Meta's new Ray-Ban smart glasses are just a PR stunt to dodge the camera backlash

Here we are, then. What’s old is new again. Meta and Ray-Ban have announced the Ray-Ban Meta Audio, which are smart glasses without a camera or a display, leaving the built-in speakers to convince you to buy them.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called them 'a whole new category of glasses' during the Meta Connect 2026 launch event.

This doesn't sound right, as we’ve seen these before, and they have faded into obscurity once already. We stopped buying them because, first, the Apple AirPods happened, and second, they’re not the most convenient way to listen to audio.

The thing is, the Ray-Ban Meta Audio aren’t made for us to buy. They’re for Meta management to point at and say, ‘Here’s our business response to the growing privacy backlash against camera-equipped smart glasses.'

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By  Andy Boxall

What are the Ray-Ban Meta Audio?

Smart glasses without the latest tech

Meta’s intention with the Ray-Ban Meta Audio is very clear from the first sentence on its promotional page. It says:

Built without a camera and more powerful than headphones, ask your glasses to play music or answer questions on the go.

There it is, in the first four words of the sales blurb. Meta and Ray-Ban immediately distanced themselves from smart glasses with a camera onboard.

Even the first question in the FAQ on the page confirms the smart glasses don’t have a camera, just in case you missed it before. OK Meta, we’ve got it. You can’t be a pervert with these!

This isn’t to say they aren’t making models with a camera, far from it. The two brands also announced the third generation of its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, complete with a built-in camera.

Interestingly, one of the hardware updates is a smaller, less obvious camera lens in the temple, which is another way to try and stop everybody worrying about being filmed without their consent.

We’ve seen all this before

Tech has moved on

I don’t want to stray too far away from the Ray-Ban Meta Audio, so let’s get back on track.

Audio smart glasses are not a new product line. The Bose Frames were the most mainstream example, which were released at the beginning of 2019, then discontinued in 2023.

Many other brands leaped on the bandwagon, keen to experiment with smart glasses that didn’t have the stigma of Google Glass attached. What caused that stigma, and ultimately Glass’s downfall? The camera.

Unfortunately, audio smart glasses faced serious competition from the still relatively new Apple AirPods and the massive choice of similar true wireless earbuds around at the time.

The fact was, and remains today, wireless earbuds are the more comfortable, less intrusive, and often cheaper way to listen to music without being closed off from the world.

This has not changed. Yes, audio is a cool feature on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and one I missed when wearing the speaker-less Even Realities Even G2, but it’s not a reason to buy them.

What did I do when I was reviewing the Even G2? I quickly solved the audio-less situation with a pair of wireless earbuds.

Stripping away features isn’t the answer

We don’t need AI that much

Smart glasses with audio as the main feature appear hopelessly outdated in 2026. Meta will point to its Meta AI features as a modern feature addition, but in all honesty, we’re so bombarded with ways to use AI on every mobile device, that yet another option isn’t exactly a tempting sales point.

The missing camera feature has, just as it did with Google Glass, received plenty of hate. But in responsible hands, it’s a lot of fun, and does actually add helpful functionality to the AI.

Smart glasses without a camera, such as the Even Realities Even G2, rely on the in-lens display to attract buyers, avoiding any of the privacy concerns caused by the camera.

The Ray-Ban Meta Audio are audio-only. They are wireless and open-ear speakers that sit on your face and not in your ears. Still tempted? Wait until you hear the price.

High price kills enthusiasm

It’s a business play, not a consumer play

The Ray-Ban Meta Audio start at $349, but you could pay more than $429 depending on your choice of frame, lens, and whether you want prescription lenses or not. This is shocking.

The brand-new Bose Ultra Open earbuds are $299. The Apple AirPods 5 are $129. The Nothing CMF Clip Pro are $99. Even the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, complete with all the Gemini interaction you could ever want, are $229 and regularly available for a lot less.

Buy a pair of wireless earbuds, and then a pair of non-smart Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses for about $190 if you must have the Ray-Ban name. It's the far wiser, more versatile choice.

I don’t believe any of this will be news to Meta. I don’t believe the Ray-Ban Meta Audio exists to give consumers a choice either.

Resurrecting this already played-out, and arguably failed, product line is a cynical, business-driven, PR response to a social issue with modern camera-equipped smart glasses, that tech brands are doing their best to ignore until legislation ‘solves’ the problem for them.