Jason Hiner/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Meta is hosting its Connect event on Sept. 17 and 18, where it will announce its latest hardware and software developments. We're expecting to see several pairs of new smart glasses, including the successor to the Meta Ray-Bans, and more on Meta AI. Livestreams on Facebook, Meta's website, and the Quest Horizon platform will be open for public viewing. Meta Connect 2025 will take place on Sept. 17 and 18. The company is expected to showcase several new products and use the event to sharpen its XR strategy toward AI-driven hardware that can be worn and used today. Last year's Connect 2024 conference brought some notable improvements to its Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, including multimodal video support, live translations, and natural language processing. Also: 5 Meta Ray-Ban upgrades that have me truly hyped for September 17 Meta also previewed advances in Llama 3, showing how its AI research was driving new features. Connect 2024 showed how consumers could continue to embrace AI wearables, setting the stage for Meta to make a bigger leap into display-driven smart glasses and a full developer platform to support them. Here's what's on the docket for 2025, and how to tune in. What to expect at Meta Connect 2025 1. A multi-pronged smart glasses strategy A rumored look of the upcoming Ray-Ban Meta glasses. XR Research Institute A device that is set to steal the show is the heavily rumored Hypernova smart glasses, which could ship under the retail name Meta Celeste. The glasses are expected to include a waveguide display built into the lens and a heads-up interface ideal for navigation, notification triage, and supported apps. Having experienced Google's Project Astra smartglasses display with a similar waveguide technology powered by Raxium's MicroLED technology, I'm excited to see how Meta's solution stacks up. Also: Meta wears Prada? Why its next-gen AR glasses might out-style the Ray-Bans A neural wristband, codenamed Ceres, is expected as a control accessory for the glasses. The wristband is said to read tiny electrical signals from the wrist muscles and convert them into commands for the glasses. I tested the Mudra Link wristband controller at CES earlier this year, which offers a similar level of control, and was surprised at the flexibility and precise nature of control. I'm particularly interested in how Meta plans to integrate the two technologies together. The Mudra Link band demoed at CES. Meta may have a similar accessory for its smart glasses. Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET The Meta Ray-Ban frames also have the potential for a design refresh with a third-generation release. This time around, the update is expected to offer improved battery life and camera quality. In particular, I'm really hoping for a way to record landscape video with the onboard camera system instead of being locked into vertical orientation as we've seen so far. The glasses are also rumored to offer two separate versions, one for sunglasses and the other for optical glasses with an everyday wear use case. Also: Samsung 'Galaxy Glasses' powered by Android XR are reportedly on track to be unveiled this month Another possible update is reportedly known internally as "super sensing" which would allow the glasses to continuously scan and contextualize the environment surrounding the wearer. This, coupled with any sort of memory, could be incredibly powerful in reminding users of things they might have misplaced or even faces and names they may have forgotten. Perhaps the most important announcement isn't the hardware but the software. The schedule for the event has multiple references to a software development kit that will likely open its platform to third-party developers for the first time. The open SDK could give developers what they need to build apps for navigation, fitness, translation, and enterprise use cases. Opening the hardware up like this could make Meta's smartglasses even more appealing to users, and I'm excited to see what developers come up with when they get the chance. 2. Virtual Reality and Horizon OS The Quest 3 (left) and Quest 3S (right) are the most recent VR headsets made by Meta. Kerry Wan/ZDNET Virtual reality is expected to take a bit of a back seat at Connect 2025, with no new Quest hardware to be announced this year. However, there are rumors that point to a possible debut of the ASUS ROG Tarius headset, the first third-party device to run Horizon OS after it was opened up to development by other OEMs. The ROG Tarius is rumored to be a premium offering with eye and face tracking, along with upgraded QD-LCD or µOLED displays on board. Also: Stanford's holographic AI glasses are coming for your clunky VR headset At the same time, Horizon Worlds is set to receive some impressive updates, including generative AI tools for creators who want to design unique environments using simple text prompts. Llama models will work to integrate interactive characters into those spaces with custom personalities and natural conversation capabilities. A lowering of the technical requirements for such creation could bring fresh creativity to the platform. Meta AI will likely be a major theme throughout Connect 2025, as a consumer product and as the foundation for Meta's longer-term vision. Rumors point to an upcoming wave of character-driven bots tailored to non-English speakers to expand on the reach of Meta's chatbots. It's also possible that Zuckerberg will shed more light on the company's "superintelligence" commitment and how its current efforts tie into the long-term vision. Zuckerberg could also address Meta's slipping timeline for its Llama roadmap and its shift away from its past open-source commitments. How to watch Meta Connect 2025 The main keynote with Mark Zuckerberg begins Wednesday, September 17, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. The developer keynote follows on Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, 1:00 p.m. Eastern. While developers, media, and industry analysts have been invited to attend the event in person, Meta's official Connect website and Facebook Live will offer streams for public viewing. Quest users can also experience it in virtual reality inside Horizon Worlds. ZDNET will be reporting live from the event, so stay tuned for updates.