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I Wore Razer's Project Motoko at CES 2026: Like Smart Glasses, but in Headphone Form

I wore camera-enabled over-ear headphones that tap into AI. Razer says they're going to be an actual product someday. It's not as weird as you'd think. Or maybe it is.

Headshot of Scott Stein
Headshot of Scott Stein
Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR | Gaming | Metaverse technologies | Wearable tech | Tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Scott Stein
2 min read
Scott Stein from CNET wearing Razer Project Motoko headphones

Don't look at the glasses... look at the camera-enabled headphones I'm wearing.

 Scott Stein/CNET

I've been down this road before: I look at something in front of me, snap a photo and ask AI services for advice about what I'm looking at. I've done it with Meta's Ray-Ban glasses and countless others, but this time I was wearing a pair of over-ear headphones with a camera in each cup at Razer's CES 2026 demo suite.

Project Motoko is Razer's latest wild stab at new gaming tech at this year's CES, but it's actually not as wild as I expected. I mean that in a good way. Motoko is meant to be worn while gaming, or doing anything else. Why these over smart glasses? You don't have to deal with wearing glasses at all, and the promised battery life with AI-connected services switched on is 36 hours. That's way beyond what any pair of smart glasses I've worn can do.

Razer Project Motoko headphones on a stand

The over-ear headphones have a 12MP 4K Sony camera in each cup. They're hard to spot, but there's a little LED light that activates when it's recording.

 Scott Stein/CNET

The headphones use a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip inside, although I wasn't told which one. It's something that will likely change when this idea becomes an actual product. And reps at Razer I spoke to say that's definitely happening, at some point, at a price that would be competitive with smart glasses. Right now, Meta's Ray-Ban glasses start at around $300.

There are dual Sony 4K 12MP cameras on Project Motoko, good enough for photos or video (although how good they'd look, I don't know). I also don't know how good Motoko sounds as headphones, since my demo was entirely focused on using the microphones to ask AI questions while a nearby speaker broadcast the answers.

A laptop screen showing a photograph and AI chat analyzing the photo

This is a laptop screen showing the AI response readout from my demo, and what the glasses saw.

 Scott Stein/CNET

Motoko could connect to a PC or a future mobile app, and the plan is to make the headphones AI-agnostic, plugging into whatever platform you want. That's another advantage they have over current smart glasses, which generally funnel you to one AI service.

I'm glad I checked these out, because I don't think this will be the last time I wear headphones with cameras in them. Qualcomm is often a harbinger of new tech products to come, and a lot more people wear headphones than glasses. It's likely a sign of what could come next in the ongoing wave of camera-enabled AI wearables. Now I'm wondering when we'll see this technology in earbuds.