I dont think any were any smarter than AirPods.
Embraced by the next generation of culture makers, its journey continues with AI-enhanced wearable tech.
Listen, call, capture, and live stream features are seamlessly integrated within the classic frame.
What Are Meta Smart Glasses?
My first pair of camera glasses dates back to 2016 with Snapchats debut ofSpectacles.
Metas inclusion of artificial intelligence in its new frames feels like the start of something meaningful.
They need to be on our face or in our ears.
The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses provide that accessibility.
I really liked using the Meta AI assistant on the Smart GlassesI was not expecting to either.
Once in the kitchen, it answered a question about measurements, while my hands were busy with food.
(Yes, I wore the sunglasses indoors for testing.
Since Ray-Ban does offer transitional and clear lenses, the use case still stands.)
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
Still, the AI features here felt more like a proof of concept than an actual purchasing draw.
Ill need to revisit this next year when the feature set is expanded.
They even felt like a regular pair of Ray-Bans, of which I have a single point of comparison.
Embraced by the next generation of culture makers, its journey continues with AI-enhanced wearable tech. Listen, call, capture, and live stream features are seamlessly integrated within the classic frame.
The polarized blue lenses complimented the frames.
While not endless, the customization options for these Smart Glasses are meaningful.
(A decision I slightly regret as the short days of fall and winter approach.)
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
The standard size fit my head fine, but a large option is available.
In addition to being polarized, my pair had 100% UVA and UVB protection.
Simply, they functioned well as actual sunglasses.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
They were slightly heavier than a lot of sunglasses I own, but not enough to complain about.
First and foremost, the most compelling part of the glasses was using them instead of earbuds.
Listening to music through the glasses was a natural draw to want to put them on often.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
The Smart Glasses are advertised as being two times as loud as the previous Stories.
I went running with the Stories recently and I could barely hear a podcast over the street traffic.
Its not only the volume that got improved.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
The sound quality was excellent, probably in the ballpark ofAirPods 2.
Technically, these arentDolby Atmos-certified or anything, but they had a natural spatial audio feeling to them.
Thats thanks to great directional optimization and open-ear listeningbetter blending of music within your environment.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
It often felt like crisp and clear music was just following me around.
Plus, they recorded audio from videos spatially for authentic playback.
The touch controls are much better than the previous glasses, but they’re still not perfect.
While riding a bike or running, I used voice commands to capture videos and pictures.
Other times, I clicked the small button on the top of the right stem.
The 12MP ultrawide camera is able to capture pictures with a resolution of 3,024 x 4,032.
Its encroaching on the quality of a several-year-old iPhone camera.
For me, even if a camera isnt as good as the newest version in my pocket.
It still needs to be good enough that I dont regret leaving my phone in my pocket.
This one is close, but not quite at that point yet.
In bright light during the day, I thought the camera captured fine picturesgood even.
The images werent dull or grainy.
It looked more like a candid shot than a portrait.
The camera is a fun, creative tool right now.
Maybe the next version will have people becoming more dependent on it to capture can’t-miss memories.
Videos are captured at 1,440 x 1,920 and 30 frames per second.
I thought the results were perfectly fine for viewing back on my phone.
They were a little stretched when viewed fullscreen on a 27-inch Studio Display.
The results just werent good enough.
The results from these new glasses are good enough to not be distracting to the content captured.
The gallery below contains sample images taken directly from the glasses, without any editing.
It was slightly bulky and completely rigid, but it had a nice leather-like exterior texture to it.
The new one is stylish and more compact.
It was easier to travel with compared to the bulkier Stories case.
The new case also secures the glasses inside better so they don’t jostle around.
Smartly, Meta moved the pairing button to the case and freed that functionality from the glasses themselves.
Should You Buy the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses?
We’re not close to that yet, though.
The speakers were also good enough to opt for not having regular earbuds in my ears.
And cool is hard to manufacture.
