Amazon is offering Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses for $239, marking a rare 20% discount on the popular wearable technology that combines Ray-Ban’s classic design with Meta’s AI capabilities. The deal represents significant savings on a product that was frequently out of stock during much of 2024 and has rarely seen price reductions since its launch.
What you should know: The discounted glasses deliver near-AirPods audio quality while adding camera and AI assistant functionality that traditional headphones can’t match.
- The smart glasses feature built-in speakers that provide audio quality “nearly as bright and clear as a pair of AirPods” for calls and podcasts, though they lack the bass depth of premium headphones.
- A 12-megapixel ultrawide camera captures photos and videos with quality comparable to an iPhone 12 or Samsung Galaxy S20, offering faster access than pulling out a phone.
- The “Hey Meta” AI assistant uses Meta’s large language models for information searches and hands-free queries.
Key details: Multiple styles are available at different price points, with the classic black frames offering the deepest discount.
- The standard black frames with green-tinted lenses are priced at $239, down from $299.
- Transition lens versions cost $303 (normally $379), while other styles range $30 to $80 higher than the base model.
- Battery life lasts about half a day with moderate use, charging to 50% in 20 minutes via the included USB-C case.
Why this matters: Smart glasses represent an emerging category that bridges traditional eyewear with advanced technology, positioning users for future AI-powered features.
- Meta regularly adds new capabilities through software updates, including real-time Spanish-to-English translation and visual search for landmarks and street signs.
- The glasses don’t require a Facebook account, only a Meta account that can theoretically be kept separate from other Meta platforms.
- Since smart glasses are becoming more common and smarter AI-powered features are on the horizon, getting a pair gives you “a better chance of getting a taste of the future,” according to ZDNET’s review.
The big picture: This discount comes at a time when smart glasses adoption is accelerating and Meta continues expanding AI capabilities across its hardware ecosystem.
- The glasses were among “the most popular tech products of the last year” and represent Meta’s successful entry into wearable AI technology.
- Future updates promise features like helping users remember visual information, such as parking spot locations.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...