For the past three years, the names Meta and Ray-Ban have been nearly inseparable in the smart glasses market. That changes today. Meta has introduced a new line of smart glasses that drop the Ray-Ban branding entirely, offering a more affordable entry point at $299 — about $80 less than the starting price of the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2.

The new lineup consists of three distinct styles: the Meta Fury, Meta Adventurer, and Meta Glasses by Kylie. The Kylie Jenner collaboration brings a distinct Y2K aesthetic, with a design meant to sit lower on the nose and a small gem on the upper corner of the left lens. The Fury offers a thicker, more square frame, while the Adventurer is slightly slimmer and available in standard and large sizes. In total, seven color options are available across the three styles.

A strategic price drop

The decision to drop the Ray-Ban name is primarily about cost, according to Alex Himel, Meta's vice president of wearables. “We just feel like we need to have a pair of glasses at a lower price point, and we were trying to figure out what could work there,” Himel explained. While EssilorLuxottica — the parent company of Ray-Ban — still helped design and manufacture the new glasses, their lower-price brands lacked the recognition needed to carry the line. So Meta opted to launch under its own name.

EssilorLuxottica's name is still present, stamped in tiny font on the inside temple of each pair. The company's engineering and supply chain expertise remain central to the product, but the Ray-Ban logo is gone, signaling a new phase in Meta's wearable strategy.

Fit and prescription options

One of the most notable improvements in the new Meta Glasses is the fit customization. The nose pads can be clicked into three different positions, and the temple tips contain a wire that can be bent for a more personalized fit. Overextension hinges, already present in earlier Ray-Ban models, help accommodate wider faces. These adjustments are welcome news for glasses wearers who have long struggled with one-size-fits-all smart glass designs.

The glasses support a wide range of prescriptions, from -12 to +2.25. For prescriptions stronger than -6, wearers will need to visit an optician for custom lenses. This broadens the potential audience significantly, especially for those who need corrective lenses throughout the day.

Hardware and camera improvements

Internally, the Meta Glasses share the same core specifications as the recently released Ray-Ban Meta Optics Styles, with one key difference: slightly longer battery life. The camera module appears smaller than in earlier Ray-Ban models, though this change was actually introduced in March with the prescription-optimized Optics Styles. The smaller camera may be less conspicuous, but it comes at a time when privacy concerns around smart glasses are at an all-time high.

Both The New York Times and Wired have recently reported that Meta is actively building a facial recognition feature for its smart glasses. This has fueled backlash from privacy advocates, as well as reports of “glassholes” using the devices to harass women. Himel acknowledged the problem: “We know that there’s tampering today, and there are a handful of ways that people are doing it. If people aren’t comfortable with you wearing the glasses, not only do we personally think that’s bad, but we wouldn’t have a business anymore.” He promised that Meta would share privacy updates “really soon,” but declined to provide specifics.

AI is the new focus

Meta is betting heavily on artificial intelligence to make the glasses more useful. The new Meta Glasses will ship with Muse Spark, the first model from Meta’s Superintelligence Labs. This AI system will also be available via a software update on older Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses in the US and Canada. According to Meta, the AI is now less stiff, supports more natural conversation, and understands 14 additional languages, including Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin, Hindi, and Korean.

Other new AI-powered features include pedestrian turn-by-turn navigation (coming to displayless glasses) and a “dynamic photo” mode that automatically captures multiple frames and recommends the best one. During a hands-on demo, live Mandarin translations were smooth, though some latency was noticeable due to background noise. The AI also offered improved recommendations: when asked for “cute purple keychain charms,” it suggested grape-shaped charms or lavender donuts, adding that they could be found on Etsy or Instagram. When asked to estimate the calories on a plate of canapés, it gave a rough count of 280 and admitted uncertainty about one prosciutto and fig item.

While these demos show promise, the question remains whether AI is compelling enough to overcome lingering privacy concerns. Himel compared the situation to the early days of smartphones, which eventually found their footing despite initial societal unease. But smart glasses have yet to demonstrate a killer use case that makes the privacy trade-offs feel worthwhile.

As Meta continues to expand its wearable lineup, the hardware itself is no longer the main obstacle. The glasses are well-made, affordable, and available in more styles and prescription options than ever. The challenge lies in convincing the public that Meta can be trusted with a camera on their face — and that the AI features are valuable enough to justify the watchful eyes.

Source: The Verge News