New Smart Glasses Coming in 2027: Meta, Apple, Samsung and Whether Canadians Should Wait

The short answer

If you want smart glasses this year, the choice is still mostly Meta. Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 launched at Meta Connect in September, and the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses with a built-in screen went on sale in Canada the same day for CA$1,149. Canadians waited a year for those.

Everything else people are searching for is still a rumour or a promise. Google and Samsung say their Android XR glasses arrive this fall, with a Samsung official reportedly pointing to November. Apple's glasses are reported for 2027. Meta's next display glasses have no date at all.

So is anything coming soon worth waiting for? For most people, no, with two exceptions below.

What Meta just launched

Confirmed: Engadget's Connect 2026 roundup lists Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 at US$449, available from September 23. MobileSyrup reports the Canadian starting price as $559. Meta's spec changes are modest. Battery goes from eight hours to nine, there's a new six-microphone array that Meta says cuts more than 90 per cent of background noise, and there's a customizable button for Meta AI. The frames are slimmer and come in Aviator, Wayfarer and a new cat-eye called Zena.

What didn't change is just as useful to know. iDevice's comparison says the camera and chip are the same as Gen 2, still a 12 MP camera with 3K video. It also says most of the new software Meta announced, including dynamic photo capture and the hearing enhancement feature, is coming to Gen 2 as well. Hearing enhancement is US-first, according to Engadget.

Meta also added Ray-Ban Meta Audio, a camera-free pair from US$349 with up to 12 hours of battery and prescription support, and a cheaper own-brand Meta Adventurer from US$249. The Audio pair is already sold in Canada, from CA$429 at Meta Canada when our review was written. Engadget didn't list Canadian details for the Adventurer, so check meta.com/ca before assuming it's here.

Our take: Gen 3 is a polish year. If you already own Gen 2, there's very little here to upgrade for. Cameron's hands-on review of the Gen 2 still covers what daily life with this camera and audio setup is like: Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 review

Meta Ray-Ban Display in Canada, and what comes after it

Confirmed: Road to VR reports that Meta Ray-Ban Display started rolling out beyond the US at Connect, with online orders opening in Canada and the UK. The Canadian price is CA$1,149, sold through meta.com, and prescription lenses are available through meta.com in Canada. The glasses use a single waveguide display in the right lens and come with the Meta Neural Band, a wristband that reads muscle signals so you can pinch and swipe.

Not every feature crossed the border at the same time. MobileSyrup says cycling and transit directions were coming to Canada and the US later in September, but Meta's hologram calling feature in WhatsApp is US Early Access only, and it's unclear when Canada gets it. MobileSyrup also notes the Canadian launch slipped from early 2026 because of what Meta called unprecedented demand.

Reported: the successor is where it gets murky. UploadVR summarised two reports in February. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had reported a follow-up codenamed Hypernova 2 for 2027, with a display in both eyes, and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo backed that timeline. The Information then reported Meta was trying to pull a successor into 2026. Connect came and went with software updates for the current model and no new display glasses, so the 2026 version of that story didn't happen.

UploadVR notes Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth polled fans on binocular displays versus a smaller, cheaper design, so the next model may not be settled. Confidence: medium that a second-generation display model arrives in 2027, low on what it looks like.

Apple's glasses: reported for 2027

Reported: almost everything here comes from Gurman at Bloomberg, so treat it as one well-sourced reporter's view, not a plan Apple has shared. Apple hasn't announced glasses.

Gurman's timeline has moved. In April, The Decoder relayed his report that the glasses, codenamed N50, could be announced in late 2026 or early 2027. In late May, Engadget reported he'd pushed that toward the end of 2027. In his July newsletter, as summarised by iPhone in Canada, he said Apple may show them at WWDC in June 2027.

On hardware, the reports line up better. No display. Cameras with vertically oriented oval lenses that feed what you see to Siri and Apple Intelligence. Speakers and microphones for music and calls. Engadget says Apple is planning several frame styles and colours. iPhone in Canada adds that Gurman says Apple is prototyping new privacy features, and that Apple has tested versions with no camera at all, though a camera model is more likely.

There's no credible price yet, and nothing on Canadian availability. Our take: Apple's glasses will almost certainly need an iPhone and will compete with Ray-Ban Meta rather than the Display model. Confidence: high that they're display-free, medium on a 2027 reveal.

Google and Samsung's Android XR glasses

Confirmed: at Google I/O in May, Samsung and Google gave a first look at Android XR glasses designed with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Android Authority describes them as audio-only companion devices for your phone, running Gemini for navigation, notification summaries and live translation that tries to match the speaker's voice. Qualcomm confirmed Snapdragon chips. Vision Monday reports Google plans display models too, but the audio glasses come first and the display ones have no date.

Samsung said the first collections launch this fall in select markets. It hasn't named those markets or a price. Vision Monday says Warby Parker's first lineup will support a broad range of prescriptions in both optical and sun styles.

Reported: on October 1, 9to5Google relayed a Korea Herald report quoting an unnamed Samsung official who said the glasses launch in November. The same report says they have a camera, no display, and Samsung is aiming for up to 5 grams lighter than the base Ray-Ban Meta at 51 g. A colour display model is reportedly further out, possibly late 2027.

Our take: these are the most interesting near-term alternative, especially if you live in Google's apps. But there's no Canadian launch confirmed, no price and no specs for battery or camera. Confidence: medium on a November launch, low on Canada at launch.

What these will likely cost in Canada

Only Meta's prices are real. Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 starts at $559 in Canada, Ray-Ban Meta Audio at $429 and Meta Ray-Ban Display at $1,149. The US gap between Gen 3 and Gen 2 is US$70, per iDevice, which gives you a rough sense of what the Gen 2 should sell for while stock lasts.

For Samsung and Apple, nobody has an official price. Some outlets have floated ranges, but none trace back to the companies or a named analyst with a track record on these products, so we're not repeating them. Assume any Canadian price lands above the US number once exchange and duty kick in, like Meta's did.

Buy now or wait?

Buy now if you want camera glasses for photos, calls, music and Meta AI. Gen 3 is the current model and its upgrades are small, so a discounted Gen 2 is a smart buy too. Nothing confirmed for the next few months beats either one in Canada today. If you don't care about the camera, Ray-Ban Meta Audio is worth a look, though a Transitions pair costs about what a camera-equipped Gen 2 does here. Our Ray-Ban Meta Audio review covers it: Ray-Ban Meta Audio review

Wait a few weeks if you use a Samsung phone and live in Google's apps. The Android XR glasses are close, and November isn't far off. Just don't wait past the holidays on a rumour, since Canada isn't confirmed.

Think hard before buying Meta Ray-Ban Display. It's the only display glasses from a big brand you can buy here, and it's finally available. But it's $1,149, it's a first-generation product with one screen in one eye, some features are still US-first, and Meta is clearly working on the next one. If you want a heads-up screen now and can afford to replace it, go for it. Otherwise, waiting into 2027 is reasonable.

Wait for Apple only if you're deep in the iPhone world and privacy is your main worry with Meta. That's likely a year or more away, and Apple hasn't confirmed anything. Tech Standpoint makes Sightline, an Android app for Ray-Ban Meta owners, so we have a stake in Meta's glasses. Our advice to wait or buy is the same either way.