Mark Zuckerberg blames dangerous Wi-Fi after his reside sensible glasses demo goes horribly wron

But Wednesday’s grand unveiling was overshadowed by a reside on‑stage demo that repeatedly failed, culminating in Mark Zuckerberg being unable to reply a video name by way of the brand new neural wristband whereas assuring the viewers “it’s all good” amid Wi‑Fi excuses.

What they’re

Meta is pushing a tiered family of AI glasses that vary from digital camera‑ and audio‑first fashions to a brand new pair with an built-in clear show, all centered on arms‑free seize, Meta AI help, and voice or wristband management. The Ray‑Ban Display provides a see‑via lens readout and depends on a neural wristband for delicate gesture management, marking Meta’s first shopper sensible glasses with a constructed‑in show.

Models and worth

• Ray‑Ban Display: $799, see‑via show in the best lens, managed by way of a neural wristband; slated to go on sale September 30 with two sizes and prescription choices.
• Ray‑Ban Meta (Gen 2): Starting at $379, with an upgraded 12-megapixel camera, 3K video capture, up to eight hours of typical use, 32 gigabytes of storage, IPX4 water resistance, and wider lens/frame options; Gen 1 remains at $299.
• Oakley Meta Vanguard: $499, sport‑oriented frames with IP67 durability, 12-megapixel ultra‑wide camera up to 3K video, louder speakers, five‑mic array, fitness integrations, and quick‑charge to 50% in 20 minutes.

Meta AI powers voice queries, hands‑free photos and video, real‑time translation, and context‑aware assistance across the lineup, with the Display model extending glanceable interactions into the lens itself. A neural wristband enables subtle finger gestures for control on the Display glasses, and Meta also highlighted “conversation focus” audio processing to raised hear voices in reside environments.

Reception to date

Early arms‑on protection has been notably upbeat for the Display glasses, with one reviewer from The Verge calling them one of the best sensible glasses tried thus far and another saying they “feel like the future,” whereas additionally noting they’re the product to beat for the class. Broader protection praised Gen 2’s sensible upgrades and battery good points, but in addition flagged the excessive‑profile reside AI demo faltered on stage, tempering the in any other case sturdy displaying.

Zuckerberg’s demo misfires

During a cooking phase, the glasses’ reside AI misinterpreted prompts, insisted base components had been already mixed, and urged steps for a sauce that hadn’t been began earlier than the host punted again to Zuckerberg citing Wi‑Fi points, prompting his “it’s all good” reassurance to a laughing crowd. “The irony of all this whole thing is that you spend years making technology and then the Wi-Fi on the day kinda… catches you,” Zuckerberg mentioned, laughing. “We’ll go check out what he made later.”

Later, whereas carrying Ray‑Ban Meta glasses and the neural wristband, Zuckerberg repeatedly did not reply an incoming video name on stage regardless of a number of makes an attempt, ultimately giving up because the ringtone continued, with different retailers noting comparable struggles through the occasion.

Long-term bets

Fortune has reported on Meta’s broader sensible‑machine roadmap, together with a “Hypernova” pair of sensible glasses anticipated to make use of a wristband controller akin to the company’s ambitious Orion AR project, underscoring Meta’s lengthy‑time period wager on neural wrist interfaces throughout its wearables. That wrist‑first interplay mannequin mirrors the neural-band method Meta simply showcased for the Ray‑Ban Display, suggesting strategic consistency between close to‑time period merchandise and pipeline units.

For this story, Fortune used generative AI to assist with an preliminary draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the data earlier than publishing.