At the end of 2023, Meta launched a range of smart glasses with Ray-Ban. The glasses are distinguished by the integration of a camera, speakers, and a microphone. They function as a companion accessory for your smartphone, much like a smartwatch or a pair of wireless headphones.
The formula has won over the general public. The smart Ray-Ban glasses sold like hotcakes, with more than a million units sold over the last year. Faced with the huge success of the range, Meta began improving its glasses with increasingly ambitious AI features. While Meta has just rolled out a major AI update, we took a few weeks to test the most popular smart glasses on the market. Here's our take.
Almost as discreet as traditional glasses
First of all, smart glasses have a major advantage: they look like glasses. In fact, it's hard to tell them apart from a pair of classic Ray-Bans. The only thing you'll notice is that the arms are a little thicker than those of a traditional pair of glasses, and the rim around the lenses is a little more substantial. For this test, Meta provided us with a pair of Skylers with transition lenses, which darken in response to light.
It's likely that people around you won't realize you're wearing a tech gadget on your face unless you use the camera (more on that later). Meta's Ray-Ban takes smart glasses to a whole new level from an aesthetic perspective. Most glasses on the market are too bulky to be considered simple glasses. As a result, the wearer must be prepared to face the gaze of others. Wearers of a pair of Ray-Ban Meta don't have the same problem.
The cherry on top is that the glasses are not much heavier than a pair of glasses without electronics. In fact, the pair weighs only between 48 and 50 g. You'll be able to wear them on your nose for several hours without too much trouble. Here again, the Ray-Ban Meta scores a point thanks to their design.
Video and photo: the two main functions of the Ray-Ban Meta
The main connected functions of the Meta glasses are photo and video. Without taking your smartphone out of your pocket, you can film or take photos. Meta relies on two photo sensors, located on each side of the lenses, instead of the traditional Ray-Ban metal rivets. In detail, Meta has incorporated two 12-megapixel, ultra-wide-angle modules.
Simply press a button located on the top of the right arm to take a photo. You'll hear a faint noise through the speakers to indicate that the photo has been taken. The process takes less than two seconds. To record a sequence, you need to long-press the same button. Note that you can't record videos that last more than three minutes. After a few weeks of intensive use, we never felt like we were being restricted. One small drawback is that the glasses always record videos in portrait format, which is better suited for social media. We're old-school and would have liked to be able to record videos in landscape format.
Note that it's possible to broadcast a live video on Facebook or Instagram for up to 30 minutes. You can also make video calls through Meta group messaging services, such as WhatsApp. In all cases, the image is stable and high-quality.
The camera functions can be activated via voice control, but we've always preferred using the physical button on the glasses. It's more discreet and convenient. To prevent wearers from using the glasses to take photos without their friends or family knowing, Meta has included a light indicator. This lights up when you take a photo or record a video. We found the light indicator easy to miss, especially in broad daylight. Our friends and family usually didn't notice that we had taken photos of them without their knowledge. It's a shame, given that Meta implemented this system to prevent abuse.
The photos taken by the glasses are of rather good quality, especially in good lighting conditions. We are obviously far from reaching the image quality of a recent high-end smartphone, but the result is far from shameful. If you're using a smartphone from a few years ago, you might not notice the difference.
We especially appreciated being able to immortalize a special moment without having to hide behind our smartphone screen. With Ray-Ban Meta, you can live in the moment while recording memories. We quickly got into the habit of putting on glasses when a significant event is planned, such as a tourist visit, a walk in an unusual place or a festivity is planned. In these cases, we really liked the fact that we could leave our smartphone in our pocket... without depriving ourselves of some digital memories.
Audio and calls
The glasses also have a microphone and a speaker that allow you to listen to music, make calls or even interact with Meta AI (we'll come back to this later). During our test, we made several phone calls and listened to music or TV shows with the glasses. In a quiet environment, the sound quality was pretty good, and the calls were clear. We tested the glasses in the woods, in our backyard, and inside our home.
If the surroundings are a bit noisy, you might quickly regret not having slipped noise-canceling headphones into your ears. They're an excellent backup audio system, but they're no substitute for a good pair of headphones. This is especially true if you're a music lover and appreciate good bass. Nevertheless, the result is far from bad.
One small drawback is that people around you will inevitably hear what you're listening to if you turn the volume up. This is inherent in audio systems based on bone conduction. Don't imagine discreetly listening to music in the middle of an open space or during a boring family meal without being noticed... Similarly, it turns out that the glasses' communications through the speakers are clearly perceptible. If your glasses alert you to a received message, everyone nearby is likely to hear it.
Companion app and voice control
The glasses come with a dedicated app, Meta AI (formerly called Meta View). This app allows you to configure the accessory, adjust the artificial intelligence, or manage real-time translation (more on this later). It's also within this app that you'll find all the content recorded with the camera, such as photos and videos. The app lets you download the content of your choice and drag it into your smartphone gallery. The glasses have 32 GB of storage, which is more than enough since we regularly transfer the content saved on our phone.
The app is simple, effective, and relatively intuitive. The smart Ray-Bans also include a notification and voice control system. When you receive a message or a call, the glasses will alert you through the microphone located in the temple. You can also launch any of the glasses' features with a voice request. This system keeps its promises. With some exceptions, the glasses understand what you want to say to them. It's more complicated in a noisy environment, like in the middle of a crowd or a busy bar.
Battery life and charging
The glasses come with a charging case. Very elegant, it is very similar to the faux leather cases that usually accompany Ray-Ban pairs. It also has the same magnetic clasp. On the pouch, there is a luminous circle that indicates the charge level. If it is green, it means the charge is complete. An orange LED indicates that the battery is charging. The case itself is recharged via its USB-C port.
With the glasses' battery, Meta promises up to 4 hours of continuous use. In our experience, this is more than enough to be able to film or take photos during an event, such as a party, or during a walk. We never ran out. When you're not using the connected features, the battery lasts particularly well.
Once the glasses' battery runs out, simply slide them into the case to start charging. The case promises up to 36 hours of combined use for the glasses. The glasses reach 50% charge in about 20 minutes when placed in the case. In terms of battery life, we don't have much to complain about with the glasses. The battery life is sufficient to meet the brand's promises. However, you should remember to recharge the case from time to time to avoid running out of juice at the wrong time.
What is Meta's glasses AI worth?
A few weeks ago, Meta rolled out an AI that allows the glasses to become the wearer's eyes. Through the camera, the AI will see absolutely everything you see. To ask it what you have in front of you, simply say "Hey Meta, what am I looking at." The AI then describes everything in front of the wearer.
Once the AI has seen what you see, you can ask it for information about your surroundings. We noticed that the descriptions provided by the AI were often rather sketchy. Meta AI doesn't seem to perceive the details of your surroundings. For example, we asked Meta's generative AI to describe our garden. The AI failed to mention that our cat was wandering right in the middle of the lawn. Yet, this was a central element of what we had in front of our eyes.
Furthermore, Meta AI does not accurately perceive the details of a device in front of you. For example, we asked the AI how to turn on the motor of a home spa, which was in front of us. The chatbot simply advised us... to press the start button. As things stand, AI is not really capable of helping you with your daily tasks. Unlike ChatGPT's visual intelligence, Meta AI is not going to scour the web looking for specific information that could help you. In fact, its answers remain generic... and therefore quite useless. This is why Meta AI was unable to help us operate our new coffee machine. In fact, AI doesn't know any more than you do.
Another example: we asked Meta AI to name a plant in front of us, and the results were a bit random. The AI recognized our monstera deliciosa (a green plant with large, broad leaves) and a bouquet of tulips, but mistook a Christmas rose for a cactus. Here again, artificial intelligence suffers from its lack of precision.
In the wake of AI, Meta has also deployed a real-time translation function on the glasses. The system has proven quite convincing for the most basic exchanges. For richer and more complex conversations, it unfortunately falls short.
A Consistent Price
Meta offers connected Ray-Bans at a starting price of 319 euros in France. Depending on the model chosen (Wayfarer, Headliner, Skyler) and lenses, the price can climb to over 400 euros. This is far from excessive when you consider the price range Ray-Ban charges for its traditional glasses. It is not uncommon to pay between 110 and 150 euros for the brand's glasses. In other words, you only need to add around 200 euros to get the connected version.
Is the future before our eyes?
With smart Ray-Bans, Meta offers a convincing glimpse of the future at a decent price. In the coming years, accessories of this type, powered by AI, are likely to multiply, to the point that the traditional smartphone could end up becoming obsolete.
To convince, the glasses have a series of assets, such as a discreet design, a quality camera, an AI full of ambition and promise, and a promising translation system. However, many of the features of Ray-Ban Meta are still in their infancy. This is especially the case for the integrated AI and the translation function, which we are eager to see evolve. We also regret that the glasses are totally dependent on your smartphone... the device they are intended to replace.
Barring any surprises, Meta's proposition will be enriched and improved in the years to come. Rumors already point to a pair of connected glasses equipped with a screen to offer real augmented reality functions. Given the prowess of current Ray-Bans, we can't wait to see what Meta has in store for us...
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