Meta Announces New ‘optical-forward’ Ray-Bans
Menlo Park-based Meta on Tuesday announced its popular Ray-Ban smart glasses, of which the company touts is “the deepest lineup of AI glasses across every use case,” now supports prescriptions. The $499 Ray-Ban Meta Optics Styles are available for pre-order beginning today on Meta and Ray-Ban’s respective websites, with general availability in the United States and “select international markets” starting April 14.
“Billions of people wear glasses or contacts for vision correction and many Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta users already add prescription lenses to their AI glasses. Today, we’re rolling out an optical-forward pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses that support nearly all prescriptions,” Meta wrote in its announcement. “These are also the most comfortable glasses we’ve ever designed—aimed to better support all-day wear, even if you don’t need a prescription. Ergonomic features such as overextension hinges, interchangeable nose-pads, and optician-adjustable temple tips help make these new Ray-Ban Meta styles adaptable to individual face shapes for a tailored fit.”
At first blush, today’s news is good for accessibility. It makes Meta’s product more accessible to a wider swath of prospective customers who may have distinct eyewear needs. On the flip side, however, is the very real possibility someone with a very high prescription—someone like yours truly if I ever went (back) to wearing glasses like I probably should—could be left out because Meta just can’t support such powerful lenses. In fact, the prescription concern is the exact same concern I had when Apple unveiled the Vision Pro at WWDC 2023, as Vision Pro does support prescription lenses but caveats not all prescriptions are simpatico. The company even notes “[some] medical conditions, such as those involving eyelid drooping, changes in eye alignment (including strabismus or lazy eye), or uncontrolled eye movements (including nystagmus) might make it difficult for Vision Pro to properly detect your eyes. This might impact the visual experience.” To its credit, Apple suggests exploring the accessibility features in visionOS should you need higher-level support. As someone who does have strabismus, I can confirm Optic ID on Vision Pro doesn’t like me much.
The advent of Meta’s forthcoming new prescription glasses come soon after its partner Be My Eyes announced new accessibility features for Ray-Bans earlier this month.
