Meta began selling Ray-Ban Meta Audio on October 13, a pair of glasses it describes as its first audio glasses, at a starting price of $349. Made with eyewear company EssilorLuxottica, they play music, handle phone calls and give the wearer spoken access to Meta’s AI assistant.

The glasses were announced on September 23 at Meta’s Connect 2026 event, when Meta’s newsroom said they would ship on October 13. In that announcement the company said the glasses “pack the power of earbuds and AI” into its lightest and slimmest AI glasses so far, and that they give high-quality sound without cutting the wearer off from the surrounding world.

What the company has disclosed

Ray-Ban Meta Audio weighs 43 grams, according to Meta’s launch post. The company rates battery life at up to 12 hours on a single charge, or up to six hours of continuous audio playback. The included charging case adds up to 48 more hours, and fast charging takes the glasses to 50% in 22 minutes.

Two Ray-Ban frame styles are offered: Clubmaster, which Meta describes as retro-inspired, and Burbank, a rectangular shape. Between them there are 23 frame and lens combinations, each available with prescription lenses. Depending on the style, the frames have adjustable or swappable nose pads, along with over-extension hinges and temple tips that an optician can adjust.

For calls, Meta’s September announcement says the glasses capture the wearer’s voice more clearly than earbuds. It did not publish supporting test data. Neither Meta page lists a camera, a display or photo and video capture among the features of the Audio model; the pages describe music, podcasts, calls and conversations with the assistant.

The glasses are sold through Meta.com, Ray-Ban.com, Ray-Ban stores, Meta Lab stores, EssilorLuxottica’s own retail locations and selected third-party retailers. Neither page lists the countries where they are available, a water-resistance rating, or the number of speakers and microphones.

Where it sits in the range

At $349, the Audio model costs $100 less than the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3), which went on sale on September 23 from $449. That model has a 12-megapixel camera that records 3K video, and Meta rates its battery at up to nine hours, an hour more than the previous generation.

The cheapest model in the range is a black-frame Meta Adventurer with grey lenses and a plug-in case, priced from $249 and due on sale on October 23 in all countries where Meta Glasses are sold, according to the September announcement. Meta also said on September 23 that its Meta Glasses line was launching that day in Singapore, South Korea, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates, with Brazil to follow.

Meta said in its launch post that it expects to offer more than 100 different glasses options through its partnership with EssilorLuxottica by the end of 2026.

Why it matters

Meta is positioning the Audio model against earbuds: the September announcement likens its audio to earbuds and claims better voice pickup on calls than earbuds provide. All 23 frame and lens combinations can be ordered with prescription lenses, so people who need corrective lenses are not limited to particular frames.

The September announcement also introduced Muse, which Meta describes as “a personal AI agent,” and said glasses connected to it can help with tasks such as building healthy habits and managing a busy calendar. The Audio launch post lists talking to Meta AI among the glasses’ features but does not say which Muse functions they support.

The price also adds another step to Meta’s range. With the $249 Adventurer, the $349 Audio model and the $449 Gen 3, Meta now sells glasses at several price levels, all tied to its AI assistant.

The caveats

All battery figures are “up to” values, and Meta’s launch post does not describe the conditions under which they were measured. The comparison with earbuds on voice pickup is the company’s own claim. Specifications such as speaker design, microphone count and water resistance were not published on either page, and the countries where this model is sold were not listed.

Corrections and tips: email the editor using the address on the Contact page.