Meta unveils Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 smart glasses with extended battery life and new frame styles
Meta introduced the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 at its Connect 2026 event, featuring a modest battery boost, an extra microphone, and two additional frame designs, while pricing the new model at $449.
Meta announced its latest Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 smart glasses at the Connect 2026 conference. The third-generation model retains most of the hardware from the previous version but adds a longer battery life of up to nine hours on a charge and up to 50 hours with the charging case, a one-hour and two-hour increase respectively over the Gen 2.
The Gen 3 also includes a six-microphone array, one more than the prior version, which Meta says improves background-noise reduction for calls and AI interactions and will later support Dolby Atmos spatial audio recording. An action button, first seen on earlier Meta eyewear, is carried over and can summon the Muse AI assistant, trigger photo capture, or serve as a shortcut for other functions.
Stylistically, the new lineup adds two frame options: an Aviator style with thick, translucent or tortoiseshell lenses, and a cat-eye Zena model in translucent, black and tortoiseshell finishes. The classic Wayfarer shape remains unchanged. The Gen 3 frames are slightly smaller, measuring 129 mm across the hinges versus 131 mm on the Gen 2, with marginally shorter temples, though they weigh 51.5 g compared with 51 g for the earlier model.
Software features such as FDA-cleared hearing enhancement, the Muse AI agent, and a dynamic photo capture mode are available on both generations. The Gen 3 launches at a starting price of $449, $70 higher than the Gen 2, prompting consumers to weigh the incremental hardware upgrades against the cost difference.