Google and Samsung are waiting until fall to drop their smart glasses. Meta decided they couldn’t wait. So here we are. Mid-summer launch. New hardware. And yes, Kylie Jenner is involved.
The Rebrand
I saw the new glasses at an event in New York. They’re called Meta Glasses now. Just Meta. No Ray-Ban. No Oakley. The logos are gone, but the DNA remains. EssilorLuxottica still builds them. You still buy them in the same shops. But the sticker price changes.
Starts at $299. That’s $80 cheaper than the Gen 2 Ray-Bans. $200 less than the Scriber or Blazer models we got in the spring. A decent discount if you want the tech without the legacy label.
Meta leads the pack. In the first quarter, their Ray-Ban lineup captured 69% of the market. That’s a 167% jump year-over-year. But IDC’s Jitesh Ubrani warned that the competition is coming for that throne. And he’s not wrong. The challengers are assembling. They’re formidable.
Cheaper, Comfy, Same
The lower price tag is the main headline. But are they actually different? Not really.
The fit mimics the newer Scriber and Blazer frames. Adjustable nose pads. Flexible arms. You can tweak the temple ends. Battery life holds up. Camera quality stays on par with last fall’s releases. They kept the dual camera setup and that AI rocker button on top.
I wore the “Fury.” It’s chunky. Big frames. Looks a lot like the Meta Ray-Ban Displays minus, well, the displays. I like the aesthetic. I’m a big-glasses person. But the nose pads? Less comfy than my current Blazer Optics.
Then there’s the “Adventurer.” It’s basically a Ray-Ban without the branding. Smaller. Tighter fit. For people who think the Fury is too loud.
Enter Kylie
Here is the part that got buried in the hardware talk. The Meta Starfire Kylie Edition.
Designed with Kylie Jenner. Looks like the Gentle Monster x Google glasses. Oval lenses. Horizontal tilt. A tiny sparkly gem embedded in the glass. Even the charging case has a vanity mirror and a note from Jenner.
Price? $399. More than the base models. Why? Because of the voice.
These glasses come with Meta AI using Kylie’s voice. We’ve had celebrity voices before. But never tied to a specific hardware edition like this. It feels gimmicky. But also strangely innovative. You buy the glass, you talk to her avatar. Who does that appeal to? Anyone who values aesthetics over utility.
Privacy remains a nightmare
Meta promises better prescription support now. Lenses cover -12 to +2. Easier to add them after you buy the glasses. A nice tweak for actual eyeglass wearers.
The software? Meh.
We get more translation languages. Now 14 total. Turn-by-turn navigation improves slightly. But Meta AI still doesn’t play nice with other apps. Andrew Bosworth, their CTO, admitted the integration lacks depth. He hinted at “agentic” AI plans for the September Connect conference. Vague. Exciting? Maybe. Useful today? Not really.
And the privacy fears? Unresolved.
People worry about covert recording. Consent. Staring strangers down through a lens that is always listening. Bosworth didn’t flinch when pressed. No new physical indicators for recording. No software shifts to calm the public outcry. He just shrugged it off, effectively.
What’s next
Spring and summer are prime time for accessories, said Alex Himel, Meta’s head of wearables. That’s why we got these now.
But Himel hinted at more. Not just frames.
I asked about camera-free models. Or professional-grade lenses. Himel wants software tools for post-processing camera data. Bosworth confirmed they’re interested in cheaper, audio-only glasses without cameras at all.
“We want to be as good as 2024’s state of the art,” Himel said regarding camera quality compared to phones. A tall order. Camera hardware never stands still. Neither do user expectations.
The market is flooded. The privacy issues remain. But Meta is moving fast. They cut the price. They removed the brand tax. And they threw Kylie into the mix.
Is that enough? Time will tell.
