Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, unveiled on Wednesday (June 24th) an economical version of its smart glasses, offering a model with its own brand for the first time.
The glasses, which were announced at a price of nearly $300 compared to $380 for the model developed in collaboration with Ray-Ban, represent a new step in Mark Zuckerberg's bet on competition in the connected device market, heralding a post-smartphone era.
Unlike the more expensive Ray-Ban model ($800), these new glasses don't have a built-in lens screen, and are equipped with a camera, microphone, and small speakers, all connected to Meta's AI system (Muse Spark).
These glasses allow users to take photos and videos, listen to music, make phone calls, interact with an AI assistant, or get instant translation. It currently supports 20 languages.
Meta: 7 million smart glasses sold
Alex Himmel, vice president of wearables at Meta, told The Verge, "We felt the need for affordable glasses, and we were looking for solutions suitable for this category."
While Meta currently dominates the relatively modest smartphone market, it has sold more than 7 million units, while other companies are trying to catch up.
Google has announced smart glasses it developed in collaboration with Samsung, which is scheduled to be launched in the fall, and observers expect a competing product from Apple to be launched in 2027.
Meanwhile, Snap, the developer of the social network Snapchat, is taking a different path, unveiling the Specs glasses that offer an augmented reality experience without the need to connect to a phone.
This strategy is based on high-end glasses (starting at around $2,200), integrating all the computing components into the frame, for a lower price than mixed reality headsets (about $3,500 for the Apple Vision Pro).
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