Meta’s new smart glasses start at $299 and carry no Ray-Ban or Oakley logo. It is the first time the company has sold a pair under its own name alone.
The price is about $80 below the cheapest Ray-Ban Meta model. It is far below the $800 Ray-Ban Display glasses Meta launched last year.
EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear group behind Ray-Ban and Oakley, still makes the frames. Ming Hua, Meta’s vice president of wearable devices, said the glasses were “introduced by Meta and EssilorLuxottica” and run on “the same hardware platform as our best-selling AI glasses.” Alex Himel, who leads the wearables division, told reporters price drove the change: Meta felt it needed a pair that cost less.
Three styles
The Adventurer has a classic rectangular frame. The Fury is fuller and squarer, closer to traditional Ray-Ban shapes. Both start at $299.
The third, the Starfire Kylie Edition, was made with Kylie Jenner. It has an oval, Y2K-style frame and costs $399. Buyers can have the assistant speak in an AI-generated version of Jenner’s voice. Across the range there are 26 combinations of frame and lens, and the colors include classic black, classic tortoise, racing green, linen, merlot, mahogany and sandstone.
What is inside
These are the first Meta glasses to launch with Meta AI running on Muse Spark, the first model from the company’s Superintelligence Labs. Meta introduced Muse Spark in April. Wearers call up the assistant with an action button and speak into a six-microphone array.
Each pair has a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera that records 3K video at 30 frames per second. A recording light stays on during capture, and the glasses will not record if someone covers it. Himel said Meta cannot run a business if people feel uneasy around wearers, and that the company is building privacy standards as the technology spreads.
Live translation now covers 20 languages, 14 of them new. Walking directions from the Display glasses also come over, delivered as audio prompts such as “Turn right now.”
Where it stands in the market
Meta held 76.1 percent of the 9.6 million smart glasses shipped worldwide last year. Snap has recently launched $2,195 Specs.
The glasses are on sale through Meta’s online store, Best Buy, LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut. Amazon is due to follow.
Sources
- Meta Smart Glasses Launch at $299 with Kylie Jenner
- Meta Unveils Cheaper Smart Glasses without Ray Ban
