You might actually want to visit a Verizon store for once this fall

After Meta took the wraps off its new Ray-Ban glasses last week, Verizon has now stepped up to announce it’ll be the first US carrier to sell them.

Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are coming to Verizon

The company confirmed it will offer the Meta Ray-Ban Display AI glasses, unveiled at Meta’s Connect conference, making Verizon the launch partner for these futuristic wearables in the US. Starting this fall, you’ll be able to pick them up at select Verizon stores, where customers can also book in-person demos to try out the glasses before buying.
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The Meta Ray-Ban Display takes AI glasses a step further, packing a full-color, high-res in-lens display that blends digital features with the real world. When paired with the Meta Neural Band, the glasses let you control everything with subtle hand gestures. That unlocks a bunch of futuristic features, including:

• Stay connected: discreetly view messages or take hands-free video calls.
• AI interactions: get answers and step-by-step instructions with visual aids.
• Break language barriers: real-time translation and live captions (my personal favourite feature).
• Smarter navigation: turn-by-turn walking directions with a visual map (in select cities).

Verizon’s big play

This deal shows Verizon wants to plant itself right in the middle of the AI wearables game. But here’s the question: will the US’s biggest carrier roll out real deals to make the $799 Ray-Ban Displays more tempting, or just resell them at full price – something you could just do directly through Meta anyway?

At $799, they’re not cheap, but for XR (Extended Reality) enthusiasts eager to try what’s next in wearable tech, it’s actually a pretty reasonable entry point.

Can Meta finally go mainstream?

Getting carriers like Verizon on board signals Meta’s bigger ambition: pushing these glasses into the mainstream. A lot of people in the US still buy their gadgets – phones, smartwatches, earbuds – directly from carriers, and now Meta clearly wants AI glasses on that same shelf.

That said, the launch wasn’t without hiccups. The glasses still need polish before they work as seamlessly as promised, and one thing is already obvious: they’re basically useless without a constant internet connection. Which makes it almost certain Verizon will bundle them with some 5G + unlimited data deals. Whether that’s enough to finally make more people buy into Meta’s wearable vision? We’ll find out soon.

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