iFixit Teardown Reveals Meta Ray Ban Display Glasses Are Packed With Tech But Impossible to Repair The how to website iFixit has completed a teardown of Metas new Ray Ban Display augmented reality glasses and the results are a mix of admiration for the advanced engineering and disappointment over a complete lack of repairability. A technician in the accompanying video stated it is very clear that the first iterations of these smartglasses are going to be unrepairable. This repairability problem is not entirely shocking for a first generation product using new technology. The website identified several key factors that make these glasses a nightmare for anyone hoping to fix them. To perform a simple task like replacing the battery a user would have to split the arms and frame in half and Meta provides no official method to do this. The technician concluded that any repairs here are going to need specialized skills and specialized tools. This extends to the speakers which are soldered directly onto the internal boards making them impossible to replace without expert microsoldering skills. Replacing the lenses is another major hurdle. They are specially made and would be extremely difficult for a consumer to source independently. However iFixit was highly impressed with the complex glassmaking skills required to produce these lenses. The lenses are the centerpiece of the technology using a reflective geometric waveguide system. This system bounces light to the wearers eyes at specific angles using a series of partially reflective mirrors. This not only creates the augmented reality overlay for the user but also incorporates a privacy feature by preventing other people from easily seeing the screen when they look at you. The image itself is generated by a mini projector housed in the right arm of the glasses. This liquid crystal on silicon or LCoS device creates a 600 by 600 pixel grid image. iFixit notes the image should be free from visual artifacts and thanks to the unique lens design the projector avoids creating an obvious eye glow that was common in older diffractive augmented reality systems making the display more discreet. All of this sophisticated technology comes at a cost. iFixit speculates that Meta might actually be selling the 800 dollar glasses at a loss because the waveguide lenses are particularly expensive to manufacture. Despite the technical achievements the website strongly urges Meta to prioritize user repairability in future versions by focusing on replaceable batteries modular arms and swappable lenses. The Meta Ray Ban Display augmented reality glasses are available now for 800 dollars. Early reviews have praised the devices for being discreet and intuitive to use highlighting the seamless integration of the display into a relatively normal looking pair of glasses.
