Legato Frames hearing glasses launch at $999

Legato was founded in 2024 by Mehul Trivedi and Steve Romine, who came out of Bose, where Trivedi led the creation of Bose Frames and Romine ran the hearing aids division. Trivedi later joined EssilorLuxottica to lead smart eyewear efforts and worked on the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, while Romine served as COO of hearing care company Audicus. The pair then joined forces to explore the intersection of hearing technology and smart eyewear.

The glasses integrate Legato's patented hearing-assistance technology into the arms of eyewear frames, with all processing happening directly on the glasses and no cameras or recording, according to the company. The frames feature an open-ear design and a dual-speaker system that directs sound toward the wearer; Legato says escaping sound is reduced by 99% just a few inches from the ear. They weigh 34 grams with lenses, offer 10-12 hours of battery life, come in three styles, and support prescription lenses and Bluetooth streaming.

The launch comes a few weeks after Legato emerged from stealth with $12 million in funding from Neotribe Ventures, Listen, and Village Global. Whether the $999 starting price and the vision-insurance route prove enough to pull buyers away from traditional hearing aids is likely to be the test for this young startup.