Key facts
- Meta launched new camera-free smart glasses, the Ray-Ban Meta Audio, starting at $349.
- The glasses focus on AI-powered audio functions, including calls and music playback.
- Meta denies the camera-free design was a rushed response to privacy concerns.
- Mark Zuckerberg stated the camera-free design has been in development for years.
Meta has launched a new version of its AI-powered smart glasses, the Ray-Ban Meta Audio, which notably omits a camera. Priced starting at $349, these glasses focus on AI-powered audio functions, including listening to music and making phone calls, and are designed to be more lightweight. Mark Zuckerberg stated that the decision to develop the camera-free design was not a response to recent public backlash or the negative perception of earlier models, asserting that such products take years to develop. Despite Zuckerberg's claims, concerns about privacy and the potential for users to be filmed without awareness have persisted since the initial launch of Meta's smart glasses in 2021.