Smart glasses

More big companies are investing in smart glasses with audio/video recording and AI, leading to increased privacy concerns.

A firefighter in France's Gironde department used smart glasses to film colleagues battling a wildfire in the village of Le Las on July 27, 2026. The footage captures the team's efforts to combat the blaze.

Meta is likely to focus on smart glasses during its upcoming earnings call and avoid discussing social media policy, according to Kalshi traders. The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, will report earnings after the market close on Wednesday.

Apple is preparing to launch its first smart glasses and is addressing consumer privacy concerns.

Apple plans to release its first smart glasses at WWDC next June, with a launch expected by the end of 2027. The delay may stem from refining privacy features to avoid reputational risks associated with Meta's controversial AI glasses, which have raised concerns over stealth photo and video capture.

Apple's smart glasses delay is partly due to major privacy concerns. The Apple team is exploring privacy-related tweaks for the upcoming product.

Meta has temporarily relaxed restrictions on the Conversation Focus feature in its smart glasses. A company spokesperson stated they are continuing to evaluate the best approach for the feature.

Meta has paused its plan to charge a $20 monthly subscription fee for a smart glasses feature that operates locally without cloud dependency, following backlash. The company still intends to introduce subscription-based fees for certain premium features in the future, while the accessibility feature 'Conversation Focus' will remain free during its Early Access Program.

Meta's smart glasses are facing public backlash due to privacy and surveillance concerns, with some users misusing the devices to film strangers without consent. The company is now banning certain content filmed with the glasses in response to the controversy.

The New York State court system has banned smart glasses and other wearable technology with recording capabilities in court facilities, effective July 20. The prohibition, enforced by the Office of Court Administration, requires such devices to be left with court security to prevent unauthorized recordings, aligning with existing rules against photo and video in court premises.

The European Commission exempted wearable devices like smartwatches and smart glasses from user-replaceable battery requirements, allowing batteries to be replaced only by professionals. The delegated act, adopted on July 14, cites safety and design challenges due to miniaturization and will take effect in 2027 as part of broader EU battery regulations.

The European Commission exempted smart glasses and other wearables from battery removal rules, easing Meta's entry into the EU market amid U.S. pressure. The change, opposed by some consumer groups over privacy concerns, also benefits competitors like Samsung and Google, though privacy issues remain unresolved.

Even Realities' smart glasses are designed for users frequently in meetings, presentations, and multilingual travel, prioritizing productivity over camera-based recording. The product emphasizes functionality for professionals in dynamic environments.

Meta is developing prototype 'super sensing' smart glasses that continuously record audio and take photos every few seconds. The glasses would allow users to query Meta AI about the captured data, though raw footage and audio may not be stored or accessible to the user.

The New York State Unified Court System has banned smart glasses in its courts. The decision targets a new accessory described as smart glasses.

Meta's smart glasses will now disable the camera if users tamper with the privacy light. This update is more restrictive than previous measures, which only blocked the camera when the LED was covered.

Meta will disable the camera on its smart glasses if users tamper with the recording LED. The company addresses privacy concerns about the device in an FAQ.

Meta is updating its smart glasses to disable the camera if the privacy LED light is tampered with, addressing modders who have physically altered the light. The update follows previous attempts to prevent tampering by alerting users when the light is blocked.

A Shenzhen-based startup founded by a former Apple Watch engineer is developing a $1 billion smart glasses product to compete with Meta. The company aims to challenge Meta's position in the fast-growing smart glasses market.

Even Realities, a smart glasses maker, achieved a $1B valuation after securing $150M in funding led by Meituan and Tencent. The company is developing camera-free smart glasses and was founded by an ex-Apple team.

Meta is introducing a subscription model for its smart glasses, requiring users to pay for 'expanded access' to advanced features after purchasing the hardware.

Meta has implemented rate limits on the Conversation Focus feature of its smart glasses, restricting free usage to three hours per month.

Big Tech is focusing on smart glasses as a potential defining hardware design of the AI era. However, the success of this technology depends on consumer adoption and willingness to wear the devices.

A new report from Fortune predicts that smartphones may become obsolete within the next decade as AI-powered wearables like smart glasses could replace them as primary personal devices. Tech leaders in Silicon Valley argue that current smartphones are not designed for the next generation of artificial intelligence.

Developers are exploring smart glasses for coding, with AWS advocate Darko Mesaros using Even Realities' glasses to monitor coding agents via voice and gesture. Amazon, OpenAI, and Anthropic are advancing hands-free work tools, though Amazon does not currently plan smart-glass coding integrations. AWS faces skepticism from developers who view it as lagging in AI innovation.

Meta is launching its own smart glasses brand with a starting price of $299, which is $80 cheaper than the Ray-Ban Meta models. The new glasses include three frame styles, one of which is a $399 collaboration with Kylie Jenner.

Meta has announced new smart glasses starting at $299, with executives describing them as a step toward more advanced devices featuring lens-integrated screens. The move reflects CEO Mark Zuckerberg's continued focus on wearable technology.

Snap's long-awaited smart glasses debut, described as having 'ridiculously expensive' AR glasses, has negatively impacted the company's stock performance.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon stated that AI agents will replace apps and the company is developing 40 new AI-powered devices. He expressed optimism about smart glasses becoming as significant as smartphones.

Virkkunen is developing a close relationship with Brazil, as highlighted in the article's focus on AI envoy, child safety, and Meta's smart glasses. The article covers these three main topics.

Major tech companies are competing to develop smart glasses with AI. Ziad Asghar, a Qualcomm executive, discusses the topic with CBS News.

Europe intensified its regulatory actions against Big Tech by ordering Meta to reverse a block on third-party AI assistants on WhatsApp and threatening new rules for smart glasses over privacy concerns. The EU has also pursued antitrust cases against Google and Apple, while Meta faces a €200 million fine it is appealing. The measures may heighten tensions with the U.S., which argues EU regulations disproportionately target American tech firms.

England's exams watchdog, Ofqual, warns that smart glasses and hidden earpieces could enable undetectable cheating during GCSEs. Device-related malpractice cases accounted for 44.3% of incidents in 2025 exams, with regulators concerned about evolving wearable technology. Ofqual also highlights challenges from AI-generated coursework, proposing stricter verification measures.

Wired discovered code for an unreleased facial recognition feature in Meta's AI app. Meta has previously been reported to be exploring facial recognition for its smart glasses.

Meta has implemented facial recognition technology in its smart glasses, as reported by Buchodi.com. The article has received 103 points and 68 comments on Hacker News.

Meta added face-recognition code to millions of phones as part of its smart glasses platform, designed to identify people using biometric data stored on users' devices. The code was discovered by WIRED and is part of an unreleased system.

Ofqual, the exams watchdog, has warned of an increase in high-tech cheating methods. Invigilators are being trained to detect devices such as smart glasses and hidden earpieces.

The chief regulator warns that smart glasses pose a new cheating threat in exams. The article highlights concerns about emerging technology facilitating academic dishonesty.

President Donald Trump signed a new AI executive order featuring a voluntary review system for tech companies, a dedicated cybersecurity clearinghouse, and no mandatory licensing, marking a shift from the previous hands-off approach. The article also covers Anduril and Meta’s collaboration on augmented-reality smart glasses for military use, including drone strike capabilities via eye-tracking and voice commands.

Apple's smart glasses are reported to be delayed until the end of 2027 for their debut.