Meta teased its new AR glasses back in February and no one realized it

What you need to know

• Mark Zuckerberg shared a photo in February of him working with various VR headsets and glasses around his desk.
• A closer look revealed an unknown thicker pair that looked like AR glasses.
• Zuckerberg responded to a social media post about the frames, noting that they'll be shown off later this year.

Meta rules the roost in smart glasses (and the VR headset industry) — and the company's CEO says it will announce its latest pair to the public later this year.

Ironically, we glimpsed the glasses earlier this year in a February post on Threads when CEO Mark Zuckerberg took part in the "how it started vs how it's going" social media craze. The photo, shown above, puts Zuckerberg side-by-side with his younger self. One social media poster (via Android Authority) realized that the current photo hid what looks to be Meta's upcoming AR glasses as they sport thicker frames and arms than normal pair of glasses.

Sure enough, when asked about them, Zuckerberg replied, "will be ready to share more later this year." While we only know bits and pieces about the upcoming glasses, my interview with the head of AR glasses at Meta revealed that Meta is working on a game-changing product that's set to redefine how we think of smart glasses. That includes a wide field of view and augmented reality technology that will give "customers a new experience they haven't had before."

The annual Meta Connect conference happens on September 25 this year where we expect Meta to debut its smart glasses and the new, cheaper Meta Quest 3s headset.

Last year, Meta released the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, which have been met with rave reviews from critics and customers alike. Meta's upcoming AR glasses will likely build upon the company's robust AI features on its glasses by including a display in at least one of the lenses.