Solos is trying to stand out in smart glasses by putting camera privacy directly into the product conversation. Its new lineup includes one audio-only model and another pair with cameras, AI features, and an optional set of clip-on privacy accessories.
The move reflects a larger tension in wearable computing: smart glasses are becoming more capable, but the camera on a wearer’s face remains the feature most likely to make people uneasy.
What Solos announced
On Tuesday, Solos announced two new pairs of smart glasses: the audio-only AirGo A6 and the camera-enabled Solos AirGo V2. The company has long focused on audio-only smart glasses, making the AirGo V2 part of a broader push into camera-equipped eyewear.
The Solos AirGo V2 is the second iteration of the company’s camera-enabled glasses. The model was first announced last year as an attempt to directly “outshine Meta.”
At $299, the AirGo V2 sits in the same price territory as Meta’s new $299 Meta Smartglasses. Its core feature set is also familiar for this category: photo and video capture, music playback, and interaction with an AI-powered assistant that can see what the wearer sees.
The glasses can be fitted with prescription lenses. Solos also says they have a 10- to 12-hour battery life, which matters because smart glasses need to function as everyday eyewear, not just as a gadget someone picks up for short sessions.
The Privacy Kit changes what the camera can access
The most distinctive addition is not the camera itself, but the accessory Solos is selling around it. The AirGo V2 can be paired with a new Privacy Kit, described as a set of clip-on accessories that gives wearers more control over what the glasses can access.
The privacy shield clips onto the glasses and blocks the cameras from view. It also prevents the glasses from recording the world while still letting the wearer continue using the device in audio-only mode.
The kit also includes a clip-on polarized lens. The full set of modular options costs $79.
That design creates a clear split between camera mode and audio-only mode. In theory, a wearer can keep the glasses on without keeping the camera exposed. For people who want smart glasses for audio, AI interaction, or music but do not always want a visible recording device on their face, that distinction is important.
Why the privacy answer is still complicated
A clip-on privacy shield is a visible attempt to address a real concern, but it is not a complete answer to the trust problem around camera glasses.
The first issue is friction. Because the Privacy Kit is sold as a separate item, privacy depends on buying an extra accessory, carrying it, and remembering to clip it on and off. That adds steps, and extra steps often reduce whether people use a privacy feature consistently.
The second issue is enforcement. A clip-on blocker can be removed later. That matters in situations where camera recording is not allowed, because the accessory does not stop someone from taking it off after entering a place or interaction where recording is prohibited.
For Solos, the Privacy Kit is still a meaningful signal. The company is acknowledging that camera access is not only a technical feature but also a social issue. The harder question is whether a modular accessory can change how bystanders, venues, and other users feel about discreet cameras built into eyewear.
Solos is moving in Meta’s shadow
The timing also matters because Meta has been the dominant force in the smart glasses market. Solos is not the only company looking for ways to compete or occupy a different lane.
Google and Samsung have a partnership to build out Google’s Android XR platform. New glasses are expected later this year from eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Apple has reportedly been building its own smart glasses as well.
Smaller companies are also positioning themselves around features Meta does not emphasize. Even Realities, for example, has camera-free glasses. Solos’ renewed focus on privacy fits into that same competitive logic: if Meta is associated with camera-forward smart glasses, rivals can try to win over people who want less camera exposure or more control.
Solos also has its own product history to overcome. Its first camera-enabled glasses, the Solos AirGo Vision, launched in 2024. WIRED placed them in the “Don’t Bother” section of its Best Smart Glasses gallery, pointing to decent design choices but also middling media capture quality, frustrating touch controls, and a power-hungry app that demands too many permissions.
That review framed Solos as a company with ideas that had not yet matched the standard Meta set with its popular smart glasses. The AirGo V2 and Privacy Kit appear to be part of a renewed effort to sharpen the product pitch.
Audio-only glasses may be the quiet opportunity
The AirGo A6 is just as important to the strategy because it keeps Solos connected to audio-only smart glasses. That category avoids the most sensitive part of the wearable camera debate by leaving cameras out entirely.
Meta has acknowledged that this market exists. CTO Andrew Bosworth said in a private Q&A session with media that he thinks there is “market demand for that product for sure.” Still, Meta has not moved away from camera-forward spectacles.
That leaves room for companies like Solos to compete from two directions. The AirGo A6 targets people who want smart glasses without cameras. The AirGo V2 targets people who want camera features but may also want a visible way to block them.
The result is a smart glasses lineup built around choice. Whether that is enough to win buyers will depend on more than specifications. It will depend on whether people trust the camera, trust the privacy controls, and see enough value in wearing smart glasses throughout the day.