Meta’s ‘Hypernova’ AR Glasses Reportedly Priced at $800 USD

Meta’s unreleased ‘Hypernova’ AR glasses are reported to be launching later this year. It’s claimed that the pricing of the smartglasses may be cheaper than originally believed.

This week, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that the Hypernova smartglasses will be priced at $800 USD (around $1,103 CAD). “Meta’s first smart glasses with a display coming in September will now be priced from $800,” Gurman said.

Originally, the Hypernova glasses were reported to be priced starting at $1,000 USD (roughly $1,379 CAD). However, Gurman claims that Meta has chosen to lower the price to increase adoption. “They were originally expected to be $1000+,” he says. The change stems in part from the company accepting lower margins to boost demand — a common tactic for new products.”

In terms of what Hypernova smartglasses bring to the table, they’re largely considered to be a more premium and upgraded version of the Ray-Ban Metas. It’s believed that the smartglasses can take and view photos with their built-in display. There will be the ability to view maps, read notifications, and access gesture controls.

That suped-up version of the Ray-Ban Metas may also arrive with an improved camera and bundled-in wristband accessory to interact with the gesture controls.

For reference, Ray-Ban Meta is available in Canada starting at $369. The smartglasses don’t include any AR capabilities. Instead, the smartglasses are able to take photos and videos that can then be uploaded to your smartphone to be saved. Built-in speakers can be used to listen to music on Spotify. Powering the device is Meta AI, which is able to use the Ray-Ban Meta’s cameras to identify what the user is looking at to provide more contextual information.

Earlier this year, Meta also launched its Okaley Meta HSTN glasses for $679 in Canada. Aside from adopting the Oakley frames, the latest device includes a slightly better battery. However, it isn’t until the release of Hypernova that Meta’s smartglasses division is seemingly taking a more substantial plunge into AR and advanced features.