These new smart glasses from Solos come with a privacy shield for the cameras

Smart glasses company Solos has long focused on audio-only smart glasses. On Tuesday, it announced two new pairs of glasses, one of which has a camera, but you can buy a separate accessory to hide the camera for privacy.

SolosThe new smart glasses are the audio-only AirGo A6 and the second iteration of the camera-enabled glasses, the Solos AirGo V2. The latter was first announced last year as a direct attempt.”Meta excelsThese $299 glasses do everything you’d expect from the new $299 Meta glasses. Meta smart glassesincluding taking photos and videos, playing music, and interacting with an AI-powered assistant that can see what you see. It can be equipped with prescription lenses and has a battery life of 10 to 12 hours.

The AirGo V2 glasses can also be paired with the new Privacy Kit, a set of clip-on accessories that allow wearers to control what their camera glasses can access. The clip-on privacy shield blocks cameras from viewing and recording the world, allowing you to continue wearing glasses in audio-only mode. There’s also a clip-on polarized lens, and the full set of standard options costs $79.

Selling a privacy kit as an attached accessory probably isn’t the most effective way to ward off concerns about people running around with secret little cameras on their faces. Having to buy a separate item, and then turning it on and off every time you want to use or disable the camera, is a lot of extra steps that will prevent people from caring about privacy at all. Additionally, there’s nothing preventing bad actors from removing clip blockers later in the interaction — for example, after engaging in an event that blocks camera recording.

Courtesy of Solo Smart Glasses

The first Solos glasses with a camera, the Solos AirGo Vision, will launch in 2024. WIRED featured them in the Don’t Bother section of our site. Best smart glasses Gallery, citing some decent design choices, though those are hampered by mediocre media capture quality, frustrating touch controls, and a power-hungry app that requires too many permissions. Overall, the glasses haven’t quite reached the standard that Meta set with their popularity Smart glasses.

Meta has been the dominant force in the smart glasses market, but other major companies are trying to fill the cracks. Google and Samsung have partnered to build Google’s own Android XR, with new glasses arriving later this year from the eyewear brands Warby Parker and the cute monster. Apple has reportedly built its own smart glasses as well.

Some small businesses adjust their target markets to meet Meta, e.g Even the facts And for her Camera-free glasses. Solos’ reassertion of privacy comes after a period of widespread criticism of Meta glasses. The devices have been described as creepy.”Misaligned glasses“She was criticized after the company silently added Face recognition Symbol for her glasses, then quickly Remove it After a public outcry following the WIRED report. Meta hasn’t done itself any favors since then, announcing last week that it would do so Start charging For features on its smart glasses that were previously free.

Meta acknowledged there is a market for audio-only smart glasses, said CTO Andrew Bosworth He said in a special question and answer session with the media He believes there is “definitely a market demand for this product.” But Meta hasn’t moved away from the front-facing camera glasses yet. It may make audio-only glasses in the future. Until then, companies like Solos are keen to reduce their footprint in this market.