Meta Platforms is developing a deluxe entry for its popular Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses line that is said to incorporate hand-gesture controls and will include a screen for displaying photos and apps. The price tag will reportedly be more than $1,000 (and possibly as high as $1,400) when the item hits the shelves, possibly by the end of this year. Code-named Hypernova, the souped-up eyewear is part of a Meta plan to make a wearable alternative to Apple iPhones. Existing Ray-Ban Meta glasses can pair with Android phones to make calls.

The new version “will continue to rely heavily on the Meta View phone app” and use phones to access streaming music and the Internet, according to Bloomberg, which says the current Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which start at $299, “have been a surprise hit.”

Bloomberg adds that “Meta will continue to sell that entry-level version and is banking on their popularity to push users toward the higher-end models.” Meanwhile, Amazon and others are gearing up smarter versions of their own glasses in anticipation of Meta’s potential game-changer.

Tom’s Guide speculates the Hypernova edition will be announced at Meta Connect, set for September 17-18.

Much like the current Wayfarer-style Ray-Ban Metas, the new smart glasses will run a customized version of Android and “include dedicated apps for taking pictures, viewing photos and accessing maps” and will have the ability to capture images and video and have AI support via built-in microphones, Bloomberg explains.

Forbes notes the addition of the screen will mark a major design change, writing that “the screen sits towards the bottom of the right lens, meaning the person wearing it will need to look down in order to see what’s displayed.”

As it preps these new hyper-glasses for market, Meta is simultaneously working on Hypernova 2, expected in 2027, Bloomberg reports, noting that “the major difference is the inclusion of a binocular display system, which means the device will have two screens and show information in both eyes.”

Meta has characterized 2025 as “the ‘most critical year’ for smart glasses — especially with Android XR just around the corner” (including on a Samsung headset), not to mention Xreal “bringing something that could compete,” Tom’s writes.

Meta’s internal plans for high-end smart glasses have been the subject of media speculation dating back to 2022, when the codename Hypernova first surfaced, though it is unclear how the design goals have changed.