Smart glasses that cost up to $1,300 are burning the ear they rest on

Ten people reported that their INMO AIR3 smart glasses overheated, and the reports include a burning sensation on the face and on the left side of the ear. INMO International Technology Limited has recalled about 1,643 pairs bought by U.S. customers, priced between $900 and $1,300 each, after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission posted the action on September 24, 2026.

The problem is confined to one spot on the frame. The left temple, the arm that rests against the ear, can overheat during extended use, which is the situation the glasses are designed for: hours of voice commands, translation and audio through open-air speakers. A device that warms up in a pocket is a nuisance; one that warms up against skin for a whole afternoon is a burn risk.

Left-temple heat and the ten reports

The CPSC recall notice, number 26-797, states the defect plainly: the left temple “can overheat during extended use,” and the agency files it as a burn hazard. The firm, which is based in China, told the agency it had received 10 reports of the AIR3 glasses overheating, “including reports of a burning sensation to the face and the left side of the ear.”

Ten reports against 1,643 pairs in the United States works out to roughly six reports for every thousand units, a modest rate that still prompted a full stop-use order because the failure mode involves heat against skin. That wording matters for scale. The notice counts reports of overheating and of a burning sensation, and it does not list burns that required treatment.

The reports that did arrive point to the left side of the face and ear, the same place the recalled temple presses against the head.

The burn-hazard label describes what a hot temple arm could do to skin rather than any logged outcome, and the agency applies it to burn-risk recalls even when the incident count is small. Smart glasses carry a battery, a processor, wireless radios and speakers inside slim arms that sit directly on the skin, and there is little room to spread heat away from the wearer. The firm’s own fix, a firmware release, suggests the company expects the overheating to be controllable in software, though the agency’s text never makes that claim for it.

Firmware 3.16 as the fix

The repair is software. According to the CPSC, the firm will help owners update the system to version V3.16 online, free of charge, and the glasses are not to be worn until that is done. Health Canada’s alert, published September 24, 2026 under identification number RA-82650, phrases the instruction as “immediately stop using the recalled product and update the product firmware to version 3.16 before reusing the product.”

Neither agency’s notice explains what the update changes, and neither says whether a temperature limit, a charging profile or a processor setting is involved. A software remedy for a heat problem implies the fault can be managed in the glasses’ own controls, but the filings stop short of saying so.

The timing is tight. Sales ran through August 2026 and the recall landed on September 24, so some of the 1,643 pairs had been in buyers’ hands for only a few weeks, while others shipped to Kickstarter backers and early Amazon buyers as far back as December 2025. Health Canada’s incident cutoff of September 17 sits a week before the public announcement.

Canada’s side of the recall is small: Health Canada counts 120 units sold there between December 2025 and August 2026, with no injuries reported in Canada as of September 17. CP24’s coverage adds that the glasses can be identified by an “AIR3” label on the inside of the right arm, which is the quickest check for anyone unsure of the model.

Amazon, Inmoxr.com and Kickstarter

The glasses reached buyers through Amazon.com, the company’s own site Inmoxr.com and the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.com, from December 2025 through August 2026. The Kickstarter channel is worth separating out: backers of a crowdfunded gadget often hold the earliest production units and may not have a retailer account tied to the purchase, so the recall relies on owners finding the notice themselves. MobileSyrup reports that owners reaching INMO for help are asked for a photo of the product, the order number and the purchase channel.

The price band is the other detail that stands out. At $900 to $1,300, the AIR3 sits well above the mass-market audio glasses category, and Medical Daily’s guidance for owners advises that burns with blistering, spreading redness or severe pain, and any injury near the eye, call for medical evaluation.

The CPSC’s tally is 1,643 pairs in the United States, 10 overheating reports and one remedy: the V3.16 update.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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