Meta's smart glasses sparked outrage

Meta and Ray-Ban launched AI-powered smart glasses in 2023. Multiple reports showed they were used to harass women and girls, filming them without consent and sharing footage online.

Dubbed 'pervert glasses' and banned widely

The devices earned the nickname pervert or creepy glasses. JD Wetherspoon pubs, major theatres, Comic-Con, some schools and Faslane, home of the UK's nuclear submarines, all banned them.

Kylie Jenner couldn't fix the image

Meta enlisted Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian's sister, as their prime model this summer. The image problem persisted despite the celebrity endorsement and continued privacy concerns.

Meta launches camera-free version

On Thursday, Meta unveiled Ray-Ban Meta Audio, a new version without a camera. It retains audio functions like phone calls and music with sound funnelled directly into your ear.

Meta denies rushing response to backlash

Meta says the camera-free glasses have been in development for two years, not rushed out in response to public anger. The audio-only version is cheaper, lighter and has better battery life.

Product head dodges sales question

When asked if camera-free glasses might outsell the original camera-enabled version, Ankit Brahmbhatt, Meta Glasses' head of product, paused before saying we have something for everyone.

“We have, I think, something for everyone.”

Useful features don't include the camera

The author tested Meta Ray-Bans and found many features useful: listening to music without earbuds, navigating without holding a phone, and hearing map directions. None of these required the camera.

Blind community calls them a game-changer

Smart glasses have been welcomed by the blind community. One user called them a game-changer for audio descriptions of locations and reading visible text like restaurant menus. Meta donated fifteen thousand pairs to an Irish blind charity.

Workarounds found to disable camera light

The glasses have a blinking white LED when the camera is active, but an industry has sprung up around finding technical workarounds to disable that light, some involving taking the glasses apart.

Campaigner calls for urgent regulation

Liz Hunter, a tech founder and parent, launched the Stop Smart Glasses campaign and petition for urgent new regulation. She says the glasses should never have left Meta's lab and represent a travesty of public trust.

“They should never, ever have left the lab at Meta.”

Other companies racing into the market

Samsung is reported to be collaborating with Warby Parker. Google is working on a set. Snap launched Specs in the US for two thousand one hundred ninety-five dollars and one thousand nine hundred ninety-five pounds in the UK.

Cameras remain central to the vision

Ben Wood from CCS Insight says cameras are a key pillar of smart glasses because they provide an invaluable data stream for AI to interpret and deliver the best user experience. Camera-enabled glasses will likely remain.

Shift or sideshow remains unclear

Janusz Swierczynski at Oxford's Saïd Business School calls the camera-free version a positive sign Meta has listened to privacy concerns. But he notes it is not a perfect response because camera-enabled glasses remain on the market.