Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses

Review

Michael Torneau, SmartGlassesOn

Published 13:40, Tue February 13, 2024

RAY-BAN META

PRO's

CON's

Stylish and Timeless: Ray-Ban Meta's Review

The new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are an impressive addition to the wearable technology market. These glasses seamlessly integrate fashion and function, offering a stylish look while packing powerful technology features such as video recording, taking photos, AI voice assistance and more. The sleek and classic design of these Ray-Bans combined with the added smart features make it a versatile and practical accessory for everyday use. I purchased the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer’s and wear them almost everyday, they’re comfortable and don’t look too futuristic and provide cool functions such as video recording and audio playback.

Design

The Ray-Ban Wayfarer design is an icon in the world of eyewear, revered for its timeless appeal and enduring popularity. Originally introduced in 1956, the Wayfarer revolutionized the sunglasses industry with its bold, angular silhouette and innovative construction. Decades later, its design continues to captivate fashion enthusiasts and trendsetters alike, cementing its status as a classic piece of eyewear. A key feature of the Wayfarer design is its versatility. Whether you’re dressing up for a formal event or keeping it casual on a weekend getaway, the Wayfarer effortlessly complements a wide range of outfits and occasions.

The Ray-Ban Meta glasses now come in three styles, Wayfarer, Headliner and Skyler available in seven different colors, with three options offering see-through frames.

Wayfarer Meta Smart Glasses

Skyler Meta Smart Glasses

Headliner Met Smart Glasses

I really enjoy the clear frames and transparent electronics that showcase the internal components, a design that consistently impresses people when they see the glasses. If necessary, you can get a prescription version for an additional $160 to $300, on top of the base $299 price. The glasses come in multiple sizes to accommodate different head sizes at no extra charge. Additionally, you can choose non-prescription lenses in various colors and even transition lenses for up to $80 extra. However, keep in mind that not all lenses are polarized when configuring the glasses on Ray-Ban’s website.

This new generation is significantly thinner and lighter than its predecessor, which I believe enhances the overall user experience. Due to the new design, most people don’t even realize I’m wearing smart glasses and are surprised by their thinness and light weight (only 48 grams). Impressively, this is just 5 grams heavier than traditional Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses, making the smart glasses’ features even more notable. One aspect I didn’t fully appreciate in the previous generation is the friendly and unobtrusive design by Meta and Luxottica. People find the glasses stylish, and unlike Snap’s third-generation Spectacles, they don’t have an overly futuristic appearance. A friend of mine had to switch from Spectacles to the first-generation Ray-Ban Stories because his partner couldn’t stand the look of the futuristic look on the glasses.

Video

The video quality in these smart glasses have improved significantly compared to the previous Ray-Ban Stories released in 2021. There is an ultra-wide 12-megapixel camera capable of capturing images with a resolution of 12 million pixels. Each pixel is a tiny light-sensitive element on the camera’s sensor that records color and brightness information. Comparing the camera on these eyewears to the cameras found in smartphones, a 12-megapixel camera is considered to be of a good standard and is commonly found in mid-range to flagship devices. All videos are recorded in vertical shot and that should be o problem because that is what most people post on social media such as Instagram. The downside is if you are a content creator and would like to record a video horizontally and post the video on Youtube would require some cropping. For many users, a 12-megapixel camera can produce high-quality images suitable for sharing on social media, printing in standard sizes, and even some professional applications with proper lighting and composition.

Sound

According to Meta the sound is 50 % louder than it was in the previous Ray-Ban Stories. The speakers are acctually pretty good, I used them occasionally listening to audio books on the beach, playing some spotify while hiking and it was quite nice because it’s so easy to control. I used AI voice assistant to switch between songs, I swiped on the frame to increase or decrease the volume, the fact that I did not need to pull out my phone was nice. If you’re listening to music with maximized volume, people around you will most likely hear what you’re listening to. The sound quality is not bad, but it’s not as loud as you most probably would want it to be in certain environments. In a crowded environment nobody would probably hear the music being played, the problem is that you most likely wouldn’t hear what you’re playing because of all the surrounding noise.

I prefer using these glasses over earbuds because they offer better situational awareness when I’m walking my dog. This is also true for driving, where it is technically illegal in some countries and states to drive with earbuds in both ears or while wearing headphones. I appreciate that, when using Google Maps for turn-by-turn navigation, I can hear the commands clearly through my glasses without the whole car hearing them. This seems safer than using navigation on a smartwatch. Additionally, I like using the glasses to send text messages while driving, as I can voice-activate them without pressing a button like I need to on my phone or smartwatch. The dictation and sound quality are also better, as the glasses are closer to my mouth than my watch or phone would be.

Microphone

The audio recording on these smart glasses are amazing. The microphone does an incredible job in picking up my voice. In fact, better than most Bluetooth headsets and that’s because there are five different microphones on these glasses. Two are on the bridge of the nose, one hidden in the Ray-Ban logo, and two more on the arms of the sunglasses. All these microphones working together makes it super easy for the device to capture sound.

Meta has done an excellent job with the minimal sound required for Meta AI’s voice activation. It’s not quite whisper-quiet, but just slightly louder, allowing me to choose how loudly I speak to activate the “Hey Meta” command. The voice controls work exceptionally well in noisy environments, which I’ve tested, and I believe this is due to the five-microphone array. This feature is particularly handy when my right hand is occupied with a dog leash or when my hands are full, such as recording videos while playing with my dog. However, as with the previous generation, there are still privacy concerns, especially since the wearer is carrying a high-quality video camera into places where it might not be welcome. I suspect that as these glasses become more popular, awareness of their potential for misuse will grow, possibly leading to bans.

Another cool feature regarding sound capturing with these glasses is that you get spatial audio because you got so many microphones integrated in these smart glasses. For example I was recording a dog barking on my left side and when I played the video I could hear the dog from the same place in the video.

Battery

The inclusion of the carrying case with the Ray-Ban Metas marks a notable improvement in design. Meta and Ray-Ban transitioned from a bulky cylindrical case to one that closely resembles a typical sunglasses case. The key distinguishing features include the LED light on the front, signaling the charge status, and the USB-C port at the bottom for recharging. Meta claims to have reduced the total weight of the case to 133 grams—a substantial decrease from 195 grams in the previous generation—while also enhancing charging speed.

I’ve had no problem yet with battery life but I can imagine if you are going to record and take pictures non-stop you will run out of battery after a couple of hours. I use these smart glasses as regular sun glasses when traveling. The smart glasses come with a charging case that gives up to 36 hours of use. The charging case design is pretty cool, it looks exactly like a standard Ray-Ban case and have a USB C port at the bottom. There is an indicator LED on the front of the case which tell you if the glasses are charging or are charged, orange = charging and green = charged.

Regarding battery life, Meta doesn’t provide a specific figure for the glasses alone. However, they state that with the included charging/carrying case, the glasses achieve 36 hours of battery life, which is a 50% improvement over the previous generation. Meta also mentions faster charging times, allowing the glasses to reach 50% charge in 20 minutes, compared to 30 minutes for the previous generation. The glasses feature a small 154 mAh battery; for comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Watch6 has a 425 mAh battery. This highlights the power efficiency required for the entire Ray-Ban Meta platform and why creating wearable tech like smart glasses is challenging. Achieving higher performance per watt while managing weight and thermals is crucial, making lightweight AR glasses difficult to execute without a power tether. This is why companies like Swave are developing low-power holographic display technology specifically for such applications.

Processor

Designed as a premium standard for high-performance, smaller, and lighter augmented reality glasses, the Snapdragon® AR2 Gen 1 Platform ushers in a new era of AR spatial computing. Purpose-built for lightweight, wireless, and comfortable AR glasses, its multi-chip architecture delivers 2.5 times greater AI performance and 50% lower power consumption, complemented by ultra-fast Wi-Fi 7 connectivity for an unparalleled AR experience. The Snapdragon belongs to a company called Qualcomm, they create semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology, owning patents critical to the 5G, 4G, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA, and WCDMA mobile communication standards.

Storage capacity

The storage capacity has been increased eightfold, from 4GB to 32GB, to accommodate the higher video resolution and larger photo sizes. This upgrade allows the glasses to store over 100 individual 30-second videos or more than 500 photos.

Privacy

I’m glad that Ray-Ban and Meta considered the fact that some people don’t want to be recorded unknowingly. The smart glasses have a built-in LED which pulses while recording to alert you or people around you that you are video recording.

Useability

The smart glasses are perfect for capturing moments when you don’t have time to pull out your phone. Perhaps you want to be more involved in the moment and not worried about trying to frame everything correctly. With these smartglasses, you generally film what you’re seeing. You can capture moments instantly when you’re at the beach with your kids, walking your dog, live-streaming or attending a live concert. I wanted a new pair of sunglasses, but I also wanted smart glasses, then I thought why not invest in Meta’s so I’ll actually get both in one which I did. I purchased the Meta’s with transition glasses, meaning they go from polarized to transparent by themselves depending on the light. I also like that Ray-Ban offers a wide range of frames and colors when ordering these, you can also have personalized engraving added on different parts of the frame which I think is an awesome way to personalize the glasses.

Lenses

The smart glasses can be purchased with prescription lenses and are available in single vision, progressive and polarized lenses.

Application

The new Meta View application got introduced with the release of these smart glasses. Importing photos and videos was easily done. If you prefer this to be autoamtic, you can change this in the settings. I can check important things such as battery life, settings for glasses and more but the main purpose of the app is mainly downloading photos and videos from your smart glasses to your phone.

Conclusion

Meta is developing a robust platform for smart glasses, and if future versions include displays, we could experience some impressive AR capabilities. I wear my Ray-Ban Metas daily, something I couldn’t say about the previous generation. This is significant, given that the last generation was quite popular among many users. This new generation is poised to provide an even better experience for more people.

Google had the opportunity to create a device like this years ago, but after acquiring and discontinuing North, Meta has taken the lead. These glasses have evolved from a novelty item for vacations and hikes to something practical for everyday use. While the battery life isn’t all-day, especially if you use them primarily for audio, the case provides about five charges, making it manageable. There’s room for improvement with the video frame rate, currently at 30 FPS, and I look forward to the eventual upgrade to 4K. However, these glasses are nearly perfect, and my main critique is the need to reduce shutter lag.

Meta has truly excelled with these glasses, making them a fantastic, if somewhat expensive, gift option. With a variety of styles and colors, there’s something for everyone. My only regret is not getting transition lenses, as I want to use them more as sunglasses. As an analyst, I’ll be watching the privacy concerns that these smart glasses might raise as they gain popularity. Overall, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are a standout success.

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