Meta Glasses launched in Japan on August 25, 2026, priced from 50,600 yen, about 20,000 yen cheaper than the Ray-Ban Meta. Some AI glasses features, including Conversation Focus, now require a Meta One Premium subscription at $19.99 per month.
Meta Glasses, a new line of smart glasses from Meta and EssilorLuxottica, launched in Japan on August 25, 2026, with sales beginning the next day. The entry price is 50,600 yen, roughly 20,000 yen below the earlier Ray-Ban Meta. The frames come in three styles with multiple color options, and standard lenses are available in four types. The lower price puts the category within reach for buyers who found Ray-Ban Meta expensive.
In the weeks before launch, Meta updated its AI glasses help center on July 1, 2026, to restrict certain features of both Ray-Ban Meta and Meta Glasses hardware behind a $19.99 monthly subscription to Meta One Premium. The Conversation Focus feature, which amplifies a speaker's voice, is capped at 3 hours per month for free users and extends to 15 hours for subscribers. The Verge criticized the move, noting the feature runs on-device and should not require a subscription.
The two stories show a product line expanding in price and availability while simultaneously tightening access to core features. The launch price advantage is a direct contrast to the paywall controversy, which applies to the same hardware family. Coverage diverges between the affordability angle of the Japan launch and the subscription backlash, with the latter drawing public criticism over a hardware feature being gated.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.
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Meta and EssilorLuxottica announced the August 25 launch of the new smart glasses Meta Glasses in Japan, with sales beginning August 26. Prices start at 50,600 yen, about 20,000 yen cheaper than the previously released Ray-Ban Meta. The frames come in three styles with multiple color options, and standard lenses are available in four types.
Meta updated its AI glasses help center on July 1, 2026, revealing that some features of its Ray-Ban Meta and Meta Glasses hardware will be restricted unless users subscribe to Meta One Premium at $19.99 per month. The Conversation Focus feature, which amplifies a speaker's voice, is capped at 3 hours per month for free users but extends to 15 hours for subscribers. The Verge criticized the move, noting the feature runs on-device and should not require a subscription.