Meta Platforms continues to gain momentum in the smart-glasses race with an extended push into affordable eyewear priced at $299, below its current Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer model, Snapchat's $2,200 glasses, and Apple's $3,000-plus Vision Pro headset.

Bloomberg reports that Meta unveiled the Adventurer and Fury glasses, each priced at $299 - or about $80 below its Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer smart glasses model. Meta also introduced a $399 Starfire model in collaboration with Kylie Jenner, targeting cash-strapped Gen Z and millennial consumers.

EssilorLuxottica, Meta's smart-glasses partner and the parent of Ray-Ban and Oakley, will manufacture the new models.

We have detailed Meta's smart-glasses supply chain at length, and Goldman analyst Jerry Shen recently published a deep dive mapping the key suppliers powering the emerging AI and AR eyewear markets.

EssilorLuxottica's CEO said the cheaper Meta smart glasses are designed to "drive access to broader audiences," adding that "more price-sensitive consumers will have an opportunity to experience the power that wearables bring into their everyday lives."

Last week, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel debuted goofy $2,220 smart glasses...

...which Wall Street analysts viewed less as a mass-market consumer glasses and more as a developer kit, given the steep price point.

Clearly, Spiegel learned little from Apple's Vision Pro debut a few years ago, which failed to attract mainstream consumers because of its $3,000-plus price point.

Apple has certainly taken note of Meta's successful push into smart glasses and is expected to launch more affordable glasses in late 2027.