Meta has a new pair of smart glasses, and for the first time, there's no camera on them at all.
The Ray-Ban Meta Audio, which Meta announced in September, strip out the lens that has defined every previous generation of the company's smart glasses. What's left is a pair of Ray-Bans with speakers built into the arms, a voice assistant, and nothing capturing what you look at. A Wired review published Friday calls them the best smart glasses the outlet has tried, camera and all.
The timing isn't an accident, even if Meta says it is. The company's camera-equipped glasses have spent the past year collecting unflattering nicknames, including "pervert glasses," after reports that people used them to record others without consent. Some owners figured out how to disable the recording indicator light meant to warn bystanders, prompting Meta to push a software fix that shuts the cameras off entirely if that light is tampered with. Meta also built facial recognition into the glasses, denied doing so, then admitted it and pulled the feature. In September, the company was sued over its facial recognition systems, according to Wired's reporting, a claim Meta has not been found liable for in court. Meta told Wired the backlash played no role in its decision to ship an audio-only model.
What the glasses actually do
Without a camera, the Meta Audio glasses can't record video or take photos. They don't record audio either, except when the wearer is actively talking to the Meta AI assistant, and those voice requests get saved in the Meta AI app. Live language translation is on board too, though Wired's reviewer notes it requires opening the companion app first rather than working automatically through the glasses.
The glasses come in two styles, Burbank and Clubmaster. The Burbank weighs 43 grams and the Clubmaster 47 grams, both lighter than the camera-equipped Gen 3 Wayfarer at 51.5 grams. Wired's reviewer, who tested the Burbank style, reported a 12-hour battery life, transition lenses that adjust quickly in sunlight, and call quality good enough that people on the other end of a phone call didn't notice they were talking to someone wearing glasses rather than holding a phone. Sound does leak out to nearby people, and the reviewer described the bass response as unimpressive.
Meta's voice assistant, triggered with "Hey Meta," handled turn-by-turn walking directions during one of the reviewer's runs through Los Angeles, though the review notes the navigation wasn't flawless.
Meta hasn't said whether a camera-free option will eventually become the norm across its glasses lineup or stay a niche alternative to the Wayfarer and Oakley-branded models that still ship with lenses. Wired's review frames the decision as overdue rather than cautious, arguing that removing the camera addresses most of the social friction that has dogged Meta's glasses since launch. Pricing and specific availability details for the Ray-Ban Meta Audio were not included in the review, and Meta has not published a separate spec sheet alongside the September announcement.
GDFiled by The Gadgets Desk
Audio, wearables, cameras, tablets, chargers and every other device worth carrying or plugging in.
More from this desk →
Be the first to comment
Join the argument. No password, just your email or a passkey.