Meta’s New Affordable AI Glasses Aim to Take on Google and Snap: And They Start at $299

Meta has introduced a new range of AI-powered smart glasses priced from $299, signalling a more aggressive push to make wearable AI a mainstream consumer product. The launch puts Meta directly against Google and Snap, both of which are trying to define what comes after the smartphone in everyday computing.

The new Meta Glasses are cheaper than the entry-level second-generation Meta Ray-Ban glasses and far below Meta’s Ray-Ban Display glasses, which were launched at $799. The lower starting price gives Meta a wider consumer base to target, especially as smart glasses remain a young category with limited mass adoption.

Meta Glasses take a more affordable route

The new glasses have been developed with Luxottica, but they are the first Meta smart glasses not to use a well-known eyewear brand such as Ray-Ban or Oakley. Meta is also using the launch to test new frame designs, including rectangular styles and a slim oval collection created with Kylie Jenner.

The glasses do not include a display. Instead, they combine a built-in camera, speakers and voice-based interaction with Meta AI. Users can ask the assistant to translate languages, identify or explain things they are looking at, and capture photos or videos without taking out a phone.

Meta says the devices run Meta AI powered by Muse Spark, the first model from its Superintelligence Labs. That makes the glasses part of a broader hardware strategy, where AI is not limited to apps or chatbots but becomes available through devices worn throughout the day.

Smart glasses race gets crowded

Meta’s launch comes as competition in AI eyewear is accelerating. Google has said it is working with Warby Parker on AI-powered glasses using Gemini. Snap has also announced Specs, a premium smart glasses product priced at $2,195, with CEO Evan Spiegel positioning it as a successor to the smartphone.

The pricing gap is important. Snap appears to be aiming at an early adopter and developer-heavy market, while Meta is leaning towards volume. Its existing partnership with EssilorLuxottica has already helped it build a strong position in smart glasses, with the companies estimated to hold more than 80 per cent of the market.

For Mark Zuckerberg, glasses may offer a clearer path than virtual reality headsets. Meta’s VR business remains important, but headsets are still largely niche products. Smart glasses, by contrast, look closer to regular eyewear and can be used in public without changing how people move through daily life.

The new Meta Glasses show where the company wants wearable AI to go next: lighter, cheaper and less dependent on screens. Whether consumers adopt them at scale will depend on battery life, privacy comfort, camera use in public spaces and how useful Meta AI proves outside controlled demonstrations.