A camera-free antidote to "pervert glasses"
TechCrunch reported from Meta Connect that the company is all-in on smart glasses, with staff and influencers wearing them constantly and most demos built around the frames. The standout unreleased product is a camera-free, audio-only pair with six microphones. It arrives after accusations that Meta was selling "pervert glasses," so the lack of a camera is a direct privacy reset. The writer found the new frames significantly lighter and more comfortable than any other smart glasses they've tried. Meta staff emphasized entertainment and communication: music playback that beats earbuds and phone calls without reaching for your phone.
Muse on your face, with a learning curve
The audio-only glasses integrate with Muse, Meta's personal agentic system. In the demo, wearers can speak commands aloud, but the feature isn't public yet. TechCrunch found the experience useful yet awkward: you must be very direct with the agent, and if you talk to anyone else at the same time, it gets confused and may talk over that person. Still, in the right context, Muse could handle digital tasks while grocery shopping or having a beer, and answer questions like a mobile ChatGPT. One demo yielded a succinct, historically accurate response about World War II.
Potential Muse tasks on the glasses include:
- Sending emails
- Reciting to-do lists
- Answering factual questions
- Managing spoken commands hands-free
A $150 hearing aid alternative
Meta also showed a second audio-only model for people with hearing loss, developed over five years. At $150, it dramatically undercuts traditional hearing aids that can run as high as $1,600. Users can switch amplification between two modes:
- Focused amplification zeroes in on the person directly in front of you
- Omnidirectional amplification picks up sound from all around
In the demo, earplugs simulated hearing loss, and the glasses amplified the conversation partner's voice. This is a practical use case that doesn't depend on agentic AI hype.
Zuckerberg has made clear he believes smart glasses are the future. Meta is casting a wide net: stylish, functional, useful. Whether mainstream buyers follow remains open.
If there was one thing that was obvious this from Meta Connect this year, it’s that the social media giant is all-in on its burgeoning line of smart glasses.
Indeed, the glasses were pretty much everywhere at the annual event, where Meta shows off its newest hardware and AI products. Both Meta staff and the flocks of influencers who frequent the event seemed to arrive with the glasses glued to their faces. Most of the demos the company offered this week also involved the glasses.
I swiftly joined the bespectacled masses and found myself trying on pair after pair of Meta’s high-tech specs.