Why is Meta switching to LCoS when AI glasses are increasingly using Micro LED?

I. Meta's AI Glasses with a 1080P LCoS Display Have Significant Industry Impact <br /> Meta's long-awaited AI glasses with a display (codenamed Hypernova) will be officially released at the Connect event on September 17, 2025, with pre-orders starting in October. This product features a 12-megapixel camera supporting 4K HDR, a 1080P resolution full-color LCoS microdisplay, and an array waveguide optical solution. It boasts a peak brightness of 2000 nits, weighs approximately 70 grams, and is priced at $800.

According to reports from multiple market analysis agencies, the global smart glasses market is projected to grow by 110% year-on-year in 2025, with the AI ​​glasses co-branded by Meta and Ray-Ban accounting for over 70% of the global market share. Hypernova, equipped with Meta's pioneering sEMG neural wristband, will further solidify its leading position. Compared to traditional touch, tap, and button modes, sEMG gesture controls significantly improve the convenience and efficiency of human-computer interaction during AI glasses use. Global shipments of AI/AR glasses are expected to reach 35 million units by 2028, representing a compound annual growth rate of 119%.

Meta's Hypernova smart glasses are significantly different from Orion, an AR concept product launched at last year's Connect event that cost tens of thousands of US dollars, demonstrating Meta's ambition to enter the ToC market.

First, Meta abandoned Orion's extremely expensive full-color high-definition Micro LED display with diffractive waveguide, a solution that was unsuitable for consumer products for a considerable period. Instead, it adopted a new (PIC) LCoS screen and array waveguide solution that offers lower cost, higher brightness, and higher resolution. Second, it features a Snapdragon AR2 Gen 2 chip that supports local execution of Llama 3-8B models and on-device AI functions such as real-time translation and scene recognition.

However, due to the relatively high power consumption of (PIC) LCoS screens, Hypernova only uses a single display to reduce system power consumption in order to ensure battery life. Meta plans to upgrade the Hypernova 2, which will be launched in 2027, to a dual-lens display, and plans to use a new generation of Micro OLED screen with high brightness and low power consumption to further achieve a high-definition visual experience close to AR.

Meta's Hypernova represents a significant upgrade in the global AI glasses industry. Beyond its innovative neural interaction technology, its display and optical solutions demonstrate a leading international manufacturer's precise understanding of consumer needs. This is expected to influence a large number of AI glasses manufacturers following suit, and the next wave of AI glasses using LCoS screens and arrayed waveguide solutions will likely be launched soon. However, what are the essential functions of AI glasses? How should hardware selection, market positioning, and pricing strategies be chosen to match them? These are questions that AI glasses manufacturers should seriously consider.

II. What are the essential needs of consumers for AI glasses? What kind of hardware and software configuration is required?
In fact, this is the primary question that all AI glasses manufacturers need to answer. If someone is already a glasses wearer, they certainly have the incentive to replace their regular glasses with AI glasses, provided there's no added discomfort and no reasonable cost. However, in an era where mobile phones are already overloaded with information and people are seeking information relief, only by meeting the following practical needs can consumers truly use AI glasses beyond their phones and computers, rather than simply trying them out briefly and then discarding them.

Glasses offer a better visual experience than mobile phones.
For example: extra-large screen, 3D effect, high-definition camera and high-definition visual effects.

Hardware requirements: High-definition camera, full-color high-definition micro display screen.

Wearing a headband is more natural and convenient than holding it in your hand.
For example: video communication and video interaction during social interactions, travel, sports, and work.

Hardware requirements: Non-invasive brain-computer interface, neural wristband (which recognizes subtle gestures such as pinching and rotating the palm through electromyography signals) to achieve contactless operation; capacitive touch control on the temples of the glasses is also retained as an alternative solution.

Consumers are willing to wear them voluntarily and reuse them.
For example, it boasts a stylish and trendy design, frees up your hands in terms of functionality, protects your privacy, and has a more efficient AI intelligent assistant than a mobile phone.

Software: Just like mobile phones, it has killer applications that meet the needs of social networking, entertainment, gaming, sports, etc., efficient AI models, open APIs, and a mature software ecosystem.

Based on the above requirements, it is easy to understand why Meta Hypernova uses hardware configurations including a high-definition LCoS microdisplay and a neural interaction wristband to differentiate itself from the previous generation Ray Ban screenless AI glasses. It redefines the user experience of AI glasses, enhances multimodal AI, such as real-time visual search, deep integration with voice assistants, and direct connection to Instagram live streams, and strives to replace some of the usage scenarios of mobile phones.

A crucial question in AI glasses applications is: Will consumers wear AI glasses for extended periods of time? Or will AI glasses replace smartphones as the mainstream digital gateway?

Meta Hypernova provides the answer: its weight of 70 grams and battery life of around 4 hours indicate that the current Hypernova is not suitable for prolonged wear. In short, AI glasses, at least for now, remain stuck in the era of old-fashioned feature phones, let alone the ambition to replace smartphones as the gateway to the mainstream digital world.

However, the future is already here. Hypernova signifies that AI glasses have taken a crucial step from being merely "smartphone accessories" like those on Ray-Ban glasses, moving towards becoming true "AI terminals." In fact, for a period after smartphones were first introduced, consumer use of smartphones was limited to light applications like "voice + text messaging," with usage time and frequency completely different from today.

Furthermore, Meta wisely lowered the price of the Hypernova to $800. Adjusted for inflation, this price is almost identical to the initial launch price of Apple smartphones. For consumer electronics, price is undoubtedly the decisive factor in the transition from a conceptual product to a bestseller. For AI glasses manufacturers who prioritize thinness and brightness, lack innovation, and charge over a thousand dollars, abandoning the expensive, low-resolution Micro LED screen and diffractive waveguide optical solution is imperative.

First, get consumers willing to buy, then talk about how to change the world. MetaHypernova's strategy is to first realize the essential function of "AI glasses," focusing on scenarios where users are willing to wear glasses for "intelligence," and then continuously refine and optimize them, rather than blindly pursuing high brightness of 6000 nits and an ultra-light and ultra-thin appearance, while ignoring the original intention of consumers buying AI glasses.

AI glasses may not be able to replace mobile phones or computers as the gateway to the digital world for a long time, but they could very well replace computer and mobile phone screens very soon. The combination of "glasses + mobile phone" or "glasses + computer" offers a better visual experience and more convenient human-computer interaction, allowing the digital and physical worlds to blend perfectly. This is the main driving force attracting consumers to wear AI glasses.