Meta 2027 new AR glasses: a comprehensive shift to Micro LEDs

According to South Korean media reports, Meta is making every effort to promote the development of a new AR glasses product, which upgrades the core display panel to Micro LEDs to replace the LCoS display used in the first-generation Meta Ray-Ban Display. It is expected to be officially released at the end of 2027. This technological iteration marks the further focus of Meta's strategic layout in the AR display field on Micro LED tracks.

The report disclosed that in order to promote the research and development of new AR glasses, Meta has reached a cooperation with Sapien Semiconductors and entrusted it with the design of the Micro LED backplane, which will be produced by GlobalFoundries. This cooperative division of labor clearly demonstrates Meta's precise layout in the Micro LED core component supply chain.

In fact, Meta has been investing in research and development in Micro LED technology for many years. As early as September 2024, Meta announced the launch of the Orion AR head-display project based on Micro LED micro-display, which uses the micro-display provided by JBD. It is worth noting that the Orion AR headset is equipped with a customized Micro LED light engine, and innovatively uses silicon carbide to create waveguide lenses. This is the first time in the world that silicon carbide material has been applied to AR waveguide manufacturing. Thanks to the high refractive index characteristics of silicon carbide materials, photons emitted by Micro LEDs can be accurately transmitted to the human eye after completing multiple reflections in the lens, ultimately achieving a holographic display effect with a 70-degree field of view angle, allowing virtual content and real scenes to achieve high fit. Judging from the past layout, Meta has established cooperative relationships with many companies to promote the research and development of Micro LED smart glasses.

Back in 2020, Meta signed a cooperation agreement with Plessey to integrate the latter's entire Micro LED manufacturing business into its own product development system. However, there have been previous reports that the R & D project based on Plessey technology and processes has not progressed as expected, and Meta has decided to terminate the project. However, there was news in early 2025 that the cooperation between the two companies is still advancing. It is worth mentioning that in August 2025, Plessey was acquired by Haylo, a subsidiary of Goer, which is the core supplier of Meta Ray-Ban series of smart glasses. Starting from the second generation of Ray-Ban smart glasses, Goer has cut into the core aspects of optics; to the third generation of products, it has fully undertaken complete core optical businesses such as optical and mechanical design and manufacturing. In addition, the Vietnam production lines of Meta's various smart glasses are also mainly operated by the Goer factory, which provides a solid guarantee for the mass production and delivery of Meta glasses in key aspects such as optical module research and development and complete machine OEM.

The cooperation landscape continues to expand. In October 2025, Meta announced that it will join hands with ams OSRAM to promote the joint development of Micro LED technology. It is reported that Meta's Reality Labs has established a dedicated Micro LED R & D team in Regensburg, and ams OSRAM's R & D and production center is located near this area. The geographical proximity will facilitate technical collaboration between the two parties. So far, Meta has established cooperation with many Micro LED suppliers such as Sapien Semiconductors, JBD, and ams OSRAM. This series of layouts not only demonstrates its diversified supply chain system, but also reflects its clear technical and business strategy.

First, integrate global technical resources and accelerate the overcoming of Micro LED technology bottlenecks. Although Micro LED AR glasses have achieved rapid development in the past two years, there are still many problems that need to be solved urgently in core technology levels such as full-color presentation, ultra-high brightness stable output, and miniaturization integration. Different suppliers have their own advantages in the technical field. By cooperating with multiple companies, Meta can fully integrate the technical strengths of all parties, quickly fill in its own technical shortcomings, and promote the mass production process of Micro LED smart glasses.

Second, build a stable and diversified supply chain system to reduce mass production risks. The mass production of consumer-grade smart glasses has put forward extremely high requirements on the production capacity scale and yield of Micro LED modules. By arranging multiple suppliers, Meta can not only ensure the large-scale supply capacity of Micro LED modules, but also provide the new model for 2027. The smooth mass production of Ray-Ban smart glasses has laid a solid foundation for the supply chain.

From a core strategy perspective, Meta's goal is to promote AR devices to become the next generation of mainstream computing platforms, rather than just as auxiliary accessories. Micro LED, as the core display technology of AR glasses, directly determines the display effect, battery life and lightweight degree of the product. In this context, Meta continues to seize the technical commanding heights of AR hardware tracks by controlling the supply chain of core display technologies, laying the foundation for achieving its long-term strategic goals.