Meta announced its first pair of camera-free AI glasses on Wednesday at its Connect 2026 conference, confirming earlier reports about the device. The Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses are audio-only, letting wearers listen to music and podcasts, take calls, translate speech, and communicate with Meta's AI assistant, Muse. The product is designed to address criticism of AI glasses over malicious uses that led some to nickname the devices pervert glasses.
The glasses are made by EssilorLuxottica, Meta's partner in its AI hardware efforts, and will start at $349. Meta currently sells a range of AI glasses in various styles, colors, and capabilities, and the audio-only model could help the brand recover from reputational damage after critics pointed out that people, often men, used AI glasses to record video without their subjects' consent. Meta previously tried to address the issue with an update that disables the camera if the LED recording indicator is tampered with, but concerns persisted. The new device could prove more popular for that reason and offers an answer to something like Apple's Siri-powered AirPods.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a Wednesday keynote that once people get used to high-quality audio, it becomes something they want all the time, and that after working on the idea the company realized it could design a whole new category of glasses around audio. Because they do not have to house cameras, the glasses are slimmer than Meta's other models and weigh 43 grams. Meta claims they offer adjustable temple tips, swappable nose pads, overextension hinges, and up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge, extending to up to 48 hours with the included charging case.
The glasses will come in 23 color and lens combinations and in two new styles: a retro-inspired Clubmaster Ray-Ban style and Burbank, described as a classic, timeless rectangle shape. Like other Meta glasses, they can be ordered with an optical prescription. Preorders begin October 13.
Meta also announced its next-generation AI glasses with cameras, the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3). Alongside the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer, there will be two new styles, the Aviator and Zena, the latter offering a cat-eye frame shape. These have a 12 MP camera supporting 3K Ultra HD video, a six-mic array, and up to nine hours of battery life.
The glasses Meta launched with EssilorLuxottica will also see an expanded lineup of styles and colors and a new partnership with singer Lisa, following an earlier brand partnership with Kylie Jenner, and will roll out to more countries globally. All of Meta's AI glasses feature access to Muse. Meta also teased coming updates including support for Dolby Atmos Capture, a feature that picks the best photo from multiple frames, an option to choose landscape or portrait modes, hearing enhancements for those with hearing loss, more detailed responses, different audio modes, customizable controls, and something called private processing that Meta claims will prevent the company from seeing user data.
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