Ray-Ban Meta Audio drops the camera, not the voice data
Dropping the camera makes Meta’s new Ray-Bans lighter and longer-lasting, yet voice data, a thin AI model and the price still complicate the decision.
By
Rhys Llewellyn
In brief
- The Ray-Ban Meta Audio line has no camera and comes in Clubmaster and Burbank frames.
- Meta rates the glasses for up to 12 hours of mixed use and six hours of continuous audio.
- Voice recordings are stored and US users can no longer opt out, according to Engadget.
- The more capable Muse agent and the hearing assistance mode are not available yet.
Removing the camera was supposed to be a sacrifice. In the first reviews of the Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses, it reads more like a trade that mostly pays off: testers at The Verge, Engadget and CNET agree the frames are lighter and last far longer than Meta’s camera models, while questioning what the AI on board can actually do and how much privacy has really improved.
What Meta kept and what it cut
The line arrives in two frame styles. Clubmaster is the familiar half-metal Ray-Ban shape, and Burbank resembles a slimmer Wayfarer. Engadget lists the audio-only glasses at $349, while CNET puts the frames between $349 and $429 depending on whether transitions lenses are fitted. Prescriptions from -12 to +6 are supported.
Weight is where the missing camera shows. CNET measures the range at 43 to 47 grams, against a little over 50 grams for other Ray-Ban Meta models. Engadget adds nuance: its 47-gram Clubmaster is only 2 grams lighter than the Ray-Ban Meta Optics, though the balance differs.
Hardware stays familiar otherwise. There are six microphones, two on the front and four along the arms, replacing the nosepad mics of earlier models, plus open-ear speakers. The front carries neither a camera nor an LED; the right arm holds a touchpad, a small inward-facing LED and an action button. That button only does two things, Engadget found: start recommended playlists or summon Meta AI. It cannot answer or mute a call, nor fire off a specific prompt.
Battery is the real argument
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Audio playback on Gen 2 glasses (CNET) | About four hours |
| The Verge’s real-world use | Two full workdays without returning to the case |
Against the Gen 2, that is roughly two extra hours of listening, which matters more for a pair of glasses built around audio than any single feature.
Good headphones, limited assistant
Sound is solid rather than remarkable. Live translation and walking navigation survive the camera’s removal, but any visual AI or visual assistance is gone by definition.
Open-ear audio suited to calls, music and podcasts; translation and turn-by-turn walking directions still work; the wake word can be switched off in favour of a customisable button.
The Verge hears tinny treble and distorted bass at high volume, sound leaking to people nearby and ambient noise swamping content on a loud subway; there is no native way to record a conversation, and translation must be started by hand.
Price compounds the doubt. The Verge points out that Meta’s camera-equipped Meta Glasses start at $250 and technically do more.
Privacy improves, but not everywhere
No camera means no covert video, yet the data question shifts rather than disappears:
- Setup now displays privacy disclosures more prominently, and visual data can be excluded from AI training, but voice data is still used.
- Engadget reports that Meta stores audio recordings from the glasses, that US users can no longer opt out, and that trained reviewers may listen; recordings can be deleted manually in the Meta AI app.
- CNET notes that privacy improvements Meta promised in September for its AI services have not arrived, and support for linking other services remains limited.
- Both Engadget and CNET say some venues have begun banning smart glasses.
An AI future still on order
Today the glasses run Muse Spark, a less powerful model. The full Muse agent is due later, in the “coming months” according to Engadget and “later this year” according to The Verge. Meta’s FDA-cleared hearing assistance mode costs an extra $149 or comes with a Meta One subscription, and The Verge says it is not yet available. Buyers paying for these frames now are paying for headphones first; Meta’s wider platform rivalry with TikTok plays out elsewhere, but its AI ambitions here are still a promise.
Photo: İbrahim Can Dayıoğlu / Pexels
