Smart Glasses Explained: What They Do, What They Cost and the Privacy Questions

Smart glasses are ordinary-looking eyeglasses with a small computer built into the frame. The hardware includes microphones, speakers, usually a camera and, on some models, a display in the lens. People use them to take photos and video, listen to audio, make calls and ask an AI assistant questions by voice. As of October 6, 2026, Meta's store lists AI glasses from $249 and its display model from $799. Privacy, for wearers and for the people around them, is a question regulators and lawmakers have not resolved.

How do smart glasses work?

Research firm IDC sorts face-worn devices into three groups:

• audio glasses with no display
• display glasses that put information in front of the eye
• headsets

A typical pair hides its electronics in the frame. Meta says its Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) has a 12-megapixel camera that records 3K video, a six-microphone array and up to nine hours of battery life. The wearer speaks to an assistant and hears the answer through small speakers. Google is developing glasses with Samsung, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. It says its models wake with a spoken "Hey Google" or a tap on the frame. It says they pair with both Android and iOS phones.

Display glasses add a screen. Meta says its Meta Ray-Ban Display places a color display off to one side of the wearer's view. It says the display shows messages, translations, captions and walking directions. The glasses are controlled with a wristband that uses electromyography (EMG). EMG is a technique that reads muscle signals at the wrist. The wristband uses it to turn small hand movements into commands.

What do smart glasses cost in 2026?

The figures below are US starting prices. They come from Meta's September 23, 2026 announcement and its online store, checked on October 6, 2026.

• Meta Glasses, the company's own-brand line: from $249.
• Ray-Ban Meta Audio: from $349 on pre-order, with shipping due to start October 13. IDC describes it as having no camera.
• Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3): from $449.
• Meta Ray-Ban Display: from $799, the starting price at its US launch in September 2025, when Meta said the wristband was included.

Google said in May 2026 that its audio glasses would launch first, later in the fall. Its announcement gave no prices and no date for display glasses.

Whether that is worth the money depends on how much a person values hands-free capture and voice assistance. The trade-offs include battery life counted in hours and the privacy questions below.

Who makes smart glasses, and how many are sold?

Meta is the largest vendor by a wide margin in IDC's data. Its partner is EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear group behind Ray-Ban and Oakley. EssilorLuxottica reported that the AI glasses it makes with Meta sold more than 7 million units in 2025.

IDC estimated that Meta held 68.7% of combined XR headset and glasses shipments in the second quarter of 2026. Audio glasses made up 70.3% of that total. Overall shipments rose 35.3% from a year earlier, a slowdown from 130.2% growth in the first quarter. The next four vendors, RayNeo, Alibaba, XREAL and Xiaomi, each held less than 4%.

Are smart glasses safe? The privacy questions

The questions regulators have raised so far concern cameras and data.

Bystanders come first. In September 2021, Ireland's Data Protection Commission and Italy's privacy regulator commented on an earlier Facebook and Ray-Ban model. They said they had not been shown that the companies carried out thorough field testing to confirm that its very small indicator light gave people effective notice of recording. They called on Facebook to demonstrate that it did. Meta says its current camera glasses blink a white capture light while recording. It says they disable the camera if they detect that the light has been covered.

The second concern is what happens to recordings. The Register reported in March 2026 that the UK Information Commissioner's Office planned to write to Meta. The Register said this came after reports in the Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten. Those newspapers reported that contract workers in Nairobi had reviewed sensitive footage from the glasses. According to The Register, Meta told the BBC that recordings are used to improve its AI only in certain circumstances, such as when users choose to share them. TechCrunch reported the same month on a class action lawsuit filed in the US. It reported that the suit accused Meta and Luxottica of America of false advertising over the glasses' privacy protections.

Lawmakers have not settled on new rules. TechCrunch reported in September 2026 that Norway's digital minister, Karianne Tung, was considering restrictions on camera-equipped wearables, including a possible ban. On October 1 it reported that California Governor Gavin Newsom had vetoed Senate Bill 1130, which would have outlawed covert recording with such devices. Newsom said the bill defined the devices too broadly and repeated protections already in state law.

What to watch

Meta says it is bringing a personal AI agent called Muse to its glasses. It says it plans to offer more than 100 glasses options by the end of 2026. On the regulatory side, there are two next steps to follow. One is the UK regulator's request for information from Meta. The other is Norway's planned expert group.