As a tech reporter, I attend occasions and conferences with different gadget aficionados. A telltale signal {that a} product is nice is when reporters and attendees rave about it and even use their cash to purchase it. And irrespective of the place I went, I could not escape the glowing Meta Ray-Ban critiques.
These experiences weren’t simply ones that I seen; gross sales informed the identical story. EssilorLuxottica, the glasses producer, reported in February that two million pairs of the Meta Ray-Bans have been offered since their October 2023 launch. After listening to so many rave critiques of the Meta Ray-Bans, I obtained a pair of my very own.
As an eyeglass wearer and an overtly photo-obsessed Gen-Zer, these smartglasses appeared like an ideal match. After sporting them for 5 months, together with at occasions similar to CES, I’ve some favourite options. Surprisingly, my high picks will not be what I initially thought they’d be.
1. The audio
When contemplating whether or not I needed the glasses, all of the obvious advantages concerned the twin cameras. I by no means anticipated my favourite characteristic to be the audio. The smartglasses are outfitted with 5 microphones and two custom-built open-ear audio system which might be surprisingly performant.
I typically neglect that I’m sporting good glasses till I begin scrolling on social media and listen to audio. The audio is actually pretty much as good as utilizing any earbuds with ambient mode or open-ear headphones, such because the Shockz OpenFit. There may be sound leakage, however as somebody who steadily makes use of open-ear headphones, I haven’t got any disgrace.
One other main benefit is how good the microphones are. My largest type of communication is audio message exchanges, and I used to be nervous that the glasses would make it inconvenient or tough to ship them. As a substitute, the glasses choose up my voice naturally, with no points. In actual fact, they’re higher than some earbuds that I’ve examined and worn.
2. AI-enabled translation
As a man-made intelligence (AI) reporter, I’ve examined a number of AI translation gadgets, and my electronic mail inbox is flooded with pitches from firms selling them. These merchandise are sometimes pricey and solely fulfill one process. For that purpose, I used to be fairly excited to see that the Meta Ray-Bans embody an AI-powered dwell translation characteristic without spending a dime.
Though AI translation isn’t one thing you’d attain for day-after-day, in conditions the place you need assistance, it is good to know that you’ve got an assistant shut at hand. Plus, as somebody who grew up in a Spanish-speaking family and is fluent, I attempted the tech with my mother in actual time, and was impressed at how precisely it translated, how fast it was to get began, and the way simple it was to arrange.
3. Quick access to Meta AI (bonus, it is multimodal)
Now, I do know most days it’s possible you’ll not use an AI voice assistant in your telephone, however what makes the tech nice on these smartglasses is accessibility.
One of the best half about Meta Ray-Bans is that you simply typically neglect you might be sporting them. So, you possibly can go about your day, washing dishes, folding garments, sweeping the ground, and commuting with out your telephone whereas nonetheless gaining access to essential options, similar to push notifications, music, and help.
For instance, in case you are grilling outdoors and your telephone is in the home, you possibly can rapidly ask, “How lengthy ought to I prepare dinner a burger on the grill earlier than flipping?” The AI-enabled assistant is multimodal, utilizing the feed from the cameras on the high of the lenses as context.
In that state of affairs, you may say one thing like, “How lengthy earlier than I flip this?”, and the assistant would use the visible context to offer a solution. Due to the place of the cameras, the glasses can see what you see, which might be much more useful. Each time I name on this characteristic, it by no means will get previous.
4. Filming
This may occasionally look like an apparent perk, however in the event you create numerous visible content material, the Meta Ray-Bans are a cool factor so as to add to your arsenal. Due to the positioning of the cameras within the glasses, the footage you get is exclusive, as it’s actually out of your standpoint.
For instance, in case you are on an amusement park experience, strolling via a venue, or cooking a meal, folks see precisely what you might be experiencing. This point-of-view expertise is much like a GoPro system, and, regardless of the inferior high quality, in case you are like me and never an adrenaline junky, this feature could also be extra sensible.
One other profit is the button’s positioning. It’s prominently and conveniently displayed on the high of the fitting eye, so there isn’t any messing round while you see one thing you wish to shoot. This functionality makes it even faster than taking your telephone out and clicking the report button.
5. Kind issue
Final however not least, I would not be capable to speak concerning the Meta Ray-Bans with out speaking concerning the kind issue. Within the photograph above, I’ve them side-by-side subsequent to the pair I put on day-after-day, and you’ll see that they give the impression of being extraordinarily comparable, regardless of packing many parts similar to cameras, microphones, audio system, and a battery. Most individuals cannot even inform that the Ray-Bans are good glasses, except you’re a fellow techie.
One ache level
The battery dies a bit too quick for my liking. In my expertise, I sometimes could make them final round six hours. Nonetheless, that usually means the ability on the glasses lasts midway via my day, which is not supreme. That is why the newly introduced Oakley Meta glasses are so interesting; they’re rated to final upwards of eight hours.
There may be additionally no strategy to cost the Ray-Ban glasses whereas they’re in your face, although I am certain a further part for that may solely add to their present heft. My workaround is to put on the Meta Ray-Bans once I know I would like to make use of the options, fairly than day-after-day.
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This story was initially revealed on Could 12, 2025, and was up to date on June 26, 2025.
