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F-Droid 2.0: FOSS Android Appstore Continues Updating Despite Google's Pending 'Developer Verification' Plan
“F-Droid, a third-party app repository that only distributes free and open-source software packages for Google’s Android mobile platform, on Thursday announced version 2.0 of its Android app,” reports The Register.
Though they also note “a big banner across the top of the F-Droid site” pointing to a site describing pending changes from Google that threaten the future of F-Droid…
[D]evelopers who want their apps broadly distributed outside the official Google Play Store will need to register with Google and verify their identities. Google’s Full Distribution option includes paying a one-time $25 fee, handing over a copy of a government-issued ID to verify one’s identity, and conforming to Google’s terms of service. Google also offers a free Limited Distribution option that doesn’t require government ID verification but restricts distribution to 20 authorized devices, while apps from unverified developers can still be installed by users who enable Android’s advanced installation flow.
The potential death warrant hanging over its head hasn’t stopped the F-Droid team from rolling out a bunch of new features for an app it says it intends to keep working on for years to come… The team also credited the EU’s many Digital Markets Act decisions against Google for making the installation experience smoother for users. F-Droid can now use a unified installation service for its apps thanks to the availability of a pre-approval API that allows users to approve an installation when they request it, rather than waiting until the app has finished downloading. That, said the F-Droid team, “brings the F-Droid install experience on official Android devices much closer to what the built-in app store can provide.” Additionally, F-Droid 2.0 can fetch and install app updates automatically, which it now does by default.
All of those changes, however, won’t matter much if Google pushes ahead undeterred with its plans to force registration onto non-Play Store developers. F-Droid’s announcement on Thursday makes it seem that the team isn’t going to go quietly.
F-Droid has gone 10 years without a major update, notes Ars Technica — and spent over a year developing F-Droid 2.0:
The new F-Droid client was redesigned from scratch in Kotlin Compose, which is the standard for modern Android apps. This makes the store much more responsive, and there’s optional support for Android’s Material theming. The interface has also been cleaned up considerably, making the most important functions easier to access and hiding some others in overflow menus… Unlike the Play Store, F-Droid doesn’t track your taps and installs to push ads and suggestions — it helps you find things and gets out of the way.
F-Droid now includes a huge number of categories, drilling down to specialized niches like firewalls, password managers, and VPNs. You can see all these groups in the search tab. There are also higher-level categories listed on the main Discover page. When searching for apps, F-Droid will now be able to return results based on app descriptions rather than just names.
“One of the goals of the rewrite was to lower the barrier for new contributors,” F-Droid said in their announcement. “We are excited to begin rolling out F-Droid 2.0 to users over the coming weeks after 14 test releases.” (And if you want the 2.0 release right now, it’s available on the versions page.)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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A new botnet malware called Carbonato is targeting insecure hosts running Docker daemons to install the Hermes Agent AI framework and take control.
The malware features worm-like capabilities and was discovered in an unauthenticated Docker registry that contained nearly 60 repositories and 4.3 GB of image data.
Researchers at enterprise security company ThreatDown retrieved operational evidence spanning October 2024 to August 2026. The archive also included details about the botnet and a separate campaign that distributed counterfeit cryptocurrency wallet apps.
According to ThreatDown, Carbonato spreads across Docker hosts with an API exposed on port 2375 without authentication.
The malware connects to that API and instructs the daemon to launch a privileged container, giving it access to the host.
It then opens a reverse SSH tunnel, installs an SSH server with the operators’ key, and reports the new deployment through Telegram. At the same time, scripts set up cron jobs, systemd timers, rc.local, and OpenRC hooks for persistence.
One notable aspect of the attack is that the AI agent framework Hermes Agent is installed on the hosts, using an agent named “GH0ST,” with instructions that overwrite the default ‘SOUL.md’ persona file.
Source: ThreatDown
Hermes has been extensively abused in malicious cyber-operations recently. Recently, cybersecurity company Gambit documented a large-scale card-skimming operation that stole 600.000 credit card details.
In the case of Carbonato, Hermes handles task commands received through Telegram, including collecting AI API keys, SSH credentials, access tokens, and other data, running commands, and sending back the results.
The researchers describe this as an operator-driven process involving an “interactive command loop” exchange.
“The model interprets the task, writes terminal commands, reads the output, and decides what to do next,” ThreatDown researchers note.
“The agent runs those commands on the victim and returns its report to the Telegram chat that also receives deployment reports.”
The malware’s worm-like capability allow it to spread to other exposed Docker daemons and is handled by scripts that scan networks attached to the host every five minutes.
Each new compromise pulls the implant from the registry, launches the same privileged container, and enters the persistence and scanning loop.
ThreatDown could not attribute Carbonato to any known threat clusters, but based on various evidence, points to Costa Rica as a possible location of the operator.
To prevent infection, the researchers recommend keeping Docker daemon APIs off the network and requiring authentication on registries.
Signs of Carbonato attacks include a GH0ST persona file, the CARBONATO_API_KEY setting, unexpected Telegram traffic, and reverse SSH tunnels toward AS262145.
HTX Studio spent about two months turning a full work desk into a charger that finds a phone wherever you set it down and starts feeding it power. Apple showed that idea in 2017 as AirPower, a small mat that would charge a phone, Watch, and AirPods case without lining them up on a single coil. The pad never shipped. Apple cancelled it in 2019. The YouTube builder waited through nine promised “next years,” then built a version big enough to work on.
Apple’s design for the pad included filling it with a lot of coils so that it didn’t matter where you placed the devices. Covering an entire desk like that would require approximately 600 coils, which is a large number to say the least. HTX Studio took an alternative approach, just slotting a single coil onto a motorized trolley and allowing the coil to go instead. A camera situated above the desk monitors your phone and transmits location information to the motors. The coil then glides below till the charging begins, and to make things even neater, they inserted two extra coils into each corner for when you leave your gadgets plugged in in the same location.
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The initial prototype demonstrated that the concept was viable, as well as a thorough examination of why getting to work on a desk is so much more difficult than using a mat. To get things rolling, the motors had to crawl along slowly. Then there were the cables, which were dragged around and snagged on various objects. The surface above did nothing more than obscure the coil beneath. Faster motors sped up the process, but it still required patience. Then there was the difficulty of getting the moving power line to play out and retract without making a mess, which took a week on its own with a homemade cable reel. HTX later discovered that a linear slide would have avoided the need for all of the moving wires and had things up and running in no time.
In the end, the desktop became more of a screen. When you place your phone down, an animated cat will ride along with the coil, as if it is hauling up power from below. Once one device has been fully charged, the system searches for the next one that need a charge. In idle mode, one coil sits beneath the keyboard, concealing a receiver coil, allowing the keyboard to recharge as well. One moving coil cannot feed multiple phones at the same time, as AirPower promised, so this one travels between them instead. The corners protect the extras.
A Mac mini sits inside the frame, and when you plug in a display, the desk functions as a computer. The screen displays the charge status, a short daily to-do list, and a small dot that lights up when you finish a job. Sit still for approximately an hour with the surface remaining low, and the entire top will light up in a soft glow. The cat returns with a reminder and a button that elevates the motorized legs to a predetermined standing height. Every hour or so, an electromagnet on the trolley slides a matching cup toward you, ensuring that you do not simply ignore your water. Focus Mode activates a 25-minute timer beneath the phone. Lift the phone before the countdown expires, and the desk will not charge it when you put it back down.
In the end, the finished AirDesk functions as a standard workstation for a keyboard, trackpad, and monitor, but with all the bells and whistles. After nine years of waiting for a product that would never come to fruition, the builder now has a surface that charges everything you throw on it, reminds you to stand and drink, and even cuts off power if you keep reaching for your phone.
[Source]
It occurs to me that, as a new(ish) father, and someone who reviews products for a living, I am a nightmare to get gifts for. I’m not alone. Most of my friends have no idea what to get their dad, and end up brainstorming in group chats with anyone they can get their hands on.
Fear not, I’m here to make gifting a little easier this year (or at the very least, contribute to the brainstorm). Below are some of the best WIRED-tested gifts for the dad or father figure in your life, including travel gadgets, dad-approved apparel, and best-in-class earbuds. I’ve personally gifted a few of these to my dad, with great results.
Updated September 2026: I completely overhauled this guide with 27 new picks, including tech accessories, headphones, dad-approved apparel, fitness gear, and more.
For the Travel Dad
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a maritime radio communications tool used to allow different vessels to identify each other and communicate their movements and other telemetry. You can readily view a variety of AIS trackers online. Alternatively, you could build your own, and display the data on a retrocomputer from 40-plus years ago.
The concept is straightforward enough—it’s a Commodore 128 displaying vessel tracks from AIS data. The team behind AIS4CBM implemented this with assembly code to receive data over serial, parse and decode the AIS reports, and manage vessel data. Meanwhile, the front end is coded in BASIC 8, which provides useful graphic routines for plotting vessels on a map. There’s also a BASIC 7 text interface if you prefer to view the vessel data that way.
It’s worth noting that you can’t just run this on a barebones C128. AIS4CBM requires a 512 KiB REU RAM expansion, as well as 64 KiB VDC memory. You also need a SwiftLink compatible serial interface to get the data into the machine in the first place from your AIS receiver or other source. The project website notes that an Ultimate-II+ unit is a great way to fulfill most of these requirements with a single piece of hardware.
If you dig the project, you can check out a live stream from the C128 doing its thing below. We wouldn’t recommend a Commodore 128 if you’re a harbor master or otherwise commanding ships on the water. Still, it’s a fun project, and much like the NES that was set up to track planes with ADS-B data. Video after the break.
Thanks to [Stephen Walters] for the tip!
From businesses exhausting yearly AI budgets in just months to some imposing limits on staff AI use, it’s clear heavy token consumption or ‘tokenmaxxing’, is reaching its limits.
Instead of incentivizing and measuring business output, many are measuring consumption and usage.
While cutting AI usage seems like the natural solution, this doesn’t always work in practice. In fact, this can result in genuinely useful projects being pulled.
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Without a reliable way to measure AI ROI, companies cut against the only metric they can see: consumption.
EMEA Field CTO at Apptio, an IBM Company.
We know a lack of performance benchmarks and traceability is translating to poor ROI with Gartner estimating that 84% of finance leaders have not been able to measure the ROI of AI initiatives.
To give enterprises the confidence to navigate this next phase, business leaders need to prioritize getting a clear picture of AI spend from beginning to end.
How We Got Here
The rapid adoption of generative AI has introduced a new consumption model and traditional IT financial management needs to adapt to keep up. For a long time, organizations optimized their budgets around cloud and on premises workloads.
However, these new tools function in a different way. Costs vary based on the complexity and accuracy of a prompt or even the type of model being used. In other words, the inherent variability of LLMs has made accurate cost tracking more difficult.
The problem is only being made more complex by the introduction of AI agents which can increase expenses because of unpredictable token consumption, heavy GPU usage and fast scaling. Unlike standard AI chatbots, these are not static tools.
These agents work using continuous, background loops independent of human operators which can generate multiple queries to solve difficult tasks. Because this reasoning loop happens autonomously, it can make it trickier to understand how much it’s costing to run an agent.
The Blind Spot
Another hurdle is visibility. Because of the rapid adoption of AI tools, spend is rarely centralized, distributed across a complex mix of business units, infrastructure, vendor APIs and engineering teams. Enterprise cloud and API bills are also unlikely to be updated, or interpreted in real-time meaning it gets even harder to understand what has been spent.
As a result, this is forcing a shift in how organizations measure success and spend. It is not enough to track the raw, isolated figure of cost per token. To make sure that enterprises have a clear understanding of what they are paying for and what they are getting in return, it’s important that team leaders have the frameworks in place to keep a firmer hold on budgets.
A business’s financial practices must evolve at the same pace as its technology adoption.
Value Over Volume
So, what replaces the trial-and-error approach that has defined AI adoption so far? Having spent years working with businesses, first through the cloud transition and now enterprise AI, I’ve seen that sustainable returns depend on rethinking how we define and measure productivity in the first place.
Many businesses have been encouraging workers to use AI wherever possible, but few have implemented specific AI metrics that can tie together, higher usage to improved outcomes.
For example, has the process of taking a product from concept to production sped up or become less expensive? Just measuring intermediate steps like code check-ins, ticket closures and cases doesn’t necessarily align with business value.
To do this, a benchmark must be established. Businesses need to know what a process, from manpower to tools already costs them without AI so they can make the right call. Without that baseline, any gain is guesswork.
This is where frameworks like Technology Business Management and FinOps earn their place. Both practices are aimed at making sure that every aspect of spend is understood and tied to a key business objective. In my experience they also help build a culture that instils accountability amongst teams when it comes to their role in managing IT spend.
There is a need to dismantle the silos that can keep costs out of sight and instead focus on treating technology spend as a real-time product variable.
Sustained Financial Intelligence
To make true progress and create value with AI, teams must see it as a measurable business driver. This transition requires leaders not to see success as how many times an employee has turned to AI or logged into the latest tool, or just having an AI tool as a part of a business process. Real ROI comes when enterprises can connect money spent directly to improved outcomes, that affect the business output.
Put simply, it’s about getting a clear and honest picture of spending so smarter choices can be made and investment in the right areas can be prioritized. The result? A more accurate understanding of costs and what AI projects are pushing the business forward as opposed to just being vanity projects.
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I always tell people that the best thing I’ve ever tested for my job here on the WIRED Reviews team is my automatic litter box from Litter-Robot. I recommend that every cat owner invest in an automatic litter box. If they can swing it, the Litter-Robot is the best option. You’ll be able to say goodbye to the days of scooping and unpleasant smells while this nifty machine does the grunt work for you.
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Photograph: Molly Higgins
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Litter-Robot is the OG automatic litter box, and the name itself has become synonymous with the concept. That’s not by accident, as the brand makes incredibly well-made, ergonomic products that make life easier for pet parents everywhere. Along with their famous automatic litter boxes, they also make a sleek automatic pet feeder that I’ve tested (and loved). These gadgets are an investment and can be pricey, but we here at WIRED love the brand so much that we’ve rounded up some of the best Litter-Robot promo codes, coupons, and deals to make these life-changing pet machines more affordable. Because your pet (and you) deserve it.
Whisker’s Litter-Robot name has become synonymous with the automatic litter box. We’ve tested the entire lineup and can help you choose the best model for your household.
Get $75 Off Litter-Robot Bundles This Month: No Promo Code Needed
One of the best ways to save big without a Litter-Robot promo code is to buy in a bundle. Litter-Robot offers several bundles that include all the essentials you’ll need to get started with your automatic litter box, such as a litter-trapping mat, replacement waste bags, odor eliminators, litter, and more. Bundles are a great way to save money on the purchases you’ll already need to make, without a Litter-Robot coupon. You can get $75 off several bundles, including Litter-Robot 4 models, as well as the newly released Litter-Robot 5 and Litter-Robot EVO models.
Get the Best Deals on the Litter-Robot 4
I’ve tested well over a dozen automatic litter boxes from different brands, including several from Litter-Robot. The one I keep coming back to is my personal favorite, the Litter-Robot 4. Even though the 5 is the newest model (I’ve tested it and I’m in the process of writing the review now), I just can’t quit you, Litter-Robot 4! I still think it’s one of the best automatic litter boxes you can buy: it has a user-friendly, intuitive connected app that isn’t overcrowded or confusing; the drawer is easy to pull out to remove waste; it has buttons on the top to manually change; and it doesn’t take up a large footprint on the floor. Plus, with a variety of discounted bundles to choose from, you won’t even need a Litter-Robot promo code.
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Photograph: Molly Higgins
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Litter-Robot 5 Pro Insights Bundle Discount: $150 Off
As previously mentioned, I just tested the Litter-Robot 5 Pro, part of Litter-Robot’s recently released line of new models. I was seriously impressed with this model, which looks very similar to the Litter-Robot 4 but has a built-in camera to see what’s going on inside and outside the box. The newest model isn’t cheap, but right now the Litter-Robot 5 Pro Insights Bundle is only $999 ($152 off). This bundle includes the newest Litter-Robot 5 Pro with built-in camera, plus a litter-tracking mat and waste drawer liners to get you started. And as an added bonus, Litter-Robot offers a 90-day in-home trial, a one-year warranty, and free shipping to the lower 48.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
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Take $50 Off the Litter-Robot EVO Starter Bundle
The Litter-Robot EVO is another newly released model from Litter-Robot, but it’s a more pared-down, basic version that’s streamlined and compact. I personally love the simpler models (hence my paragraph-long love letter to the Litter-Robot 4 above). If you don’t need to watch a camera feed of your cat peeing and pooping, the EVO is a more affordable, basic option that gets the job done efficiently. Right now, the Litter-Robot EVO Starter Bundle is $782 ($50 off) and includes everything you need to get settled with your new auto box, including waste drawer liners, a litter trap mat, a bag of litter, and odor traps to keep things smelling fresh.
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Photograph: Louryn Strampe
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Start Your 90-day In-Home Trial With Litter-Robot
Investing in an automatic litter box can feel a little scary. It’s a big investment, and you never know whether your cats will take to it or whether it fits your needs or space. Litter-Robot wants to make that decision easier for you—if you aren’t satisfied, you can return the product within 90 days for a full refund. All you need to do is pay for return shipping. Check out the full return policy here, and happy shopping!
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget disclosed today that suspected North Korean hackers have stolen $351.6 million from its hot and warm wallets.
The company discovered the breach Thursday evening after its security systems flagged multiple unauthorized transfers from a limited number of crypto wallets.
Bitget has temporarily suspended all withdrawals while investigating the incident with help from law enforcement agencies, on-chain security institutions, and cybersecurity experts at Mandiant and SlowMist.
It also said its self-custodial Bitget Wallet was not affected, as it operates on infrastructure independent of Bitget Exchange and was not impacted by the attack, and added that the User Protection Fund (which holds 5,500 BTC currently worth about $464 million) will cover all losses.
“Based on our current assessment, approximately $351.6 million in assets were affected. Bitget’s cold wallets and the overwhelming majority of platform assets remain secure and unaffected,” it said.
“The incident falls within the coverage of Bitget’s User Protection Fund, which currently holds more than $464 million. Customer account balances remain accurate, and deposits and trading continue to operate normally.”
The company has yet to share more information on how the attackers accessed its key backend wallet-service system to forge transfer information and trigger the authorization-signing process.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the incident involved the Ethereum, XRP Ledger, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, BSC, and Base chains and affected multiple assets, including ETH, XRP (single-chain loss is the largest), BNB, AVAX, USDT, USDC, and other tokens.
Chen added that some chains have also confirmed that the hacker wallet addresses have been frozen since the attack and linked the theft to North Korean hackers.
“Based on IP behavior patterns and on-chain analysis, the attack method in this incident is highly consistent with known patterns of North Korean hacker organizations. We have reported to relevant institutions and are fully cooperating in conducting a global investigation,” Chen said.
“The attacker compromised a critical backend system within our wallet infrastructure, used it to spoof transaction data, and triggered our authorization process to move funds out. No further unauthorized transfers are possible. The specific method of system intrusion remains under active investigation.”
In its latest update, Bitget said it will restore withdrawals as soon as possible, after investigators confirm it’s safe to resume normal operations.
North Korean hackers have previously been linked to many other major crypto theft incidents, including the Bybit heist, in which they stole $1.5 billion from the crypto exchange’s ETH cold wallet.
Join Mikko Hyppönen and security leaders from the NFL, CHANEL, and Atlassian for a two-hour digital summit on what AI-speed attacks change, what defenders should stop doing, and how to validate, decide, fix, and re-validate at machine speed.
An advertiser paid for editorial consideration of this deal. Our editorial experts vetted the deal based on our independent expertise. Because we determined that the deal will save money for our readers, we wrote the content.
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Electricity is the once and future drivetrain for automobiles, but until the advent of lithium batteries their capabilities were somewhat modest. One EV blip on the automotive timeline is the XP-512E commuter prototype by GM.
The 60s saw a wide variety of interesting experiments in the automobile space, and both GM and AMC were evaluating the possibilities of a return to electric cars for short journeys. GM wasn’t set on a particular drivetrain for their new experimental commuter cars, so the XP 512 became a trio with conventional, hybrid, and electric variants. Each car was a two seater with a fiberglass body and steel chassis. The canopy could lift and a small door in the front swung to the side for access to the cockpit. Some images from the time show the car without the canopy and just the rollbar, giving you a very small convertible (83″/2108 mm long).
Lead acid was the only viable traction battery until the 1990s, so the 1,250 lb vehicle was limited to a top speed of 30 mph and a range of 50 miles. GM was exploring a number of alternatives at the time including another blast from the automotive past, steam power, in an effort to reduce the issues of smog and air pollution that plagued cities beset by droves of V-8 powered sedans. While the XP-512E and the AMC Amitron never made it to production, they’re an interesting reminder that technologies that seem infeasible today may just need to bake a bit longer.
We have some thoughts about the opportunities afforded by electric cars, but it’s probably a good thing we didn’t get nuclear powered automobiles.
Meta’s newest smart glasses are an iterative, expensive update.
Meta announced a slew of new smart glasses at Meta Connect 2026, including its first camera-free options, but the company’s Ray-Ban Meta models remain the flagship. The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 carry over many of the improvements introduced in smaller updates over the last year, like the more prescription-friendly Ray-Ban Meta Optics or the affordable Meta Glasses, with new features that mostly rely on software rather than reinvented hardware.
Other than new colors and frame options, it’s hard to tell how the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 glasses differ from the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, unless you really dig into the specs. And you kind of need to, since understanding those differences is the only way to justify the new $449 starting price.
The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 last longer and listen better
The biggest changes Meta introduced to the Gen 3 are a longer battery life and the addition of more microphones. The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 lasts up to 9 hours on a charge — one hour more than the Gen 2 — and up to 50 hours with its charging case, two hours more than the Gen 2’s 48 hours. In day-to-day usability this might not make a huge difference, especially when compared to the 12 hours of battery life the company is promising on the Ray-Ban Meta Audio. We’ll need to do a full review of the glasses to see what the battery life improvements mean in real-world use.
The Gen 3’s six-mic array, one more mic than what Meta offered on the Gen 2, is a similarly modest change. Meta says adding the extra mic and redesigning the microphone layout on the Gen 3 model has allowed for better background noise reduction for calls and AI interactions, but that will have to be tested to see if it’s meaningfully different. One way the new mic on the Gen 3 could allow it to stand out from the Gen 2 is support for listening to and recording Dolby Atmos spatial audio, a feature the company says is launching later in 2026.
Meta has also ported over the action button it introduced on the Ray-Ban Meta Optics and Meta Glasses to the Gen 3. The button can summon Meta AI, act as a capture button, or be assigned as a shortcut for a variety of other Ray-Ban Meta features. The Gen 2 features a capture button that only works with Meta’s camera features.
The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 are smaller and available in new styles
Smart glasses are fashion as much as they are anything else, so another way the Gen 3 are differentiated from the Gen 2 is the addition of two new frame styles. The Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) Aviator features lenses shaped like Ray-Ban’s classic aviator glasses, with thick frames in multiple translucent and tortoiseshell colors. For something a little less in-your-face, the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) Zena comes with more of a cat-eye shape in translucent, black and tortoiseshell colors. The only frame shape that’s carrying over from the Gen 2 is the Wayfarer, Ray-Ban’s most well-known frame. That doesn’t mean Meta won’t port more Gen 2 styles over in the future given its penchant for mid-cycle refreshes, but for now most Gen 3 glasses will look pretty different.
They’re also, technically, a bit smaller. The best comparison point is the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer. The standard-fit Gen 2 model is 131mm from hinge to hinge, while the Gen 3 model is only 129mm. The temples on the Gen 3 model are also slightly shorter at 149mm compared to 150mm on the Gen 2. The relationship is reversed when it comes to weight, though, where the Gen 3 model is a slightly heavier 51.5 grams compared to the Gen 2’s 51 grams. Those changes might not be noticeable unless you have the glasses side-by-side, but it does suggest Meta is mostly trending towards smaller glasses overall.
Meta’s new software features are coming to older models
Software and AI access define the experience of using Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. And the vast majority of features the company announced alongside its Gen 3 model will be available on older Gen 2 models, too. That includes using the smart glasses’ FDA-cleared hearing enhancement feature, interacting with the company’s Muse AI agent, and taking photos with the glasses’ new dynamic photo capture feature, which captures multiple shots at once and lets you pick the best framing.
Combined with the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3’s higher starting price of $449, $70 more than the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, that makes justifying an upgrade hard. The company’s new smart glasses will likely be a great way to jump into Meta’s growing ecosystem, but if you can buy a used Gen 2 pair (assuming you don’t need a prescription) you’ll likely get a better deal.
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