Navigating Half a Year with Ray-Ban Meta Smart Spectacles: Insights Gleaned
Rewritten Review: Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses - A Year Later
Hey there, tech enthusiast! Six months ago, I reviewed the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. These tech-infused shades offer a camera, open-ear speakers, microphones, and voice-activated Meta AI hidden within Wayfarer-style frames, transforming ordinary glasses into futuristic eyewear. Initially, I was smitten, but the real test came when these glasses transitioned from novelty items to everyday essentials.
Not Quite Everyday Glasses
After the initial excitement wore off, I noticed the weight of the Ray-Ban Metas. With 49 grams straight out of the box, they're a tad heavy compared to regular sunglasses. This weight increases to 54 grams once my prescription lenses are installed, making them slightly uncomfortable for prolonged use. While a select few of my glasses have a heftier 39-gram counterpart, the difference is noticeable. I found myself opting for my old glasses for tasks requiring fewer smart features and choosing the Ray-Bans when capturing photos, recording videos, or seeking hands-free operation. The occasional blunder of talking to my dumb glasses doesn't help, but hey, that's on me.
Durability and Style: Plenty to Appreciate
Kudos to Ray-Ban, Meta, and the production team, as these glasses have stood firm under daily use with no signs of wear and tear. No warped frames, broken arms, or other defects have appeared. The timeless Wayfarer design has remained popular throughout the six-month period, continuing to command respect from even the most discerning fashionistas like James Dean.
Battery Life: Room for Improvement
Ray-Ban states that the smart glasses have a battery life of "up to four hours," but this figure seems optimistic. In practice, they demand more frequent charging. The inclusion of a charger within the glasses' case alleviates this issue in most situations. However, lengthy outings where I desired plenty of photos or videos became troublesome. Options ranged from sacrificing part of an event or lugging around backup glasses for on-the-go charging.
An additional battery concern: disabling low-battery notifications necessitates disabling all notifications altogether. While this is true for many tech products, offering the choice to disable the low-battery notification individually would be a welcome improvement.
Social Factor: Catering to Mixed Opinions
The initial stealthy nature of the Ray-Ban Metas vanished as popularity of the product grew, piquing curiosity from onlookers who began wondering whether I was secretly snapping their pictures. More than one stranger questioned me about taking photos, and I couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable discussing surveillance and Meta's intentions with people who were concerned. Blurring boundaries between fashion and technology, these glasses represent a new concept for many, who find them unsettling.
Ray-Ban's Varied Features: Appealing to Varying Needs
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses boast numerous features that appeal to different users, not all equally useful. Here's a list of features, ranked from most frequently used to least:
- The camera: The camera serves as the glasses' crowning feature for me. Its inconvenience compared to a smartphone camera becomes especially evident when reaching for the latter involves unlocking the device, opening an app, and positioning it for a shot. Saying "Hey Meta, take a picture" can be incredibly useful during hands-free activities like cycling and listening to music.
Though the picture quality is impressive, these glasses excel with casual snaps. They're less suitable for high-quality or low-light photography or when aiming for superior image quality.
- Text and calls: Receiving a text and responding using voice is a lifesaver during busy or hands-free moments. The call quality is consistent, while voice recognition is effortless, even amid noise and crowds. Simplified setup, such as "Hey Meta, how do I send a text?" when forgetting feature commands, winners bonus points.
- Music: The audio quality of the Ray-Ban Meta's speakers is adequate but unremarkable, suitable for ambient music listening while cooking or doing chores. If you pride yourself on music appreciation, however, you'll likely gravitate towards earbuds for a more satisfying listening experience. On the positive side, voice commands for controlling music platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music are convenient.
- Meta AI: Depending on personal preferences, either the killer app or the Trojan horse of these glasses, I barely use the AI capabilities. The novelty of hearing the glasses describe my surroundings wore off quickly. Attempting to prank my friends with the AI or altering its voice to sound like Awkwafina only provided momentary amusement.
- Translation: Meta recently introduced translation capabilities, allowing users to converse in Spanish, French, and Italian by hearing their speech translated into English. This feature is too recent to evaluate thoroughly, but initial tests with a conversational, real-time translation rate support the claim that it's "like having a universal translator from Star Trek."
Wishes for Future Improvements
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses edge closer to being a true digital assistant, but they aren't there yet. A dream scenario would involve saying "Hey, Meta, book me a cheap hotel in Yonkers next weekend" and having it fulfill the request seamlessly. For now, the glasses can control music, manage texts, provide real-time translation, and offer basic information, representing a substantial feature set for sunglasses.
Privacy Concerns (For Those Who Still Believe in Privacy)
Meta recently sent a message to Ray-Ban Meta users confirming that the Meta AI with the camera is always enabled unless the user disables "Hey Meta," and the option to disable voice recording storage is no longer available[2]. This move raises some privacy concerns. While I'm too boring to be overly concerned about my activities being recorded, privacy-minded users may opt for different products.
Are They Worth the Price?
Whether something is considered "worth it" is debatable, depending on the individual. At $299, the combination of a camera, AI agent, Bluetooth headset, and sunglasses seems like a fair deal, especially for those seeking prescription Ray-Ban Metas, which can be more expensive. All things considered, these glasses have earned their place in my daily rotation, provided they shed a bit more weight to become my go-to everyday shades.
Sources:
[1] Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Review (2022): Are They Worth it? - KnowTechiehttps://knowtechie.com/ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses-review/
[2] Meta to stop sending voices to its servers for Ray-Ban Stories augmented reality glasses - The Vergehttps://www.theverge.com/2022/5/6/23067990/meta-facebook-ray-ban-stories-glasses-voice-recordings-storing-privacy
[3] Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Review: Stylish But Battery Life is Shaky - Digital Trendshttps://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ray-ban-smart-glasses-review/
[4] Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Review (2022): Are They a Genuine Innovation or Just Another Gimmick? - TechRadarhttps://www.techradar.com/reviews/ray-ban-smart-glasses
[5] Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses stay on your head, but you'll need to keep them charged - Mashablehttps://mashable.com/review/ray-ban-stories-smart-glasses/
- Despite the initial fascination with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, their heavier weight compared to traditional eyeglasses makes them less comfortable for extended use, sometimes leading the reviewer to opt for other glasses for tasks without intensive smart features.
- Despite a few minor blunders, like accidentally talking to the glasses, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have remained durable and stand up well to daily use with no signs of wear and tear.
- The battery life of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses is relatively short, often requiring more frequent charging, which can be challenging during lengthy outings.
- The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have gained attention from onlookers, causing some sense of unease as people ponder whether the glasses are secretly capturing their images.
- The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses can be seen as a fair value deal, especially for those in need of prescription glasses, given their numerous features like a camera, AI agent, Bluetooth headset, and sunglasses, all at $299. However, the reviewer suggests that shedding some weight would make them ideal for everyday wear.
