Meta announced its Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses with a built-in in-lens display that allows users to see what the smart glasses capture, see and respond to messages, and interact with its Meta AI.
While the built-in apps and features were good, the only way to unleash the potential was to allow third-party developers to build apps. And today, Meta is finally opening up the display on its Ray-Ban smart glasses to developers.
What can developers build with this?
Meta is letting developers build new app experiences, with support for both mobile and web-based apps. With access to the display, developers can build information overlays, real-time data displays like scores or live updates, micro-apps, utilities, and more.
There are two ways to build for the display. The first is through the Meta Wearables Device Access Toolkit, a native mobile SDK for iOS and Android. It lets developers extend their existing app to the glasses’ display using Swift or Kotlin, adding UI components such as text, images, lists, buttons, and video playback.
The second path is web apps, which are perfect for developers who want to build standalone experiences using standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They can build everything from cooking guides to transit tools, test them in a browser, and deploy directly to the glasses.
What does this mean for Meta Ray-Ban users?
If you purchased a Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, it means the doors to new apps and experiences have just opened wide. Think how easy it would be to get real-time sports scores, turn-by-turn navigation, your grocery lists, and more, all visible right in your glasses without pulling out your phone.
Thanks to the support for gesture controls via the Meta Neural Band, you will be able to interact with these apps through subtle hand movements. The more developers experiment with the display, the richer and more practical your day-to-day experience with the glasses will become.
If not for the privacy concerns I have with Meta Ray-Ban, they would have become an instant purchase decision for me now that third-party developers can build apps for the platform.