Smart glasses let wearers take photos, film videos, listen to music, make phone calls, translate text or interact with an AI assistant.
The audio-only versions will complement the release of dozens of new models that keep the photo and video filming option.
Building in privacy features such as a recording indicator light was “really important”, Meta’s vice-president of AI product, Vishal Shah, told AFP.
“We wanted people to clearly understand that this was something that was recording, and we’ve only made that light more explicit over time.
“We said a lot about that when the glasses first launched, and I think we probably need to keep repeating that more than we have been more recently because none of that’s changed.”
With nearly four billion monthly active users across its ecosystem, Meta is betting that wearables like smart glasses can become an easy entry point for people to use its AI software.
Meta launched its first smart glasses in 2021, and last year unveiled “display” glasses that project images on to the lens.
Earlier this year, it released its Meta-branded AI glasses, separate from its partnership with eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica, which produces several Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta models.
Meta also announced several new styles of its flagship Meta Ray-Bans. The display version, priced from US$799, will soon be available in new markets including Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and New Zealand.
The company will soon launch mixed-reality glasses that are much lighter than its earlier Quest VR headsets.
Called Meta VR Glasses, they are powered by an external battery and memory pack tethered by a cord, allowing the headset itself to be lighter.
Zuckerberg said the glasses weighed about as much as a deck of cards.
They have no external controls, relying instead on hand gestures and voice commands.
The VR Glasses will launch in spring 2027 for US$1299.
Meta Muse
Meta has spent billions of dollars to stay competitive in AI but faces pushback on multiple fronts.
The glasses are designed to work with Muse, Meta’s first agentic app for consumers. It performs tasks on users’ behalf like a digital personal assistant.
After connecting personal accounts – for finance, health and shopping – users can ask Muse to sign up for services, book appointments and make calls.
MORE: I gave my life over to Meta’s new AI agent Muse and was blown away
The Muse app became the top free app in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, overtaking OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini.
Zuckerberg teased another product on Wednesday, the Muse Charm, which will ship later this year; Meta did not provide a price.
The “charm” is a small, puck-like device with a display that lets users interact with their Muse agent separately from a smartphone.
Amazon blocked Meta this week from using AI bots to shop automatically for users, while Instacart, Shopify and Expedia have announced partnerships to integrate their services into Muse. Meta said Walmart, Best Buy, Gap and Sephora were also partnering with the app.
Meta, which earns most of its revenue from ads on Instagram and Facebook, faces mounting child safety and privacy challenges worldwide.
In August, it settled a lawsuit brought by US states accusing it of violating consumer protection and children’s online privacy laws, agreeing to pay up to US$18b and impose restrictions for teenagers.
The company also faces age-based restrictions and bans abroad, as well as thousands of potential personal injury suits in the US.
– AFP
