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New Meta Smart Glasses Drop Cameras Amid Privacy Fears
23 Sep
Summary
- Meta to unveil camera-free smart glasses, addressing privacy concerns.
- Sales of existing smart glasses exceeded 7 million units last year.
- Concerns remain over audio recording capabilities and consumer demand.
Meta Platforms is expected to introduce new smart glasses at its annual Connect conference, with a notable camera-free option designed to address growing privacy worries. The social media giant has established itself as a leader in the consumer AI device market, selling over 7 million smart glasses co-developed with EssilorLuxottica last year. This strong market position faces scrutiny due to global concerns about the covert recording capabilities of these devices.
These privacy issues have led to usage restrictions in various UK establishments and prompted lawsuits, including one in California alleging misleading privacy practices and improper handling of recorded footage by human annotators. Meta denies these allegations and intends to defend itself. The upcoming camera-free models, reportedly named Clubmaster and Burbank, aim to mitigate some of these concerns, though analysts suggest audio recording capabilities may still pose privacy challenges.
Furthermore, removing cameras could impact consumer interest, as photo and video capture are popular features. Experts ponder whether consumers will opt for smart glasses primarily for voice interaction if key visual features are absent. This comes as Meta also prepares to launch an updated version of its existing Ray-Ban smart glasses and potentially new augmented-reality glasses, code-named Phoenix, following recent announcements from competitors like Snap regarding their own AR eyewear.
