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Meta Debuts $349 Camera-Free Ray-Ban Smart Glasses

Will AI glasses finally become a ubiquitous technology or do new models still fail to address basic privacy objections?

5 hours ago·Updated 2 hours ago

Meta Debuts $349 Camera-Free Ray-Ban Smart Glasses

Story

Above: Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stands before an array of Meta glasses in Menlo Park, U.S., on Sept. 23. Image credit: Minh Connors/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

The technology of AI glasses has finally democratized, and the new Ray-Ban Meta Audio proves it, at just $349 with 12 hours of battery and no camera. With over 100 styles across Ray-Ban, Oakley and Meta Glasses, there's a frame for every individual's needs and to suit every budget. Add FDA-cleared hearing enhancement for a fraction of a hearing aid's cost, and it's clear this technology will genuinely improve the daily life of users.

Narrative B

Dumping 100 different variations of glasses on the market caters for an appetite nobody had. Complaints have never concerned lack of stylistic choice — the real objection is secret cameras recording strangers in public, and a single camera-free model plus a couple of modest privacy tweaks does nothing to address that concern for the general public. Meta must do more to confront the ethics violations of its wearable tech.

Verge