A $349 alternative to “pervert glasses.”
Invasive use of Meta’s camera-enabled smart glasses has earned them the moniker “pervert glasses,” and the company has prepped a solution for Meta Connect 2026: Ray-Ban Meta Audio, smart glasses that ditch cameras entirely to focus on audio features and AI.
Naturally, Meta doesn’t characterize the new glasses as a response to public backlash — though they are making it harder to use the camera-equipped kind for surreptitious filming — but rather as an acknowledgement that audio has always been its smart glasses’ most popular feature. The new frames are capable of taking calls, letting you respond to messages with your voice and playing back podcasts and music without cutting you off from the rest of the world. They’re also a way to access Meta AI for things like live translation and real-time answers to questions.
Another way of looking at the Ray-Ban Meta Audio is as a way to get many of the hardware improvements of the company’s latest models, without the extra baggage. Meta says they’ll last up to 12 hours on a single charge, with an additional 48 hours available if you use their charging case. They also include the same fit adjustments as the company’s previous frames, with the option for adjustable temple tips, customizable nose pads and overextension hinges (hinges with springs that can accommodate a wider selection of head shapes and widths) for improved comfort. Ditching the cameras also means the glasses are lighter at 43 grams; Meta’s other models weigh anywhere from 49.2 grams (the recent Optics glasses) to 69 grams (the largest size of Meta Ray-Ban Display).
The real win for Meta and anyone potentially curious about the company’s smart glasses is that removing the camera and recording light makes these new frames look even more normal than before. Unless you clocked the slightly larger temples and cut-outs for speakers, you might not know the Ray-Ban Meta Audio are anything other than Ray-Bans. The company is selling the new glasses in two new styles, a rectangular option called Burbank and a retro-inspired style called Clubmaster, both in 23 colors and lens combinations. They also support a range of optical prescriptions, according to the company.
At this moment in Meta’s public perception, releasing the Ray-Ban Meta Audio isn’t likely to convert critics, but they could convince someone uncomfortable with the optics of smart glasses in general. Unless of course Meta does something to make people even more mad, like actually releasing the facial recognition feature it was previously testing.
The Ray-Ban Meta Audio ship October 13 and are available to pre-order today starting at $349.
