Global Waitlist: Meta Freezes International Launch of New Ray-Ban AI Glasses
The highly anticipated international rollout of Meta’s latest smart eyewear has officially been put on hold. During a recent announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the technology giant confirmed that the Ray-Ban Display glasses will not be reaching European and Canadian markets as early as previously promised. This decision marks a significant shift in strategy for the company’s hardware division, which had initially aimed for a synchronized global expansion in the first quarter of 2026.
The primary driver behind this delay appears to be the product’s overwhelming success in its home market. Since launching in the United States in September 2025, the Ray-Ban Display model has seen demand that far outstrips the company’s manufacturing capabilities. Meta revealed that current inventory levels are critically low, forcing them to prioritize fulfilling existing domestic orders before opening the floodgates to international buyers.
Prospective customers in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canada were originally next in line to receive the devices. These regions were slated for an early 2026 release, a timeline that has now been scrapped indefinitely. According to the company’s product update, waitlists for the device in the US alone now extend well into the latter half of the year, making an immediate overseas launch logistically impossible.
While the delay is disappointing for international tech enthusiasts, Meta used the CES stage to showcase exactly why the device is in such high demand. The Ray-Ban Display differs from its predecessors by integrating a micro-screen directly into the lens, allowing for visual augmented reality features. This leap in functionality moves the product line from simple audio-based smart glasses to a true heads-up display wearable.
Alongside the shipping news, the company unveiled several new software capabilities that will be pushed to the glasses via over-the-air updates. The most notable addition is a new “Teleprompter” feature, which projects speech notes directly into the user’s line of sight. This tool is designed for public speakers and content creators who need to deliver lines without looking down at a phone or script.
Another groundbreaking feature demonstrated was “EMG Handwriting,” which works in tandem with the Meta Neural Band accessory. This wristband detects electrical signals from the user’s nerves, allowing them to “write” messages on any flat surface using just their finger. The system translates these minute finger movements into digital text for apps like WhatsApp and Messenger, effectively turning any table into a keyboard.
Meta has also expanded the pedestrian navigation features of the glasses. The update adds support for complex walking directions in several new major cities, including Denver and Las Vegas. These features highlight Meta’s goal of making the glasses an indispensable tool for daily life rather than just a novelty for recording videos.
To understand the magnitude of this delay, it helps to look at what the “actor” in this scenario—Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg—has been up to recently. Over the last few years, the company has aggressively pivoted its resources from traditional social media toward what they call the “next computing platform.” This transition has been spearheaded by the Reality Labs division, which has faced intense scrutiny for its high spending but is now beginning to deliver consumer-ready hardware.
The Ray-Ban partnership, facilitated through eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica, has been the “star” of this hardware roadmap. While the initial “Ray-Ban Stories” were seen by many as a simple camera gimmick, the subsequent generations have slowly integrated genuine utility through artificial intelligence. The project has effectively rehabilitated the image of smart glasses, a category that had been stagnant since the public failure of Google Glass over a decade ago.
Looking ahead at upcoming projects, Meta has made it clear that the Ray-Ban Display is just a stepping stone toward full holographic augmented reality. The company recently teased “Orion,” a prototype of thick-framed glasses capable of projecting fully immersive 3D holograms into the real world. While Orion is likely years away from being a consumer product, the technology being refined in the current Ray-Ban line—specifically the miniaturization of displays and batteries—is paving the way for that future.
Competitors are also ramping up their efforts to cast their own “movies” in this space. Rumors persist that other major tech players are developing similar lightweight eyewear to compete with the Ray-Ban collaboration. However, Meta currently holds a significant first-mover advantage in the fashion-forward smart glasses niche, provided they can eventually solve their supply chain bottlenecks.
For now, the story for international fans is one of patience. The technology promises to untether users from their smartphone screens, but the reality of manufacturing limits means that dream is deferred for non-US residents. As the company works to ramp up production, the tech world will be watching closely to see if the hype can be sustained through a long waiting period.
We would love to hear if you are willing to wait for these glasses or if you plan to look for alternatives in the comments.
