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Leila Al-Khatib

  • 3 min read

Make us preferred on Google

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PUBLISHED BY ICN PRESS

  • Meta now builds its own AI glasses in-house, with a $299 starting price.
  • The new line undercuts Ray-Ban Meta at $379 and Oakley Meta near $499.
  • Three styles ship, including an oval pair called Meta Glasses by Kylie.
  • Google, Samsung, and OpenAI all prepare rival glasses for later this year.

Affordable AI smart glasses by Meta arrived this week with a lower starting price. The company set the entry cost at $299 for its newest in-house wearable lineup. Meta designed these new frames internally, breaking from its earlier Ray-Ban and Oakley team-ups. You will notice the price drop first, since rival models start near $379 today. These new Meta Glasses play music, translate speech, and answer questions about your surroundings. The built-in cameras capture images, then the assistant reads details from what you see.

Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer, explained why the price point carries real weight. Bosworth said, “I’m still absolutely thrilled to see people wearing the Ray-Ban Metas and Oakley Metas.” He framed the new in-house frames as added choice for shoppers across different budgets. The lineup ships in three styles, each built for a separate kind of wearer. A model named Adventurer offers a small frame, while Fury runs larger and rounder. Meta Glasses by Kylie bring an oval shape created with the reality star Kylie Jenner.

These frames launch with the Muse Spark AI model from Meta’s Superintelligence Labs unit. The new model reads your photos better and remembers personal preferences across daily use. Older Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses will gain the same model through a free software update. During a recent press demo, the glasses counted calories in a bowl of fresh strawberries. They also translated an Arabic sign and suggested nearby museums for curious local visitors.

Affordable AI smart glasses by Meta meet new rivals

The AI smart glasses market will tighten soon, since Google and Samsung plan rival models. OpenAI works on its own hardware product, adding even more weight to the wider contest. Pew Research found 44% of American adults now use ChatGPT for their everyday questions. Gemini reaches 24% of those adults, while Meta AI sits well lower at 14%. Cheaper hardware gives Meta a clear path to put its assistant in many more hands. Affordable AI smart glasses by Meta now challenge this clear gap in assistant use. The lower Meta AI smart glasses price reflects a broader shift across the category. Analysts at IDC expect average prices to fall from $376 today toward $229 by 2030.

Shipments climbed 167% in early 2026 against the same quarter from one year before. Meta holds roughly 69% of this growing space, the research firm reported back in June. Mark Zuckerberg told investors the daily glasses users tripled across the past full year. Privacy worries still follow the whole category, so Meta added a visible recording light cue. The camera will not function unless the small indicator light on the front stays fully clear. From my standpoint, the price cut matters more than any single new feature here.

Why this shift matters for you

You now gain a real entry point without paying the higher Ray-Ban brand premium today. Affordable AI smart glasses by Meta widen who can afford to test daily wearable computing. The Meta Glasses by Kylie option adds a fashion angle at a $399 tier. Choice across three frame styles helps Meta reach buyers with different tastes and price limits. These cheaper frames will face stiff tests from Google and Samsung in the coming months. Affordable AI smart glasses by Meta now set the early pace in this race.

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  • AI, Artificial Intelligence, Business, META

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$20 billion Maldives project
  • Real Estate

For thousands of Maldivian families, a $20 billion Maldives project now stands between where they live today and a new home by the water. Abu Dhabi developer Eagle Hills has signed a commercial terms agreement with the Government of Maldives to build an island destination called Maldives Waterfront and Marina. The site covers 550 hectares, roughly 1,359 acres, in the Ras Malé area.

Ras Malé sits at Fushi Dhiggaru Lagoon, about 17 minutes by speedboat from the capital, Malé. The agreement, signed on Monday, sets out the main commercial terms. Finer details will follow as the work moves ahead.

Inside the $20 billion Maldives project

The Eagle Hills Maldives plan runs in phases. It brings together international hotels, premium and branded residences, a marina and waterfront leisure spaces. Retail, dining and entertainment sit alongside wellness, education, healthcare and community services. The aim is a place where people can holiday, live and go about ordinary days in one connected setting.

Numbers show the scale. The Ras Malé development could draw more than one million visitors a year and more than $2 billion in annual tourism revenue, by early estimates. Over its lifetime, it could attract more than $30 billion in gross foreign investment, including about $18 billion in net foreign investment. Planners expect it to create more than 54,000 jobs.

Homes for local families, and a cut for the state

The $20 billion Maldives project promises more than tourism for the islands. Its plan sets aside 5,000 homes for Maldivian families. The government will take 10 percent of sales revenue from the commercial side, plus a 4 percent fee on every property deal, including sales and resales. Each time a unit changes hands, the state earns its share.

Mohamed Alabbar, founder and chairman of Eagle Hills, told Reuters construction could begin in the first quarter of 2027. He also raised the chance of a familiar name joining in.

Where Emaar Properties fits in

The current agreement rests with Eagle Hills alone. Even so, Alabbar left the door open to a shared stake in the $20 billion Maldives project. “We may go for 50:50 sharing, depending on the decision of the Emaar Investment Committee,” he said. Emaar Properties, which Alabbar also founded, is the name behind Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall. Its presence would carry weight for buyers weighing where to put their money.

Eagle Hills works across more than 18 countries and runs a portfolio of 45 hotels. The developer said the masterplan folds in sustainability, resilient infrastructure and steps to protect the fragile island environment.

Dubai Creek Tower and no IPO

Alabbar addressed other plans too. He said the tendering of the proposed Dubai Creek Tower would depend on the conflict involving Iran and the United States. “Once the situation in Iran and the US settled, I might tender it,” he said. Back in June 2026, reporting indicated Emaar had delayed that tender after port closures tied to the Iran-US war pushed up material costs and pricing.

On one point, he was firm. “For Eagle Hills, no IPO is on the table,” he said, ruling out a public listing.

For families near Malé, the next signal to watch is simple. If ground breaks in early 2027 as planned, the $20 billion Maldives project moves from paper to shoreline.

  • 3 min read
What Qatar’s new dual-tranche
  • Qatar

Qatar has launched a benchmark-sized sovereign USD bond across two tranches, with pricing expected later the same day. The offering is senior unsecured. It comes through the Ministry of Finance, acting for the State of Qatar.

The five-year tranche carries initial price targets of 85 basis points over US Treasuries. Guidance on the 10-year sits at 95 basis points. Both spreads fall below the 100 basis point mark. Final coupons will depend on Treasury levels once the order book closes.

Qatar is the latest Gulf state to return to international debt markets. The move follows a quieter stretch for regional supply during a period of renewed geopolitical tension. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia raised 3.25 billion dollars through a dual-tranche dollar sukuk.

Business Intelligence & News

  • UAE higher education is becoming core economic infrastructure for talent, innovation, and growth.
  • Abu Dhabi University awarded QS Stars 5+ rating
  • Dubai private university enrolment reached 42,026, growing by around 20% in 2024–25.
  • Universities are aligning skills with AI, finance, healthcare and other strategic UAE sectors.
  • CAPITAL

How the sovereign USD bond is structured

The deal is a Qatar dual-tranche bond, split by maturity. One tranche runs five years. The other runs 10. Each is a senior unsecured bond, which ranks holders alongside other unsecured senior creditors rather than against specific assets.

Initial price thoughts, or IPTs, are the early spread levels shown to investors before the book builds. They mark a starting point, not a final price. As demand forms, the spread can tighten. The US Treasuries spread is the gap between Qatar’s yield and comparable US government debt, and it moves with Treasuries until pricing locks. The sovereign USD bond gives Qatar dollar funding at two points on its curve.

A benchmark-sized transaction points to an issue large enough to trade with reasonable liquidity later. Qatar had not confirmed the final size at launch.

Ratings and syndicate

The State of Qatar holds an Aa2 rating with a stable outlook from Moody’s. S&P rates it AA with a stable outlook. Fitch rates it AA with a negative outlook. The notes are expected to carry a rating in line with the issuer.

Credit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho, MUFG, Santander and SMBC serve as joint lead managers. Goldman Sachs International, HSBC, JP Morgan, QNB Capital and Standard Chartered Bank act as joint global coordinators. HSBC is the billing and delivery bank on the five-year tranche. Standard Chartered Bank takes that role on the 10-year.

Settlement and listing

The bonds settle on September 28, 2026. They fall under Qatar’s Global Medium Term Note Programme, the standing framework the sovereign uses for repeat issuance. A listing on the London Stock Exchange Main Market will follow.

Pricing gives a current read on how investors weigh Qatar’s credit. Spreads under 100 basis points on a five- and 10-year sovereign point to steady demand. For the wider Gulf debt markets, the deal adds a fresh reference point after a thin run of supply. Other regional borrowers can price against it.

Qatar’s access to dollar funding rests on large hydrocarbon revenues and a deep pool of state financial assets. That base has long supported its standing with bond investors.

What comes next?

Order books will guide the final spread and coupon on each tranche. Pricing on the sovereign USD bond will firm up once the book closes. Investors will watch the size of Qatar’s prints and where the spreads land against the opening guidance.

  • 3 min read

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