Vanguard reported that Meta will unveil new artificial intelligence smart glasses during its annual Connect conference at 4:00 pm Pacific Time (2300 GMT) on Wednesday, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg due to deliver the keynote address.
The report said the announcement follows a period in which Meta has invested heavily in AI and launched Muse, its first agentic consumer app. Vanguard wrote that Muse lets users connect personal accounts in areas such as finance, health and shopping so the app can perform tasks on their behalf, including signing up for services, booking appointments and making calls.
Vanguard also reported recent commercial frictions and partnerships around Muse. According to the outlet, Amazon blocked Meta from using AI bots to shop for users automatically. The report added that Instacart, Shopify and Expedia have announced partnerships to integrate their services into Muse.
The outlet said Muse is built on Meta’s own AI models and is positioned to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.
Vanguard traced Meta’s work on eyewear back to 2021, when the company released its first pair of interactive smart glasses. The report said Meta unveiled augmented reality display glasses last year and released self-branded AI glasses earlier this year, alongside its existing partnership with eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica, which makes Ray-Ban Meta glasses.
Privacy concerns have shadowed the devices, Vanguard wrote, with critics dubbing some models “pervert glasses.” The outlet reported that at last year’s Connect, Meta chief product officer Chris Cox told news outlets, including AFP, that “social norms” would form around the use of smart glasses.
Vanguard said Meta has responded to privacy fears by saying a recording indicator light will always be visible to people nearby, and that tampering with the indicator will disable the camera. The report added that the company is reportedly working on a new pair of audio-only glasses and is rumoured to be developing a next generation of mixed reality glasses.
On regulatory and safety issues, Vanguard reported that Meta has faced children’s safety and privacy challenges worldwide. The outlet said that in August the company settled a lawsuit with dozens of US state attorneys general who accused Meta of violating state and federal consumer protection and children’s online privacy laws. As part of that settlement, Vanguard wrote, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion in fines and to enact restrictions for teenagers.
The report also said Meta faces social media restrictions and bans for younger users in some countries, and that thousands of potential personal injury lawsuits remain in US state courts.
Vanguard’s piece framed the new glasses launch as part of Meta’s broader push into AI products and services, and said the Connect keynote will outline the company’s latest plans.
The full Vanguard report is available at https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/09/meta-to-unveil-new-ai-smart-glasses-amid-privacy-concerns.
Featured image: Jeff Sainlar; Social Producer and Editor, Meta via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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