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Meta's new glasses may feature Prada branding, $800 price

may

deter buyers

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Meta faces scrutiny over child safety on social media

platforms

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Meta lags rivals in AI models, but is ahead in smart

glasses

By Aditya Soni and Echo Wang

MENLO PARK, California, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Meta

is expected to launch on Wednesday its first

consumer-ready smart glasses with a built-in display, seeking to

extend the momentum of its Ray-Ban line, an early consumer hit

of the artificial intelligence era.

The new glasses will likely be named "Celeste" and paired with

Meta's first wristband for hand-gesture controls, though their

expected $800 price tag may dissuade some buyers, analysts said.

CNBC has reported the glasses could feature Prada branding. The

event is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET).

The glasses are expected to include a small digital display

in the right lens for basic tasks such as notifications, along

with features available on its existing Ray-Ban and Oakley smart

glasses such as an AI assistant, cameras, hands-free control and

livestreaming to its social media platforms including Instagram.

While Meta has been at the forefront of developing smart

glasses, it trails rivals such as OpenAI and Alphabet's

Google in rolling out advanced AI models. CEO Mark

Zuckerberg has kicked off a billion-dollar talent war to poach

engineers from rivals and promised to spend tens of billions of

dollars on AI chips.

The launch at Meta's annual Connect conference, held at its

Menlo Park, California, headquarters, comes amid scrutiny over

Meta's handling of child safety on its social media

platforms.

Reuters reported in August that Meta chatbots engaged children

in provocative conversations about sex and race, while

whistleblowers said earlier this month that researchers were

told not to study the harmful effects of virtual reality on

children.

For Zuckerberg, whose massive bet on the metaverse has so far

resulted in losses of tens of billions of dollars, smart glasses

are the ideal device for superintelligence - a concept where AI

surpasses human intelligence in every possible way - because

they serve as a personal, always-on interface that can see,

hear, and interact with the world through the user's

perspective.

Analysts have said Meta's new glasses are a step toward the

planned 2027 launch of its "Orion" augmented virtual reality

smart glasses, whose prototype was unveiled last year.

Zuckerberg described the product as "the time machine to the

future."

"It wasn't long ago that consumers were introduced to AI on

glasses and in recent quarters brands have also begun to include

displays, enabling new use cases," said Jitesh Ubrani, research

manager for IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.

"However, consumer awareness and product availability of AI

glasses with display remains limited. This will change as Meta,

Google, and others launch products in the next 18 months."

Google said in May it had partnered with Warby Parker ( WRBY )

to develop an AI-powered eyewear line, with the first products

expected after 2025. As part of the deal, the tech giant

committed to an equity investment of up to $150 million in the

eyewear brand.

IDC forecasts worldwide shipments of augmented reality and

virtual reality headsets, and display-less smart glasses, will

increase by 39.2% in 2025 to 14.3 million units, with Meta

driving much of the growth thanks to demand for the Ray-Bans it

makes with EssilorLuxottica.