Meta Caps Smart Glasses Feature at Just Three Hours Per Month

Meta has introduced a monthly usage limit for Conversation Focus, a feature available on eligible Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta smart glasses.

Users without a subscription can access Conversation Focus for three hours per month. A Meta One Premium subscription costing $19.99 per month increases the allowance to 15 hours. Unused time does not carry over to the following month.

Monthly Limits

Meta describes the restrictions as rate limits rather than a requirement to subscribe.

Once users reach the free three-hour allowance, they can either wait until the limit resets at the start of the next calendar month or subscribe to Meta One Premium.

Paid users receive 15 hours during each billing cycle. Meta’s support page currently does not allow users to check their remaining Conversation Focus time.

Meta One remains in limited testing and is not available in every market. Available plans, pricing, and benefits may also differ according to location and account type.

Conversation Focus

Conversation Focus helps users hear the person in front of them more clearly in noisy environments.

The feature uses the glasses’ open-ear speakers, beamforming technology, and spatial processing to amplify the other person’s voice above surrounding noise. Users can adjust the amplification level through the glasses or their device settings.

The feature is different from Meta AI’s conversational assistant. It does not maintain the context of extended discussions or allow users to ask follow-up questions without repeating themselves.

On-Device Processing

The limit has attracted criticism because Conversation Focus operates directly on the glasses rather than relying on Meta’s cloud servers.

Testing by The Verge found that the feature continued working after internet access was disabled, including when the connected phone was placed in airplane mode.

This has raised questions about why Meta needs to restrict the use of a feature that uses hardware customers have already purchased.

Other Features Remain Free

Meta says users do not need a subscription to continue using their smart glasses.

Core features, including the voice assistant, live translation, visual questions and other standard functions, will remain available without Meta One Premium. The subscription currently provides expanded Conversation Focus access and faster access to trained device-support staff.

Meta spokesperson Tyler Yee said most users would not reach the monthly Conversation Focus limit. He described the paid plan as an option for heavier users seeking additional access and premium support.

Subscription Concerns

The change introduces a recurring payment for expanded use of a feature built into hardware that customers have already purchased.

Ray-Ban Meta glasses originally started at $299, while the second-generation version launched at $379. Conversation Focus arrived through a software update after Meta presented it as one of the glasses’ additional capabilities.

Meta has not said whether it plans to place further on-device smart glasses features behind Meta One subscriptions. The company has only confirmed expanded Conversation Focus access and premium support as paid benefits for now.