Ray-Ban Meta Audio

Ray-Ban Meta Audio
Basic Info
Type	Smart glasses
Subtype	Audio glasses
Developer	Meta Platforms, EssilorLuxottica
Announcement Date	23 September 2026
Release Date	Pre-orders opened 23 September 2026; shipping from 13 October 2026
Price	From US$349 (United States); from £319 (United Kingdom); from 349 EUR (Germany)
Website	https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/ray-ban-meta-audio/
Versions	Clubmaster; Burbank (Standard and Large sizes)
Optics
Optics	Clear, green, polarized and Transitions lens options; prescription compatible
Audio
Audio	Open-ear speakers
Camera	None
Connectivity
Battery Life	Up to 12 hours (glasses); up to 48 additional hours with charging case
Device
Weight	43 g
Input	Button, touch swipe on the right temple, voice ("Hey Meta")

Ray-Ban Meta Audio is a line of camera-free smart glasses developed by Meta Platforms with EssilorLuxottica. Meta describes them as its "first-ever audio glasses". They combine open-ear speakers and microphones with access to Meta's AI assistant in Ray-Ban frames, but have no camera.

Meta announced Ray-Ban Meta Audio at Meta Connect on 23 September 2026, alongside the camera-equipped Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3). Pre-orders opened the same day at a United States starting price of US$349, with shipping scheduled for 13 October 2026. The glasses weigh 43 grams, and Meta rates them for up to 12 hours of use per charge. They come in two frame styles, Clubmaster and Burbank.

Engadget's Connect summary called it an "audio-only model". The glasses belong to the same family as the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, whose camera models had drawn privacy criticism before the launch.

Reviewed 25 September 2026. Connect 2026 announcement, US/UK/German prices, pre-order and shipping dates, weight, battery, styles, lens options, hearing-feature reports and every cited source. About review dates.

Background

Meta's earlier AI glasses, including the Ray-Ban Meta line, carry a camera and a white LED that flashes when the wearer captures an image and pulses while recording. In a September 2026 report, UploadVR said that some wearers had recorded people without their consent or knowledge, and that a market had developed for removing the LED. The site also listed gyms, bars, courts and other venues that had banned or restricted smart glasses. The same report stated that Meta and EssilorLuxottica had sold more than 10 million units of their smart glasses.

On 15 September 2026, The Information reported that Meta planned to introduce glasses without cameras. UploadVR summarized the report as describing glasses that kept the microphones and speakers and used the former capture button to start a conversation with the AI assistant. MIXED wrote that the report used the codename Luna, and that Meta had not used that name for anything it announced at Connect.

Meta presented the product in terms of audio rather than privacy. Its announcement said that audio "has been our most popular feature since day one". Android Central reported that Meta chose the design because owners of camera glasses mainly use their audio functions. Android Central, Engadget and TechCrunch each connected the launch to the privacy criticism of camera glasses.

Announcement and release

Meta introduced Ray-Ban Meta Audio in the Connect keynote on 23 September 2026. Its announcement also covered Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3), new Meta Glasses styles and plans to bring the Muse AI agent to its glasses. Meta said it would offer more than 100 AI glasses options across Ray-Ban, Oakley and Meta Glasses by the end of 2026. In a release dated 24 September, EssilorLuxottica described Ray-Ban Meta Audio as a camera-free line and the lightest and slimmest of the partners' AI glasses.

Market	Starting price	Status (25 September 2026)
United States	US$349	Pre-orders from 23 September 2026; shipping 13 October 2026
United Kingdom	£319	Listed on Meta's UK store
Germany	349 EUR	Listed on Meta's German store

MIXED reported that pre-orders for both styles were open on the UK and German stores. FashionUnited, citing the launch press material, reported that the glasses would be sold through Ray-Ban stores and the Ray-Ban website, EssilorLuxottica's retail, e-commerce and wholesale channels, and Meta.com, with availability and timing varying by market.

On the same day, the camera-equipped Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) went on sale from US$449. Tom's Guide pointed out that the camera-free model did not undercut Meta's existing camera glasses on price. It gave starting prices of US$379 for the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) and US$224 for the first-generation model, both still on sale.

Design and hardware

Ray-Ban Meta Audio uses two frame styles that are new to Meta's AI glasses: Clubmaster, which Meta calls an iconic Ray-Ban style with a retro-inspired silhouette, and Burbank, a rectangular style. Across the two styles, Meta lists 23 color and lens combinations, and both styles are compatible with a wide range of optical prescriptions. Meta's US store offers Burbank in Standard and Large sizes. Lens options on the store listings include clear, green, polarized and Transitions lenses. The box contains the glasses, a charging case and a getting-started guide.

Meta gives the weight as 43 grams, and EssilorLuxottica's release says "as low as 43 grams". Engadget compared this with other Meta glasses, which it said weigh from 49.2 grams (the Optics model) to 69 grams (the largest size of Meta Ray-Ban Display). For fit, the frames have professional-adjustable temple tips, adjustable or swappable nose pads and overextension hinges.

The frames have no camera and therefore no recording LED. Engadget wrote that, apart from slightly larger temples and cut-outs for the speakers, the frames are hard to tell apart from ordinary Ray-Bans. Meta's product page states that the glasses are "built without a camera", according to MIXED. In Tom's Guide's hands-on, the controls were a swipe on the right arm for volume and a button that calls up Meta AI; the assistant can also be started by saying "Hey Meta".

Battery

Meta rates the glasses for up to 12 hours on a single charge. The included charging case adds up to 48 more hours. MIXED noted that both figures are Meta's own "up to" claims, not measured runtimes. By Meta's figures, the Audio model runs three hours longer than the nine-hour rating of the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3).

Software and features

The glasses play music and podcasts, handle phone calls and give hands-free access to Meta's AI assistant. Meta claims they capture the wearer's voice on calls more clearly than earbuds. Engadget listed responding to messages by voice among the glasses' functions, and live translation and real-time answers to questions among the uses of Meta AI. Because the glasses have no camera, the assistant cannot use a view of the wearer's surroundings, a limitation UploadVR pointed out when it reported the plan before launch.

At Connect, Meta also announced that it would bring Muse, the personal AI agent it had launched earlier in September 2026, to its AI glasses "in the coming months". Wearers will call up the agent by saying its name. The announcement of Ray-Ban Meta Audio said that a connection to Muse would give Meta's AI glasses more ways to help manage daily tasks such as habits and calendars.

Audio settings and hearing enhancement

Meta announced two audio settings for supported AI glasses at the same event. Audio balance shifts sound toward the left or right ear, and mono audio sends all sound to one side. Meta also announced Hearing Enhancement, which it describes as FDA-cleared software for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. The feature can be set up at home without a clinic visit or prescription. It is due to launch in the United States later in 2026 on "supported AI glasses" as a US$149.99 add-on (HSA/FSA eligible) or as part of a Meta One subscription.

Meta's announcement did not name the supported models. Engadget's Connect summary reported that the feature would arrive first on Meta Glasses and later on the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) and Ray-Ban Meta Audio. A separate Engadget article said the initial rollout does not include the Ray-Ban models. Tom's Guide said Meta spokespeople had given it conflicting information on whether the Audio glasses would support the feature at launch. Android Central, writing after a hands-on at Connect, described Hearing Enhancement as an optional US$149 add-on for Ray-Ban Meta Audio.

Reception

Early impressions came from hands-on sessions at Connect. Tom's Guide's Scott Younker found the experience the same as the camera-equipped Ray-Ban Meta glasses, apart from photo and video capture. He described the glasses as fairly comfortable and the Clubmaster frames as good-looking. He considered the battery life good for nearly all-day use, and he said the speakers sounded about the same as those of the camera models. His main criticism was the price for a model with fewer features than the camera glasses, since older Ray-Ban Meta models remained on sale for the same or less.

Android Central's Nicholas Sutrich called the glasses "exactly what you'd expect: cameraless Meta AI glasses". He found them substantially lighter than the camera models and preferred the Clubmaster style. In Engadget's view, the model was unlikely to convert Meta's critics, but it could persuade people uncomfortable with the optics of smart glasses in general. The outlet also noted that without the camera and LED the frames look more like ordinary Ray-Bans.

See also

• Ray-Ban Meta
• Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2)
• Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3)
• Meta Glasses
• Meta Ray-Ban Display
• Smart glasses