Meta ditches the camera on its newest smart glasses

At Meta Connect 2026, Meta unveiled its latest smart glasses lineup, headlined by the Ray-Ban Meta Audio Glasses — camera-free smart glasses starting at $349 that weigh just 43 grams and deliver 12 hours of battery life, a deliberate move to address growing public backlash against wearable surveillance tech. These glasses support Meta AI, phone calls, and media playback but feature no recording capability. Meta also introduced the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 with camera ($449), offering minor upgrades including a sixth microphone, nine-hour battery life, Dolby Atmos audio, and adjustable temple arms. The off-brand Meta Glasses line expanded with new styles and celebrity collaborations with Kylie Jenner and Blackpink's Lisa ($399 each) to attract more female buyers. Meta's Muse personal AI agent is being rolled out across all glasses, alongside a $149 FDA-cleared hearing assistance feature and two privacy updates: a server-based "private processing" pipeline and an opt-out option for visual data used in AI training. However, critics note these measures don't fully address public concerns about covert recording in public spaces.

(Source：The Verge)