Smart glasses seem like an accessory that makes sense for a tech-connected future, but they can also seem like an optional extra. An optical extra. Some might say a costly optional optical extra.
Spending over $500 for a phone connected camera and earphone combination largely made to give you both plus a bit of AI is not something everyone will want or need just yet, even as the uses for the technology start to get more interesting beyond listening using open audio and snapping pictures of things you want to quickly remember.
Part of the reason for the cost is branding, with known brands charging up for the collaboration and likely increasing the cost.
Meta it appears does have an approach to get the price down, though, readying its own style of glasses without the Ray-Ban or Oakley names on the side.
The latest variety are simply “Meta” glasses, though still made with Ray-Ban owners EssilorLuxottica, set to arrive in styles like what Ray-Ban makes, but without the name. There will be three, with Meta’s “Adventurer” and “Fury” appearing more like classic sunnies and glasses, while the “Starfire” at connected with Kylie Jenner and adopt a more ovular design.
Beyond the frames, all three share similar technology, using a single 12 megapixel camera capable of capturing 3K video, open-ear speakers on the arms of the glasses, and six microphones across the pair of glasses, all designed to listen to you and the world around you, and have you talk to Meta’s AI platform.
The glasses can work with lenses of a variety of types, including sunglass lenses and prescription lenses, with the pair supporting up to eight hours of battery life and being slightly water resistant at IPX4. That’s probably not enough to survive a run in the rain, though a chance encounter won’t liklely break them.
For the most part, the pair does seem to focus on the features Meta’s glasses are currently known for, including translation, image capture, identifying where you are, calls, listening to music, and simply talking to the Meta AI.
It’s worth noting that while a less expensive pair of glasses may seem positive, Meta’s glasses aren’t always the most privacy focused pair, stemming from a report noting that your video might be captured without you realising it and used for AI model training.
Privacy is one of those flags you might need to think about, though it won’t be top of mind for everyone. Rather, price might be, and if you’re someone who just simply returns the glasses back to their case when not in use, privacy concerns may be less of an issue, whereas a reduction in price is more useful.
Priced from $469 in Australia, the new glasses are definitely lower than the $789 Oakley Vanguard we reviewed earlier, but curiously not dramatically less expensive than the $449 Meta Ray-Ban glasses launched back in 2023.
They are lower priced than the current $599 Ray-Ban Meta model, the Gen 2, though they’re also not the Meta Ray-Ban glasses with screens on the inside, with that pair still missing in action in Australia nearly a year since being announced.
A saving of a little over a hundred dollars could seal the deal for some, though, and they’ll find them in Australian stores shortly.
