According to a joint announcement on 24 September by EssilorLuxottica, the company that manufactures the glasses with Meta, the two brands Ray-Ban and Oakley will be launched officially in South Africa in the coming months.
The announcement adds that the glasses will be sold in ten new markets, including South Africa, Israel, Poland and New Zealand. A footnote to Meta’s own statement from the previous day lists eleven markets, adding Turkey, where Oakley Meta, Ray-Ban Meta and Ray-Ban Meta Optics will become available later this year. The cheaper Meta Glasses collection, which includes the US$249 Meta Adventurer, is slated for launch first in Singapore, South Korea, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates, with Brazil to follow.
Local retailer Evetech already lists the standard Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer at roughly R10 745, but notes that neither brand has an official retail footprint in South Africa. Warranty support is therefore handled through the retailer rather than directly by Meta.
Meta’s AI agent, called Muse, is not expected to be available locally at launch. Meta says Muse is currently available only in the United States and Canada, and the joint announcement confirms that on the AI-enabled glasses it will be “available in US only”. The same restriction applies to Meta’s new hearing-enhancement feature, which has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Privacy and regulatory backdrop
South African privacy law, the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia), treats biometric data as special personal information but largely exempts purely personal or household activity. A July column in TechCentral highlighted that workers at a Kenyan subcontractor had reviewed intimate footage captured by the glasses, raising concerns about data handling. Meta has previously removed facial-recognition code from its companion app after civil-society pressure, and its July firmware update disables the camera if the LED indicator is covered or damaged.
The Information Regulator, which enforces Popia, has been contacted for comment on Meta’s South African launch plans. Until official retail partners and launch dates are confirmed, consumers should expect the glasses to be sold through third-party retailers with limited after-sales support.
TechCentral has reached out to Meta for exact launch dates, local pricing, the full range of product lines and confirmation on whether all features will be available in South Africa. The story will be updated when the company responds.
For more coverage of technology launches, see our Tech & Telco section.
Muse, Meta’s personal AI agent, debuted on 8 September and can draft e-mails, arrange travel, complete forms and make purchases, always seeking user confirmation before any sensitive transaction. A pocket-sized accessory called Muse Charm, equipped with a 5G modem, enables users to converse with the agent without wearing the glasses. Reuters reported internal concerns that Muse could mishandle sensitive personal data, and Meta’s CEO later said the April delay was intended to improve safety, arguing that competition and liability already push AI labs toward stronger safeguards.
Meta is also developing a separate Meta VR Glasses device, due in 2027, but TechCentral reports that neither it nor the camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio line is named in the South African expansion.
