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If there’s one thing that 2025 gave us a lot of last year in the tech world, it was smart glasses, and if I had to guess, 2026 won’t be any different. But just because gadget makers seem to have their eyes fixed in one direction doesn’t mean smart glasses are a sure thing. What if there’s another form factor that could offer the same feature set without needing to sit on your nose all day?
For Razer, that form factor is (drum roll) headphones. At CES 2026, Razer took the wraps off a concept called Project Motoko, which is a pair of wireless headphones equipped with cameras. The idea here is similar to that of Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses (in fact, Razer mentioned Meta by name in its briefing to the press). Cameras, according to Razer, are meant to be used for computer vision, meaning they can watch what you’re doing and then use AI to chime in on what the cameras see.
Just like the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses and the Meta Ray-Ban Display, computer vision is intended to be used for several purposes, including answering questions about your surroundings, translating text, and providing instructions on what to cook, to name a few. Naturally, since this is Razer we’re talking about, Razer also sees applications in gaming, allowing you to point Motoko at the screen you’re looking at and ask questions about gameplay or strategy.
I got a chance to try Project Motoko a little bit, and the experience was… okay. Just like Meta AI, which is built into Meta’s AI glasses, the outcome of your question is highly variable—sometimes AI understands the assignment, but sometimes it doesn’t. For example, I asked the headphones how to help me choose attachments on a weapon in Battlefield while looking at a Battlefield game menu, and the AI instead went on a tangent about different guns in the game. I had to ask again with greater specificity to get an answer that helped, which isn’t what I would call totally smooth.
Hardware-wise, Project Motoko uses two 12-megapixel sensors on either earcup, which is similar to what Meta uses in its AI glasses. Razer tells Gizmodo that users can also take pictures with those cameras if they so choose. Obviously, Project Motoko isn’t using Meta AI, though, and instead can be customized with different models, including Gemini, ChatGPT, and Grok. Internally, Project Motoko is powered by a Snapdragon chip, though Razer didn’t say which.
© Kyle Barr / GizmodoSo, why take a left turn away from glasses? As Razer suggests, some people just don’t want to wear smart glasses all the time, and headphones could fill in the gaps for those people. There’s also the added privacy of having audio directed straight into your ears instead of the more open form factor of glasses that can sometimes blast audio out loud to others unintentionally. I suppose if you’re the type of person who tends to walk around with headphones on their ears all the time, Project Motoko could make sense, but if I’m being honest, the whole thing feels like a tough sell.
Headphones might be the right form factor sometimes, but they can feel isolating. The second you block your ears with earcups, you’re separating yourself from your environment, which can be nice when you want a timeout, but it isn’t conducive to all-day wear. The whole thing is still a concept, though, so Razer may never have to grapple with that sticking point in a real sense.
If there’s one thing that Project Motoko proves for now, it’s that AI wearables likely aren’t going anywhere soon, so buckle up and expect a lot more computer vision in the year ahead.
Gizmodo is on the ground in Las Vegas all week bringing you everything you need to know about the tech unveiled at CES 2026. You can follow our CES live blog here and find all our coverage here.
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