Until now, the glasses only ran apps from Meta and its partners. That shift toward openness coincides with the broad rollout of virtual handwriting, a feature that uses the included Neural Band to let users write messages with hand gestures. The Verge's Jay Peters reported the feature now works across WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and native Android and iOS messaging.
Meta had launched it in early access for WhatsApp and Messenger in January. A new "display recording" mode captures video combining what appears in the lens display, the real-world view, and ambient audio. Walking directions now cover the entire US and major international cities including London, Paris, and Rome.
Live captions arrived on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram DM voice messages.
Meta also confirmed its Muse Spark AI will hit the Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses over the next few weeks in the US and Canada. Android Central reported that the Display model will have to wait until the summer.
Muse Spark, which debuted in April, lets users "talk naturally with the assistant, interrupt, switch topics, or swap languages," per Meta's blog. The update also brings Live AI to the company's AI app, enabling camera-based queries and a shopping feature that searches Facebook Marketplace. The Gen 2 Ray-Ban Meta glasses, meanwhile, hit their first sale since launching in September. Amazon dropped the Wayfarer model in Matte Black to $321, down from $399, as Android Headlines noted. The Gen 2 runs on Meta's LLAMA 4 model, offers eight hours of battery life with 48 more from the charging case, and shoots 3K video at 60fps. Over two million first-gen units have sold worldwide.
Meta Connect 2026 is set for September 23-24, where the company has teased VR, wearables, and AI announcements.
