Abstract:
According to Bloomberg, Meta expanded its smart glasses product line on Wednesday, launching a camera-less model, supporting the popular new AI intelligent Muse, and adding a hearing aid mode. Meta unveiled the Ray-Ban Meta Audio, its first camera-less glasses, at its Connect conference on Wednesday. The company also launched the third generation of its camera-equipped Ray-Ban smart glasses, as well as new, lower-priced versions of its own-brand Meta glasses.
Meta camera-less smart glasses
The Ray-Ban Meta Audio is a new pair of audio-focused glasses, giving Meta the opportunity to revisit a product category that has sparked backlash over privacy concerns. Meta, and the smart glasses industry as a whole, have been facing concerns that the devices’ cameras could be filming people without their knowledge or consent.
Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth said in an interview that the audio-only glasses were added to the company's product roadmap about two years ago because audio "remains the most popular feature in glasses." Removing the camera would not only allow the Meta to reduce price and weight, but also extend battery life, he said.
Bosworth admits that Meta is "a bit lucky" to have an audio-only product already in development, given "the privacy debate around glasses around the world." However, he said the public discussion contrasts with what the company is seeing in terms of customer usage, product adoption, sales and user engagement, which are all showing "very, very positive trends."
"My personal experience walking around wearing them is that people are pretty enthusiastic about the product," Bosworth said. "And then there's also a concern that's amplified online. I'm not saying it's not a real concern. We have to take it seriously, and we do take it seriously."
He also said that from the beginning, Meta has made privacy protection one of the core contents of smart glasses promotion. For example, when the glasses take a photo or video, an indicator light will light up to let people around you know that the glasses are taking pictures.
The camera-less version of the smart glasses starts at $349 and is scheduled to be available on October 3. The product will be available in Ray-Ban's rectangular Burbank frame and classic Clubmaster styles. In my demo experience, they didn't feel any thicker or heavier than regular Ray-Bans.
The camera-less model also offers up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge. This is in contrast to the third-generation Ray-Ban glasses, which currently offer 9 hours of battery life, up from the 8 hours of the previous generation. The product's frame is slimmer than its predecessor, but still larger than audio-only glasses.
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