Meta has made wearables a major part of its new glasses efforts two very different glasses products at Meta Connect 2026: the camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses that start from $349, and the new Meta VR Glasses at $1,299.99. Both of these new glasses represent Meta’s larger promotional effort to steer AI audio VR, and computing away from displays and towards a lighter, more portable wearable.
Ray-Ban Meta Audio Focuses on AI and Sound.
Just the Meta Audio, the Ray-Ban Meta Audio is the first camera free pair of glasses by Meta. Rather than shooting photos and videos, the glasses are all about open-ear audio, calls, and hands-free access to Meta AI.
As Meta, the glasses are lightweight at only 43 grams (1.5 oz.) and offer up to 12 hours of usage per single charge. Thecharging caseThat comes with the device offers an additional 48 hours of battery life. Audio entertainment like music podcasts voice calls and interaction with Meta’s AI assistant can be done so that users don’t need to grab their phones.
They will have two, Ray-Ban inspired style of glasses, “Burbank” & “Clubmaster” with 23 variations on frame/lens combination. They will be compatible with a host of optical prescriptions, making them more similar to use-able glasses than standard electronic headsets. Advanced orders starting at $349 (est.) and shipping starting 13th October.
Camera-Free Design Addresses Privacy Concerns
Disabling the camera also offers Meta with a means to overcome on of the biggest issues related to smart glasses. Wearable devices that have a camera can cause people to feel uncertain about their surroundings because they may be recording without them realizing.
Meta’s new audio-only design pulls out that recording feature, but keeps many of the features that had been attractive about its smart glasses, namely audio and AI. Based on Reuters, privacy concerns for AI glasses and hidden recording are becoming more of a challenge for the industry, so camera-free designs are an important alternative.
Meta VR Glasses Take a Different Approach
Along these an even more ambitious project was announced by Meta with its Meta VR Glasses. This product aims to provide immersive VR gaming entertainment and spatial computing in a glasses-like solution, unlike the Audio glasses.
It weighs about 100g, and elicits from Meta that this is a significant reduction compared with other type of VR headset. The computing hardware is shunted away from the glasses, which are attached to the head, through an external device, so the part that actually wears on the face is quite easy.
Meta claims that its VR glasses will be a personal cinema, a gaming device and a virtual desktop. It will be possible to generate multiple virtual screens and interact with digital environments using eye tracking and hand gestures instead of using traditional controllers.
1299 Device set to Arrive 2027
The Meta VR Glasses will be much more expensive than the Ray-Ban Meta Audio. Meta has declared a price of $1.299.99 and pushed the device back onto the market for spring 27.3. The camera is also expected to use for 3D entertainment and action sports, video games and work related applications.
