Snap and Meta are taking smart glasses in two very different directions. Snap is preparing to launch a high-end device built around augmented reality, while Meta is developing glasses without a camera that focus on audio and access to Meta AI.
Snap’s Specs will launch at an event in Los Angeles on September 16, 2026. The device will cost $2,195, and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is scheduled to deliver his keynote at 4PM PT. Snap presents Specs as a wearable computer designed to stay with users throughout the day.
That price places Specs in a very different category from ordinary smart glasses. The product is not being presented as a simple camera accessory or a phone companion. Instead, Spiegel describes it as a computer that users can wear, with the goal of making them less dependent on their phones.
Snap’s wearable computer approach
“Specs are not like the AI glasses Snap’s competitors have championed. He’s instead presented Specs as a ‘wearable computer’ that can accompany you throughout your day, and maybe make you a little less dependent on your phone,” Spiegel said.
That description gives Snap’s product a clear identity before its Los Angeles launch. The company is placing Specs in the same broad smart-glasses race as Meta, but the two products are built around different priorities. Snap is highlighting a high-end AR device, while Meta is working on a model that removes the camera altogether.
The launch also puts attention on what people expect from glasses that can handle more than ordinary eyewear. A wearable computer suggests a device meant to remain useful across a full day, not something users bring out for one isolated task. Snap has attached a $2,195 price to that idea.
Meta’s camera-free Luna glasses
Meta plans to start shipping its new smart-glasses model as soon as October. The company could unveil the device, called Luna, at its annual Connect developer conference, scheduled for September 23 and 24, 2026.
Luna will come in two styles: Clubmaster and Burbank. The glasses will include six built-in microphones and speakers that point toward the user’s ears, creating a design centered on sound rather than image capture.
A button on the side will let users activate Meta AI with a press. That gives Luna a direct way to reach Meta’s artificial intelligence system without relying on a camera or a separate device. The combination of microphones, speakers, and a physical button makes the glasses feel focused on spoken interaction and quick commands.
Removing the camera also changes the privacy conversation around smart glasses. A camera-free model cannot capture images through the frames, which separates Luna from glasses designed around recording. Still, Meta’s existing glasses have faced concerns about people being filmed without realizing it.
Privacy remains part of the smart-glasses debate
Meta’s glasses use LED lights that continue to blink while the user is recording. The light is meant to show that the glasses are capturing video, giving people nearby a visible signal that recording is underway.
Meta rolled out an update after a loophole allowed users to secretly film others by covering the LED light after recording had already started. The update addressed that loophole, but the episode shows why recording indicators remain a central part of the product discussion.
The contrast between Luna and Snap Specs highlights two separate paths for smart glasses. One path removes the camera and emphasizes microphones, speakers, and Meta AI. The other presents glasses as a wearable computer and places augmented reality at the center of the experience.
Both launches also show how design choices shape public expectations. A camera-free frame answers one privacy concern directly, while recording lights and software updates address another. At the same time, Snap’s $2,195 price signals a more ambitious product category built around a broader computing role.
Snap’s September 16 keynote comes before Meta’s September 23 and 24 developer conference, giving Specs the first major moment in this comparison. Meta then has the chance to show Luna and explain how its two styles, six microphones, ear-directed speakers, and side button will work together.
The result is a smart-glasses market split between different ideas about what these devices should be. Snap wants Specs to accompany users throughout the day as a wearable computer. Meta’s Luna aims to deliver AI and audio without a camera, while the company’s existing glasses continue to carry the privacy lessons of recording devices.
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