Meta’s Hypernova Smart Glasses: Ambitious, Pricey, and Already Doomed?

Meta is gearing up to unveil its next experimental wearable, the Hypernova smart glasses, at its upcoming Connect event.

But early details suggest these glasses are destined to struggle before they even hit store shelves.

According to reports, Hypernova will serve as a short-lived stepping stone rather than a true consumer product. Much like Samsung’s Project Moohan headset, these glasses are positioned as a test run, with Meta planning just a two-year life cycle before pivoting to its long-term project – the highly anticipated Orion AR glasses, expected around 2027.

Despite Meta’s ambitious vision, the Hypernova faces a serious problem: price versus longevity. The device is rumored to launch at around $800, yet buyers will be investing in a gadget that will be obsolete within 24 months. For most consumers, the XR market still feels too experimental to justify such a high cost.

Meta reportedly expects to sell no more than 200,000 units, essentially using the rollout as a way to gather real-world data and stake its claim ahead of Apple. While Apple’s Tim Cook is bullish on XR, Mark Zuckerberg has already poured billions into VR with the Quest lineup, convinced that smart glasses will eventually replace smartphones. This gamble on Hypernova is part of that broader push, even if it means operating at a loss.

The big selling point of Hypernova will be its AI integration. Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses gained traction thanks to their AI features, even without a display. Hypernova goes a step further by including a display, though it stops short of offering true AR. That milestone will have to wait until Orion arrives.

In short, Meta’s Hypernova isn’t designed to be the future of computing – it’s a placeholder. The company is willing to sacrifice profit and consumer trust today in order to dominate tomorrow’s AR landscape.

Meanwhile, tech enthusiasts can look forward to another release this fall: “Iconic Phones: Revolution at Your Fingertips,” a coffee table book celebrating the most groundbreaking mobile devices of the 21st century.