I Don’t Miss the Camera on Ray-Ban Meta Audio Glasses

In a review for The Verge, Victoria Song says she felt more comfortable wearing Meta’s audio-only Ray-Ban glasses because they have no camera. The glasses look like ordinary eyewear, in Clubmaster and Burbank styles, and combine Bluetooth audio with Meta’s AI assistant.

Song writes that setup disclosures about privacy and data opt-outs were more prominent than on Meta glasses she had tested before. Users can opt out of Meta using visual data to improve AI, though voice data is still used. The glasses have no visual data to share, and users can also opt out of sharing additional data.

The glasses can listen for a wake word, but users can disable it and use a customizable button on the right temple. They have no native way to record conversations, and audio features such as live translation must be started manually. Song notes that this does not make misuse impossible, but says the glasses’ limited capabilities mean it would take more effort.

At the time of the review, the glasses shipped with Muse Spark; Meta’s Muse AI was not yet available for them. Song found the assistant useful for simple tasks such as reminders and calendar questions, but prone to confusion with more complex requests. The glasses cost $350. She also notes that a camera-equipped model may be more helpful for some users with low vision, while hearing assistance and live captioning features mentioned in the review were not available on this model.