With Cheaper Smart Glasses, Meta’s Playing to Win in Wearable AI

Meta may have given up on the metaverse, but it’s bent on making smart glasses happen. And its new, more affordable specs could help the tech move into the mainstream. 

Retailing for just under $300, they cost $80 less than the tech’s previous generation and $500 less than the more advanced Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses. But less isn’t necessarily more: Snap’s ~$2,200 Specs, released this month, and Meta’s most expensive frames come with built-in screens for that Minority Report feel and advanced features that let users secretly stream Love Island during boring conversations.

Meta seems to have its sights set on a less advanced but more beginner-friendly future for now.  

The AI Hardware Push

Meta’s new glasses come with speakers and a camera, skipping a built-in display. Users can ask the glasses to live-translate more than 20 languages, provide turn-by-turn walking directions, take calls, play music, snap pictures, and answer questions.

The new generation of glasses is the first to be powered by Meta’s new AI model Muse Spark. The model is its attempt to catch up to competing offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic after CEO Mark Zuckerberg was reportedly underwhelmed with the progress of its previous model. The company’s all in on AI, raising its spending forecast for the year from $125 billion to $145 billion, but so far it’s had little to show for it.

AI accessories could change that by giving the company a toehold to climb above its rivals:

• AI devices haven’t been a hit so far, with people opting to use AI on devices they already own. The main flop, Humane’s AI pin, struggled to justify its $700 price with its glitchy, user-unfriendly features. The industry is still betting the market will grow, however.
• OpenAI plans to ship its first AI device later this year, possibly a pair of smart earbuds, and Apple is working on an AirTag-sized AI pin that would work with AI phones using cameras and speakers to act as “eyes and ears.”  Meta, however, has a head start in selling an extra device to AI users: Its smart glasses made up 76% of last year’s shipments, according to International Data Corp. 

The Kylie Effect: While smart glasses may appeal to tech’s first adopters, they’ve struggled to become a must-have, despite Zuck’s personal glow-up. The $800 Ray-Bans, for one, came with infamously chunky black frames. Zuck’s counting on Kylie Jenner to up AI-powered glasses’ cool factor. The company’s cat-eyed collab with the celeb could help capture Gen Z buyers while other designs appeal to their parents.

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