Halliday’s new smart glasses go beyond the camera

There’s something new A pair of smart glasses without a camera in the city: the Halliday G2designed to listen in to workplace meetings, absorb what’s going on, and summarize all the interesting parts, like a lot Wearables that are always listening. Halliday says the microphones can be turned on for meetings, using AI-powered voice commands, or making phone calls, but turned off when not in use.

They are ordinary looking glasses, intended to blend into a professional environment, that is, by not having cameras on them. It costs $599, with first shipments planned for September 2026. There are paid subscription tiers for AI services ranging from $10 per month to $99, but users can choose a free tier that offers 120 minutes of recording time.

Halliday’s glasses may not be well received by one of its competitors. Smart glasses brand Even Realities has launched its product G2 glasses Late last year, proudly focusing on Lack of cameras In her glasses; Halliday’s G2 shares the same name and carries the same logo, not to mention the striking resemblance. (In either case, G2 is short for Generation 2, so it refers to the stage of the device, not necessarily a specific brand name.)

The cameraless smart glasses industry seems to be becoming more popular. Meta’s still dominates the market Ray-Ban smart glassesAlthough they have obtainedMisaligned glasses” A nickname because the device’s built-in cameras have been misused to take photos and videos of people (mostly women) without them even realizing it. Keen to differentiate, some companies have shipped ways to Cover their camerasOr, like Even the Facts and now Halliday, they skip them altogether. However, these glasses record the sound around you.

Photo: Courtesy of Halliday

In its press release, Halliday says that unlike smart glasses that have cameras, the G2 is intended to be “a professional tool for work and real-world social environments. With no camera, the glasses are better suited for meetings, client conversations, secure workspaces, and other settings where recording devices may be unwelcome.”

Aside from this admission, Halliday’s G2 glasses do not have an indicator light or other way to let people around the wearer know that the glasses are recording sound. Wearable devices such as Pioneer bee It emits a light to indicate that it is recording, although the device is so mysterious that most people may not realize it.

“The user must disclose to the room that recording is in progress, as it is required by any other recording device,” a Halliday media contact wrote in response to WIRED’s questions.