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Meta recently release a line of AI-powered Oakley sunglasses to be sold alongside Ray-Ban Metas. According to the company, the new smart glasses have the same basic functions as the old, but the Oakleys have a higher resolution camera (3K vs. 1080p) and a battery that lasts twice as long as the Ray-Bans.
That sounds great—provided smart glasses sound good to you in the first place. I admit, I'm something of a convert. Nearly a year ago now, I reviewed the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. These specs pack a camera, open-ear speakers, microphones, and voice-activated Meta AI inside a pair of Wayfarer-style frames, so they're basically science-fiction glasses that look normal. I liked them so much, I had prescription lenses put in and made them part of my daily load out.
But it's easy to love a tech product when it’s new and shiny; the real test is how the Ray-Ban Metas fair after they've gone from novelty to another damn thing I have to remember to charge. Bottom line: I still really like them after 10 months of wearing them while working, sitting around, biking, running errands, and generally living my boring life. But I like them in a more nuanced way.
Not quite everyday glasses
After the initial sugar rush wore off, I started noticing the weight of the Ray-Ban Metas. They're around 49 grams out of the box, fairly heavy for sunglasses, but prescription lenses bumped the weight up to 54 grams. My regular specs are pretty chunky and weigh 39 grams, and the difference is noticeable. They're slightly uncomfortable for extended use. I found myself wearing regular glasses when I didn’t expect to use smart features, and going back to the Ray-Bans if I wanted to take photos, record video, or go hands-free. The main downside was forgetting which pair I was wearing and saying “Hey Meta” to my dumb glasses. (But that’s a me problem.)
Build quality, durability, and style: no complaints
I have to commend Ray-Ban, Meta, and whatever factory physically built these glasses, because they held up flawlessly. The tech works just as well now as it did when I got them, and the frames themselves held up, too: no warping, bent arms, or other malfunctions. (I didn't necessarily baby them or take special care of them.) They didn't go out of style in the last 10 months either, seeing as the Wayfarer design is timeless. If they’re good enough for James Dean, they’re good enough for me.
Battery life could be better
Meta says their smart glasses have a battery life of "up to four hours," which is mildly optimistic—these things need to be charged often. The solution of having a charger built into the glasses' case is acceptable most of the time because the main function of eyeglasses (ensuring I can see things) works even when the batteries run out. But longer outings where I wanted to take lots of photos or videos were a pain. Your choices are to only have pictures of the first half of the graduation ceremony, or pack a back-up pair of glasses so you can charge on the fly.
Another battery related annoyance: You can’t disable the low battery notification without disabling all notifications. While that's the case for many tech products, it would be great to have the option to disable it for these glasses.
The social factor: Being seen isn't always the best
When I first started wearing the Ray-Ban Metas daily, they pretty much flew under people's radars, but as popular awareness of the product grew, so did the people who noticed I was wearing them. More than one person asked “are you taking pictures of me?" and I didn’t love having my glasses spark conversations about surveillance or Meta’s motives, but I get why some people are wary. They blur the line between fashion and tech in a way that’s still new, and many people find them off-putting.
Ray-Ban's many features, ranked and rated
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have a ton of features, and they're not equally useful, so here's a quick feature list, organized from the ones I used most to ones I used least:
The camera: Ray-Ban Metas' essential feature for me is the camera. It's weird to think of a smart phone camera as being inconvenient, but reaching in your pocket, unlocking the screen, clicking an app, and putting it up to your face is a lot of steps compared to pinching the arm of your glasses. The other way to turn on the camera, saying “Hey Meta, take a picture” or “Hey Meta, take video," can be incredibly useful too, as it lets you take videos while riding a bike and listening to Hawkwind, like so:
While I found the quality of the photos to be surprisingly good, these glasses are best for casual snaps. There's no viewfinder, and if you're going for super high quality, or want to shoot in low-light situations, they won't replace a "real" camera.
Text and calls: Getting a text and replying by voice is great when your hands are full. Initiating or responding to texts while driving is amazing and will probably save some people's lives. Call quality is solid, and the voice recognition is excellent, even in traffic or crowds. It's easy to use too, since you can just say "Hey Meta, how do I send a text?" if you forget.
Music: Halfway down the list is the perfect time to talk about the Ray-Ban Meta's music and audio. It is mid. The sound quality isn’t terrible, but it's podcast-while-cooking level. If you’re into music at all, you’ll quickly grow tired of the tinny sounds from the Ray-Ban meta glasses and throw in some ear buds. On the plus side, the ability to control Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music with just your voice is great. Saying “Hey Meta, play some funk” and having The Meters start playing is cool.
Language translation: Meta recently rolled out the ability to translate from Spanish, French, and Italian to English, and vice-versa. My initial reaction to testing it out with a Spanish speaking pal was "santa mierda!" It's really good, and was able to translate spoken words at a conversational rate in real time, with a surprisingly amount of accuracy. I listened to a graduations speech delivered in Spanish, and it translated it perfectly, and I tried it with some Telenovelas on YouTube too. Flawless. Language translation might prove to be smart glasses' killer app.
Meta AI: Depending on your point of view, Meta’s AI is the either the killer app or the Trojan horse of these glasses, but I almost never use it. When I first got the glasses, I was blown away by saying “Hey Meta, look” and having it describe what I was seeing accurately. But that wears off after eight minutes. Then, I started using it to clown on my friends by looking at their car or something and saying, “Hey, Meta, is this a nice car?” and relaying the answer. (Sadly, it won't roast people.) That was fun for three minutes. Then, I changed Meta's voice to Awkwafina. That was fun for 38 seconds. Then, I stopped using it altogether. Maybe your life is different, but mine is fine without an AI assistant.
What I'd like to see from Ray-Ban Meta glasses
These glasses are creeping toward being a true digital assistant, but they're not there. I want to say “Hey, Meta, book me a cheap hotel in Yonkers next weekend” and have it just happen. Right now, though, the glasses are limited to controlling music, sending messages, translating language in real time, and providing basic information—which is a lot for a pair of glasses.
Privacy concerns (as if privacy still exists)
Meta recently sent an email to Ray-Ban Meta users that said, in part, "Meta AI with camera use is always enabled on your glasses unless you turn off ‘Hey Meta,'” and “the option to disable voice recordings storage is no longer available.” Basically, Meta is vowing to look at what I'm looking at and store whatever I say, so you could argue there are some pretty big privacy concerns. It’s not great, but honestly, I’m too boring to care. If Meta wants hours of footage of me folding laundry or playing Oblivion Remastered, that’s their problem.
If you're someone that does prioritize your privacy though, these glasses are probably not the product for you.
Are they worth the price?
Whether something is "worth it" really depends on the customer. But $299 seems like a good deal for a camera, AI agent, Bluetooth headset, and sunglasses, and if you're going for prescription Ray-Ban Metas, it's amazing. All told, these were actually cheaper than my regular glasses, and I can't ask my regular glasses to tell me a joke.
Does vision insurance cover Meta-Ray Ban smart glasses?
Whether your vision insurance covers Meta Ray-Bans depends on the plan, but generally, if you're having prescription lenses put in them, your insurance should cover Meta Ray-Bans the way they would any other glasses—I had mine made at LensCrafters and my insurance company covered its percentage of the cost with no issues. Some retailers may be considered "in-network" to your insurance company, so it makes sense to check with your provider before you make a purchase.
Is it a good time to buy Ray Ban Meta glasses?
Last week, I would have said, "Yes, it's a great time to buy Ray Bans!" but the announcement of the Meta Oakleys changes my calculations. The newer specs will retail for $399 or $499, where Meta Ray Bans list for $299 or $379—but the Oakleys will have a significantly better camera than the Ray Bans and double the battery life. If you already own a pair of Ray Ban Metas, I don't think it's worth it to buy Oakleys—it'd be nice to have more battery life and a better camera, but it's not vital. If you're buying a new pair of smart glasses, I'd pre-order the Oakleys for sure.
Meta hasn't said whether or when it plans to release a pair of Ray Ban Meta glasses with the same specs as the Oakleys, so it's probably not the best time to buy a new pair: There's little worse than buying a tech product the day before a newer, better version is announced.
The bottom line
I’m not a Meta fanboy by any stretch, but credit where it’s due: These glasses are really good. The novelty wears off, but the usefulness doesn’t. Unlike most gadgets, they've earned their spot in my semi-daily rotation. If they could shave a little more weight off, they'd be my everyday specs.
