Meta is also working on a new pair of smart glasses that are said to take privacy to another level by removing cameras completely. The company is developing the device with the code name “Luna,” and is expected to launch it in fall 2026, according to the company. Meta and other technology companies are facing increasing questions about privacy and the use of wearable devices that can record and save images and videos.
Meta’s current AI-based smart glasses (Ray-Ban Meta with EssilorLuxottica) are equipped with cameras, microphones and speakers. The cameras allow one to take photographs and videos hands-free, and Meta AI can respond to voice commands and deliver information on what one sees. The cameras have also raised questions about people being recorded without the user knowing.
The reported camera-free Luna glasses would remove the ability to take pictures and videos and perhaps solve one of the most visible privacy problems of smart glasses. The device might need to focus on audio-based features such as voice interaction via Meta AI, phone calls, and audio playback.
There are also reports that the glasses could use multiple microphones to allow Meta’s artificial intelligence services to interact with them. Removing camera hardware would also allow Meta to have a slimmer design and look and feel more like regular eyewear. However, it is not clear what hardware components, design, and capabilities Meta has in place yet.
The removal of cameras will be a big deal as smart glasses become more and more common as well, but this could be especially so if smart glasses are more prevalent. Wearable cameras work on the user’s eye level and can take pictures from the user’s perspective and can see people in public spaces without the obvious visual cues of holding up a phone in public. Meta has also introduced some security features to its AI glasses with its existing AI glasses as well as a capture LED, the light of its cameras that indicates when cameras are taking photos or videos.
Meta has also said that its newer AI glasses have added security features to prevent users from bypassing the recording indicator. But for all these concerns about wearable recording technology, privacy experts and regulators in different countries have raised a question about how that could impact consent and expectations of privacy in public and private environments.
However, a camera-free design would not eliminate every privacy concern. The reported Luna glasses could still contain microphones; thus, the questions of audio collection, voice activation, data processing and storage remain relevant. Camera-free would not necessarily mean no privacy impact, and so the device would not necessarily be camera-free.
But the reported product could also show that AI glasses don’t necessarily need cameras to provide useful everyday features. Voice-controlled AI assistance, calls, music and notifications might be delivered through microphones and speakers without visual recording capabilities. For users interested in wearable AI but not so much in cameras, it could be a different option.
Meta could launch the camera-free glasses at its Meta Connect event, and the market launch date or price point may be announced by October 2026. At this stage of the development, the company has not publicly announced the name of the Luna glasses (as well as the launch date, specifications, or pricing). So all the reports are unconfirmed until Meta makes a public announcement of the new product.
Meta is also working on other generations of smart glasses with different capabilities. There are also reports of separate projects that are all about augmented reality, which is a sign that glasses are part of Meta’s long-term hardware and AI strategy.
If the reported camera-free glasses are available, they could mark a major shift in Meta’s wearable strategy. Instead of AI assistance with photography and video recording, the company could be testing whether people are willing to adopt glasses as a tool for AI and audio and not just an AI and audio interface. The product could also present Meta with an opportunity to tackle its biggest problem with smart glasses: the problem of people being able to record people without their consent.
In the end, the success of a device like this would be dependent not only on whether it removes cameras but also on how Meta can manage the microphone, AI interactions, personal data, and user controls of a device, they say. As we approach the date of launch in fall 2026, details will be forthcoming if Meta actually announces the product.
