Meta’s AI glasses can now help you hear conversations better
Summarize this article with:
Meta announced on Tuesday an update to its AI glasses that will allow you to better hear people talking when you’re in a noisy environment. The feature will initially become available on Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta HSTN smartglasses in the U.S. and Canada, the company says. In addition, the glasses are getting another update that lets you use Spotify to play a song that matches what’s in your current view. For instance, if you’re looking at an album cover, the glasses could play a song by that artist. Or if you’re looking at your Christmas tree with a pile of gifts, you could play holiday music. This addition is more of a gimmick, of course, but it demonstrates how Meta is thinking about connecting what people see with actions they can take in their apps. The conversation-focus feature, meanwhile, seems more practical. First announced at Meta’s Connect conference earlier this year, the feature uses the AI glasses’ open-ear speakers to amplify the voice of the person you’re talking to. Meta says smartglasses wearers will also be able to adjust the amplification level by swiping the right temple of their glasses, or via the device settings. This will allow them to set the level more precisely to match their current environment, whether that’s a busy restaurant or bar, club, commuter train, or anything else. How well the feature works, of course, will still need to be tested. However, the idea of using smart accessories as tools to help with hearing isn’t limited to Meta. Apple’s AirPods already offer a Conversation Boost feature designed to help you focus on the person you’re talking to, and the Pro models more recently added support for a clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature as well. While the conversation-focus feature is limited to the U.S. and Canada, the Spotify feature is offered in English in a larger number of markets, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the U.K., and the U.S. The software update (v21) will first become available to those who are enrolled in Meta’s Early Access Program, which requires first joining a waitlist and being approved. It will later roll out more broadly. Techcrunch event Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. San Francisco | October 13-15, 2026 WAITLIST NOW Topics AI, ai glasses, Gadgets, Hardware, Meta, ray ban met, smartglasses Sarah Perez Consumer News Editor Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software. You can contact or verify outreach from Sarah by emailing sarahp@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal.
View Bio Dates TBD Locations TBA Plan ahead for the 2026 StrictlyVC events. Hear straight-from-the-source candid insights in on-stage fireside sessions and meet the builders and backers shaping the industry. Join the waitlist to get first access to the lowest-priced tickets and important updates.
Waitlist Now Most Popular DoorDash driver faces felony charges after allegedly spraying customers’ food Anthony Ha With iOS 26.2, Apple lets you roll back Liquid Glass again — this time on the Lock Screen Sarah Perez Google launched its deepest AI research agent yet — on the same day OpenAI dropped GPT-5.2 Julie Bort Disney hits Google with cease-and-desist claiming ‘massive’ copyright infringement Aisha Malik OpenAI fires back at Google with GPT-5.2 after ‘code red’ memo Rebecca Bellan Google debuts ‘Disco,’ a Gemini-powered tool for making web apps from browser tabs Sarah Perez Marco Rubio bans Calibri font at State Department for being too DEI Julie Bort