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Snap plans to release its Specs smart glasses on September 16 priced at $2,195, a project CEO Evan Spiegel has championed for years. His public appearances promoting the device, including wearing them throughout a CNBC interview, drew mocking reactions online over their appearance and cost.
HTC is bringing its Vive Eagle smart glasses to the US market after debuting them last year, offering a screen-free, glasses-first design. The device includes a 12MP ultrawide camera, 32GB of encrypted storage, and support for either OpenAI or Gemini voice assistants, running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon AR1 chip. Pricing starts at $499 for standard or sunglass lenses, rising to $599 for photochromic versions.
Burning Man organizers updated their official survival guide to allow Meta's camera-equipped smart glasses at this year's festival, provided wearers get explicit permission before recording anyone in frame. The policy contrasts with venues like New York nightclub Basement, which has vowed to permanently ban attendees caught wearing the devices.
Snap is releasing its Specs smart glasses at a $2,195 price point, positioning the device as a major new consumer hardware product. CEO Evan Spiegel is pushing this bet even as Snap continues to face pressure over its lack of consistent profitability.
Apple is preparing to release its first smart glasses as early as next year, built around Siri and Visual Intelligence rather than augmented-reality displays. The glasses will use cameras and microphones to let Siri interpret surroundings, translate text, and answer contextual questions, plus built-in speakers for audio, according to a Bloomberg report citing Mark Gurman. Apple is designing multiple frame styles in-house using acetate material, with possible future versions adding health-tracking features like heart-rate sensors.
Meta released another firmware update aimed at preventing users from disabling or covering the LED light that signals when its smart glasses are recording. The update, announced by wearables chief Alex Himel, is meant to more reliably alert bystanders that photos or video are being captured, and Meta says similar updates will keep coming.
Meta is pushing an update that stops its AI glasses from recording if the indicator LED is covered mid-capture, closing a workaround where users could start filming and then hide the light afterward. Wearables executive Alex Himel confirmed the fix on Threads, saying it ensures the light reliably signals to bystanders when they're being filmed.
Meta's smart glasses were designed to block recording if their status LED was covered, but the check only ran when a recording started. That let wearers begin filming with the LED visible, then cover it up afterward to record undetected. Meta wearables VP Alex Himmel confirmed a fix is now rolling out to close this gap.
Meta is rolling out a software update that stops its smart glasses cameras from recording if the indicator light is covered after recording has already started. VP of AR Alex Himel confirmed the fix on Threads, addressing a loophole that had been widely shared in online tutorials for covert filming.
Basement, a well-known New York City nightclub, announced on social media that anyone wearing or carrying smart glasses, such as Meta's, will be asked to leave and could face a lifetime ban. The club says the devices' ability to secretly record conflicts with its existing no-photo, no-video policy meant to protect patrons' privacy on the dance floor.
Meta has rolled out a software update that disables the camera on its AI smart glasses if the capture LED is covered while recording is already in progress, closing a gap some users exploited to record secretly. The company also launched a billboard and video campaign in markets where the glasses sell well, explaining that the blinking light indicates active recording.
Ziff Davis' CNET Group is running a five-site trivia contest asking readers to predict details of Apple's upcoming fall event, including whether Tim Cook and John Ternus will appear together, whether smart glasses will be unveiled, and the price of a rumored foldable iPhone. The third round runs from Aug. 18 to Sept. 1, with entries open on each participating site, though each entrant can win only one Apple Watch in the September drawing.