According to Meta's CTO Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, 2025 will be a pivotal year for Reality Labs, the company's augmented and virtual reality unit that has already absorbed nearly $100 billion in investment while planning to launch multiple AI-powered wearables including display-equipped Ray-Ban smart glasses, potentially determining whether their metaverse efforts will "go down as the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure."
Meta's investment in virtual and augmented reality technologies is on track to surpass an eye-watering $100 billion in 2025, with Reality Labs already receiving a record $19.9 billion in 2024 alone.12 Since acquiring Oculus in 2014, the company has poured over $80 billion into VR and AR development and acquisitions, with plans to add another $20 billion this year.34 This massive financial commitment represents one of the largest single-company investments in emerging technology in corporate history.
Despite these staggering figures, Reality Labs has generated only $10.1 billion in revenue since 2019, while operating at substantial losses ($17.7 billion in 2024).3 The division has had some success with Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, selling approximately 1 million units in 2024, though Quest VR headsets have seen slower adoption.14 This ambitious spending reflects Zuckerberg's strategy to create a new computing platform that could reduce Meta's dependence on Apple and Google's ecosystems, investing nearly triple what Apple has spent developing its Vision Pro headset.35
Meta is reportedly developing a significant upgrade to its Ray-Ban smart glasses by adding display capabilities, internally code-named "Hypernova." Expected to launch in the second half of 2025, these enhanced glasses will feature small screens that could display notifications and AI assistant responses12. Unlike the current display-free Ray-Ban Meta glasses that rely solely on voice commands and buttons, Hypernova would embed a screen in the lower-right corner of the right lens, allowing users to view information like map directions by simply looking downward2.
The upgraded smart glasses aim to be more than just an accessory, potentially functioning as a smartphone alternative with capabilities to run apps, recognize hand gestures, take pictures, and display maps2. While pricing hasn't been finalized, Meta employees suggest the product could cost between $1,000 and $1,400, positioning it as a premium offering comparable to high-end smartphones2. The company is also reportedly developing future iterations, including "Supernova 2" (athletic smart glasses without displays) and "Hypernova 2" (featuring dual screens targeted for 2027 release)2.
Meta is set to launch "half a dozen" new AI-powered wearables in 2025, according to a leaked internal memo from CTO Andrew Bosworth titled "2025: The Year of Greatness."12 Following what Bosworth described as Meta's "most successful year to date" for hardware devices in 2024, the company is now "pushing our advantage" in the wearables market.3 Among the anticipated releases are new Ray-Ban smart glasses with built-in displays (the "Hypernova" project) and possibly camera-equipped earbuds.32
This aggressive push into AI wearables comes at a critical juncture for Meta's Reality Labs division, which reported record revenue of $1.08 billion in Q4 2024 but also posted its largest-ever quarterly operating loss of $4.97 billion.2 The division's total losses have reached approximately $60 billion since 2020, highlighting the high stakes of this expansion.2 Meta will face increased competition in 2025 as Google's Android XR platform introduces new XR products, including display-equipped glasses, into the market.3
