# Surprise! Meta Says Now You Have to Pay a Monthly Subscription to Use Key Features of Your Already Expensive Smart Glasses > Source: > Published: 2026-07-04 17:01:00+00:00 Last month, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta became [embroiled in a major controversy](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-furious-smart-glasses) after *Wired* [found](https://www.wired.com/story/meta-smart-glasses-face-recognition-nametag-connections/) that it had discreetly included facial recognition tech in the software of its lineup of popular smart glasses. The camera-equipped spectacles had already become a privacy lightning rod, with [users secretly recording strangers](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-glasses-fans), often without their consent — earning the spectacles the pejorative nickname of “[pervert glasses](https://futurism.com/future-society/meta-ray-ban-smart-pervert-glasses).” Now, in addition to their already steep price, Meta’s AI-enabled glasses will become even more expensive, thanks to a $19.99 a month subscription that will “rate limit” their sought-after AI features, as [ The Verge reports](https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/959899/meta-ai-glasses-paywall-rate-limit). Meta is launching a new Meta One Premium subscription that will be required for anybody trying to get the most out of their pricy eyewear. While the company [insists](https://www.meta.com/help/ai-glasses/1384571770097740/) that owners technically don’t have to shell out $20 a month, even premium subscribers will be locked out after using 15 hours of “Conversation Focus,” a feature that amplifies the voices of people you’re talking to, per month. Without a subscription, owners are restricted to just three hours of the feature a month. At a glance, you might think the development yet again highlights how quickly access to AI compute has shot up in price, in soaring costs that tech giants are [starting to pass along to their customers](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/corporations-ai-costs-no-benefits). However, as *The Verge* points out, Conversation Focus doesn’t require any internet connection to function, meaning that it doesn’t actually have to connect to a remote server to process data. In other words, Meta appears to be squeezing money out of power users by arbitrarily charging them more for a device they already bought. “Does Meta have some secret licensing deal with another company that costs it money every time a person uses Conversation Focus?” *The Verge*‘s Sean Hollister asked rhetorically. “Failing that, the rate limit sounds utterly bogus.” Zooming out, Meta’s AI efforts have run into major roadblocks, from [rock-bottom morale among employees](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-zuckerberg-workers-morale-layoffs) to [chaotic management](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-new-ai-team-catastrophe). By making its smart glasses — which, despite all of the controversy, have been [selling in the millions](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/11/ray-ban-maker-essilorluxottica-triples-sales-of-meta-ai-glasses.html) — even more expensive for power users, the company could be hamstringing its one successful AI project. **More on Meta:** *Meta’s Program That Spies on Every Employee’s Computer Just Blew Up in Its Face in Spectacular Fashion*