Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Work Great and Don’t Look Ridiculous
If this were 1987, I would have created an adventure show around a pair of Ray-Ban Meta Glasses . Here’s my suggestion for CodeName: SPEX : “Sgt. Steve Johnson, accused of a crime he didn’t commit, frees a pair of super-intelligent Wayfinders from a secret government laboratory. Steve and SPEX (Surveillance, Proximity, Enhancement, Extraction) roam the country, using SPEX’s abilities to solve mysteries while staying one step ahead of the agents pursuing them.”
All this is to say, Meta’s smart glasses are a 1980s TV show, living in the future is cool. Not only cool because of their impressive technology, but also cool because they are actually useful; perhaps not to outsmart government agents, but to solve everyday puzzles like “where did I park my car?”
A Brief Review of Ray-Ban Meta Glasses
Pros
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Stylish design
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Helpful AI
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Simple controls
Cons
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No display screen
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AI Limitations
Characteristics
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Price: $329 and up.
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Weight: 49 grams
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Camera: 12 MP, 3024×4032
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Video: 1080p
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iPhone requirements: iPhone 11 or later running iOS 14.4 or later.
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Android requirements: Google Pixel 5 or later or Galaxy S20 or later running Android 10 or later.
What exactly are Ray-Ban Meta glasses?
For the three people who haven’t seen the ubiquitous Meta ad campaign , Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are sunglasses with a built-in camera, speakers, and artificial intelligence that can be controlled with your voice and simple gestures. They don’t have a screen, however, so you’ll have to look elsewhere if that’s your bag. Meta is working on true smart AR glasses with a built-in display (Orion), but that’s likely still a long way off.
Design: Wayfarers are always cool
The design of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses could be the killer feature that elevates them above the competition. Looks are important with glasses—after all, you’re wearing them on your face—and unlike the notorious Google Glasses from years ago or other brands of smart glasses on the market, Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are stylish enough for me to wear them. unless they have the technology built in. They come in three tried-and-true Ray-Ban frame styles—Skyler, Wayfarer and Headliner—and offer a variety of colors and lens combinations, including the option of prescription lenses. The Ray-Ban Meta weigh 49 grams (10 more than my usual specs) and the built-in camera is unobtrusive, so you can wear them all day and not look like a dork (until you say, “Hey Meta, what’s the score on these points? “Eagles game to yourself on a crowded bus.)
Technology: Say hello to your little AI friend
There’s been a lot of talk in tech circles lately about the capabilities of wearable AI assistants like Humane’s AI Pin or Rabbit R1, but early reviews for neither have been positive . The idea of replacing your phone with a phone-sized gadget (but only for some tasks, so you still have to carry your phone with you) is simply not appealing to most. But incorporating artificial intelligence into your glasses means you won’t need an extra gadget taking up space in your pocket, and because it’s voice-activated, it can be controlled hands-free.
Setup and pairing with the Meta View companion app went smoothly. It seems like a lot of thought has gone into making the user experience as simple as possible. After the quick tutorial, you’ll be on your own, but if you forget the gesture controls or anything like that, you can ask your glasses to explain them to you again.
What Ray-Ban Meta’s artificial intelligence can do
Simply put, Ray-Ban Meta’s AI assistant can see what you see, translate text, and answer questions. If you look at a cool flower, you might say, “Hey Meta, what is this flower?” Or you might ask, “Hey Meta, what am I looking at?” And it will describe your look with frightening accuracy.
Meta’s artificial intelligence can translate signs and other text into multiple languages, tell you the hours of the McDonald’s breakfast you’re viewing, tell you whether it gets good reviews, and suggest what to order. (Meta recommends the Egg McMuffin.) You can also ask him general questions, like, “When is the new season of Severance premiering?” or “What is the address for Circus Liquor in North Hollywood?” He can even tell jokes – not necessarily funny jokes, but things that are technically jokes.
You can also use it to remember things for yourself. Tell him “remember I have a doctor’s appointment on the 12th” or “remember my car is parked in the orange section in space 435” and then ask him to remember the information.
What Ray-Ban Meta’s AI can’t do
As cool as it would be to say, “Hey Meta, book me a room at the MGM Grand Hotel for this Saturday,” it’s not there yet. Complex tasks that potentially involve using other apps on your phone are not possible. It also can’t give you step-by-step instructions, identify the song you’re listening to, or remember the name of the person you’re looking at. Also: he only responds to “Hey Meta”, not “Hey SPEX”, as I would like.
Ray-Ban Meta Image and Video Quality
For influencers and other people who are constantly online, the main benefit of the Ray-Ban Meta is probably their ability to capture images and videos and then instantly upload them to Instagram or Facebook with just one word. You can also broadcast live, but only on Instagram and Facebook. Clicking a button on the temple of the glasses or saying, “Hey Meta, take a photo” will take a photo of what you’re looking at, so you can take a photo or video while you’re riding your bike. or driving.
Ray-Ban’s photo resolution isn’t comparable to that of a modern smartphone, but the 12-megapixel camera, which shoots 3024×4032 still images and 1080p video, isn’t potato-quality either. It handles low-light situations well too. Speaking of video, I was impressed by the Meta-Ray Ban’s image stabilization and wide field of view, but I was disappointed that it only shoots in one vertical aspect ratio: perfect for TikTok, but bad for feature film. Check it out for yourself:
Since there’s no viewfinder, framing shots is difficult, so it’s best used for casual images taken on the fly rather than careful compositions, and you’ll likely have to crop everything later for best results. Here’s a photo straight out of the glasses, taken in a low-light hallway to give you an idea of the image quality:
Ray-Ban Meta glasses as a communication tool
Talking while wearing glasses is cool and all, but if you want to interact with other people, you can use Ray-Bans to send text messages, make and answer voice calls, and make video calls. You can switch between the glasses camera and the phone camera during a video call on WhatsApp and Messenger, so if you need to show someone something, your buddy can see the world through your eyes. (This will not work on FaceTime or other non-Meta platforms.) A little creepy, but cool. Everything worked exactly as expected without too much hassle – which is everything I really want from tech gadgets.
Using Ray-Ban Meta to Play Music
Not only do the Ray-Ban Meta glasses take pictures and tell jokes, but they also connect directly to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Calm through your connected device and can be used as a Bluetooth speaker to play whatever you like. With the Play Music command, you can start tunes and then skip ahead by clicking on the points or the Skip Song command. Volume can be controlled in the same way.
Like the video quality, the sound is good, but not on par with decent headphones. Highs and mids are clear; The bass is weak, but overall sufficient.
Battery life
The glasses boast a battery life of “up to four hours,” but this varies depending on usage. While the Ray-Ban Meta case may seem short, especially if you wear it every day, it contains an extra battery that allows for an additional eight hours of charging on the go.
Bottom line: You can have my Ray-Ban Metas if you pry them from my cold, dead fingers.
Any discussion about the cost of anything is subjective, but $329 for a base model Wayfarer is less than what I paid for my last frameset, and they never answer me when I talk to them. By comparison, the cheapest Humane AI pin costs $499 and requires a monthly subscription, while the Rabbit R1 costs $199.
With their retro design, practical AI capabilities and hands-free functionality, Ray-Ban Metas are the kind of glasses Q would give to James Bond. While there are limitations such as the lack of a display and some complex tasks, overall the Ray-Ban Meta glasses are an “I didn’t know I needed this” gadget that already allows me to do many things like take photos and send texts easier and cooler.