Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses remove the feature that has made smart glasses feel most like a privacy dare: the camera. The result, according to The Verge’s Victoria Song, is a stylish pair of audio glasses that attracts less suspicion—and an AI assistant that still has some homework to do.
Song wore the glasses while running, ordering a caramel apple-flavored matcha latte, reading in a park and calling a friend. Nobody noticed. That’s not exactly a moon landing, but it does underline the appeal: these look like ordinary Ray-Bans, not a tiny film crew perched on your face. They come in Clubmaster and Burbank styles, and Song found them lightweight, with long battery life and open-ear audio for music and calls.
The camera’s absence changes the social equation. Song says she felt more comfortable wearing these in public because she couldn’t record the people around her. The glasses also have no native way to record a conversation, and audio features such as live translation have to be started manually. That doesn’t make misuse impossible; it does mean the out-of-box product has fewer ways to be creepy by accident.
There is still an always-listening wake word for Meta’s assistant, which some people may reasonably find unsettling. Users can turn it off and activate the assistant with a customizable button on the right temple instead. That option also makes asking a pair of sunglasses for help feel marginally less like auditioning for a science-fiction sequel.
Meta’s setup disclosures about data handling were more prominent than Song had seen on earlier Meta glasses. Users can opt out of Meta using visual data from AI experiences to improve its AI, and can also opt out of sharing additional data. But these are company-wide messaging changes for Meta glasses, not a special privacy shield created by removing the camera. Voice data is still used, according to the review, and disclosures don’t erase every concern about a device listening for its wake word.
Then there’s the AI, which is where the glasses’ ambitions meet a very normal Tuesday. Asked what meetings were on her calendar, the assistant said Google Calendar wasn’t connected—even though Song had connected it. Asked for an upbeat song, it chose Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” A bold interpretation of “upbeat,” if not an especially reassuring one.
The glasses currently use Meta’s Muse Spark model; the more powerful Muse AI is expected to come later, with no timing specified in the source. Song found the current assistant underwhelming for general use, though AI features may offer value for accessibility. She notes that people with low vision or blindness may find a camera-equipped model more helpful. At $350, these audio-only glasses are expensive for what they do, particularly if the AI is the main attraction.
That leaves a clearer, smaller pitch: fashionable sunglasses that double as open-ear headphones, with less of the camera-related unease. It’s a real improvement in how wearable tech feels around other people. Whether Meta can make the assistant worth the extra cost is a separate question—and, for now, one the glasses haven’t answered.
Sources: Glitch Please! and The Verge — https://www.theverge.com/tech/1009128/ray-ban-meta-audio-glasses-review-smart-glasses-headphones-wearables — Review by Victoria Song
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