EssilorLuxottica Announces Nuance Audio Plus: Sleek Hearing Aid Glasses With Advanced Controls and Better Battery Life

EssilorLuxottica, the optical powerhouse and eyewear giant widely recognized for its high-profile partnerships with brands like Meta on popular smart glasses, has officially announced the launch of its next-generation wearable device: the Nuance Audio Plus. Designed to seamlessly double as discreet over-the-counter hearing aids, these new glasses aim to bridge the often frustrating gap between assistive medical technology and mainstream, fashionable eyewear. By housing FDA-cleared hearing aid technology directly inside standard-looking frames, the company continues to pioneer a new category of consumer electronics that prioritize subtlety and everyday usability over clinical aesthetics.

The newly unveiled Nuance Audio Plus builds directly upon the foundation laid by its predecessor, bringing a host of meaningful upgrades to the table. Most notably, the Plus model introduces improved sound boosting capabilities, significantly better voice clarity in challenging listening environments, expanded on-device physical controls, and a more robust battery life that delivers up to 10 hours of continuous use on a single charge. Despite packing advanced acoustic processing components, microphones, and speakers into the device, EssilorLuxottica has managed to engineer the temple arms so that they do not look significantly thicker or bulkier than what consumers would find on a standard pair of everyday designer glasses.

The Nuance Audio Plus models are now officially available for purchase across the United States. Consumers can choose from three distinct frame styles, known as Square, Pathos, and Upturn, which cater to a variety of facial shapes and personal style preferences. Furthermore, the frames are offered in five versatile and modern colorways: shiny black, shiny burgundy, deep blue, amber, and olive green. Pricing for the standard configuration of the Nuance Audio Plus starts at $829, though buyers should expect to pay additional fees when ordering the frames equipped with custom prescription lenses. Meanwhile, EssilorLuxottica has confirmed that the original, standard version of the Nuance Audio smart glasses will remain available on the market for consumers looking for a lower entry price, with those older models continuing to start at $699.

At the core of the Nuance Audio Plus experience are the substantial improvements made to audio amplification and speech processing. Hearing loss can make social interactions exhausting, particularly in loud spaces like restaurants, family gatherings, or crowded public venues. To combat this, the accompanying mobile application allows users to effortlessly switch between two distinct listening modes tailored for different environments. The Frontal mode is specifically engineered to focus on and amplify the voice of the person standing directly in front of the wearer, making face-to-face conversations much easier to follow. Alternatively, the All-Around mode widens the acoustic scope to boost the volume of everything happening in the surrounding environment, ensuring the wearer remains aware of their entire auditory landscape.

To fine-tune these listening experiences even further, the companion mobile application provides access to four pre-configured amplification settings. These presets allow users to adapt the glasses to their specific degree of hearing loss or environmental needs. Additionally, the software features three distinct levels of noise reduction, giving wearers the ability to manually dial down unwanted background clamor and zero in on what matters most. These software-driven customizations ensure that the glasses can adapt on the fly as the user moves from a quiet indoor office to a bustling city street.

Recognizing that constantly pulling out a smartphone to adjust settings can draw unwanted attention or prove inconvenient, EssilorLuxottica has equipped the Nuance Audio Plus with several new physical, on-frame controls. The updated design introduces a dedicated power slider along with separate, tactile volume controls directly on the temple arms. These additions allow wearers to make quick adjustments to their listening volume or power states without needing to fumble with a mobile device.

In addition to physical buttons, the glasses feature smart power management designed around natural human habits. While the glasses are powered on, users can instantly put them into a low-power sleep mode simply by folding the temple arms, which helps conserve the battery throughout the day. Unfolding the glasses quickly powers them back up and restores the previous audio settings, ensuring the device is ready the moment it touches the wearer’s face. Furthermore, the Nuance Audio Plus supports direct hands-free functionality for incoming voice calls, allowing wearers to answer phone calls straight through the glasses without needing to reach for their phones first. However, this direct call integration is currently limited to iPhones, as the feature is not supported when the glasses are paired with Android devices.