Meta (META) on Tuesday debuted a new line of AI-powered smart glasses, dubbed simply Meta Glasses.
Unlike Meta’s other smart glasses endeavors, which featured designs from EssilorLuxottica (EL.PA) brands Ray-Ban and Oakley, Meta Glasses were designed in-house by Meta. However, the company notes that it’s introducing its latest smart glasses “in partnership” with the eyewear giant.
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That also means Meta Glasses get a new starting launch price of $299. The company’s second-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses currently cost $379, while the Oakley Meta glasses start at $499.
“You really want to be able to be in many places in the market,” Meta CTO and head of Reality Labs Andrew Bosworth said during a question and answer session at a prelaunch event in New York.
“Reaching people isn’t just about design and style. It’s also about the price point that you can reach, and so if you’re going to be wearing the Ray-Ban Wayfarer … you pay a premium for that,” Bosworth said.
Meta is launching its new AI-powered Meta Glasses line of smart glasses. · Meta
“For us, it’s just about continuing to expand the choice that people have in the marketplace,” Bosworth said. “I’m still absolutely thrilled to see people wearing the Ray-Ban Metas and the Oakley Metas, but this hopefully expands the aperture a little bit.”
Meta Glasses will be available in three styles: Meta Adventurer, Meta Fury, and a tie-up with Kylie Jenner called Meta Glasses by Kylie, which will cost $399 and include the option to use Kylie Jenner’s voice as the on-board Meta AI assistant.
The glasses also have adjustable nose pads and temple tips. As a glasses wearer, I think this is a welcome addition.
Meta’s latest offering will launch with its new Muse Spark AI model, the first from its Meta Superintelligence Labs.
Meta’s push into the smart glasses market continues to gain steam. During its most recent quarterly earnings report, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the number of people using the company’s glasses daily tripled year over year.
CFO Susan Li also noted at the time that while Meta’s Q1 Reality Labs segment revenue fell 2% year over year on slower Quest headset sales, “continued strong growth in AI glasses sales” helped offset some of the decline.
Meta’s Meta Glasses by Kylie AI-powered smart glasses. · Meta
The hardware is part of Meta’s broader effort to prove its steep investments in AI are worth the cost. The company is on track to spend upwards of $145 billion on capital expenditures in 2026 on everything from AI chips to training new AI models.
Wall Street, however, is wary of all of that spending. Meta stock is off 14% year to date and 17% over the past 12 months.
The company has built an impressive lead in the smart glasses space. According to Counterpoint Research, Meta currently controls roughly 80% of the AI glasses market. But competition is growing.
Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is set to launch its own AI-powered smart glasses, with help from glasses brands Warby Parker (WRBY). Gentle Monster partner Samsung (005930.KS) is cooking up its own glasses as well. And then there’s Apple (AAPL), which is reportedly planning a pair of smart glasses.
During the New York event, Bosworth teased that Meta is exploring building audio-only smart glasses without built-in cameras. That would allow for a wider variety of designs at a lower cost, reaching a larger potential consumer base.
Bosworth also said Meta is looking for ways to reach customers who don’t wear prescription glasses or who wear contacts.
“We completely agree with the premise. I’m somebody who’s not a glasses wearer. My vision is fine. I’m completely happy to wear glasses if it drives me a lot of value, but I’m aware that I’m doing it,” he explained.
“And so the design team is absolutely captivated by this question: What are the other ways that we can deliver this capability to people who don’t want to have glasses?”
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Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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