The Truth About Meta Ray-Bans: A Review

Welcome to this week’s Deep-Fried Dive with Fry Guy! In these long-form articles, Fry Guy conducts in-depth analyses of cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) developments and developers. Today, Fry Guy dives into a review of the Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses. We hope you enjoy!

*Notice: We do not receive any monetary compensation from the people and projects we feature in the Sunday Deep-Fried Dives with Fry Guy. We explore these projects and developers solely to showcase interesting and cutting-edge AI developments and uses.*

AI wearables are all the rage these days. From pins to pendants, many believe that in the near future, everyone will be wearing AI!

I decided to give one of these gadgets a shot by ordering the Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses. In this article, I will share my experience—explaining some impressive features and voicing some lingering concerns.

THE SETUP

I have seen Meta Ray-Bans advertised left and right in commercials and on social media, and as a tech fiend, I just had to try them for myself. I ordered the glasses online at Meta.com/smartglasses. Meta offers multiple style and color options, along with various lens types. They have the option for traditional sunglasses, blue light glasses, and prescription lenses. The non-prescription glasses range from $270-400. This may seem like a lot (and it is), but compared to the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro, this seems relatively reasonable. After sifting through the assortment of colors and styles, I chose the Headliner glasses. The sweet pink/purple shade looked super slick online, and I just couldn’t resist.

The glasses arrived three days after ordering. When I opened the box, I found the glasses and a brown charging case, along with a manual. The glasses looked as advertised (though slightly heavier than traditional sunglasses), and the manual contained a QR code which took me to the Meta View app. This app walked me through the setup process.

The setup process was straightforward. I was first prompted to create a unique Meta View account, and then the app helped me pair my new Smart Glasses to my phone, which was about as simple as setting up a Bluetooth connection. I was then provided with a demo which showed me how to access and use various buttons on the glasses, which turned out to be pretty intuitive. After that, I was off to the races. The entire setup took only 5-10 minutes.

WHAT CAN THE GLASSES DO?

There were multiple features of the Meta Smart Glasses that I was wowed by.

1. The glasses grant access to Meta AI via voice command.

Meta’s most advanced AI model, Meta AI, is available on command through the glasses. All you have to do is say, “Hey Meta,” and you can then follow up with any question or command. Meta AI responds via voice. The Meta View app also stores these conversations for reference later (they can be deleted if the user wishes). This is similar to the capabilities of ChatGPT and other AI models that allow for voice. However, the Meta Smart Glasses extend beyond the traditional capabilities of chatbots like ChatGPT because they can answer questions about your surroundings! For instance, while wearing the glasses, I said, “Hey Meta, what am I looking at?” Meta AI responded vocally, “You seem to be looking at a Christmas tree with various decorations on it. Would you like to know more?” This is one of the coolest aspects of the glasses, but it is also a bit unnerving. This computer vision capability scared me at first, because I was worried that the glasses were watching everything I do at all times. However, Meta’s policies assure users that the glasses only access vision when prompted. Given Meta’s history of bending the rules with data collection, however, this remains a bit unnerving.

It’s also worth noting that the Meta AI voice can be customized, but there are only about six voice tone options, and they encompass four languages (English, Spanish, Italian, and French). Of these six voice tones, I only found one of them that sounds like a human. The rest are a bit robotic.

2. The glasses pair with your music apps.

The Smart Glasses pair with your music apps easily (such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music), and by tapping the side of your glasses, you can play music. You can also adjust the volume by sliding forwards and backwards on the side of the glasses. Initially, I was not sure how the sound quality would be. To my pleasant surprise, the music quality sounded as good as some of the best headphones I have tried. In fact, it sounded so clear and loud that I was worried others around me would be bothered by it. However, even in a quiet room, others seem unable to hear the music—they would have to get within about three feet to hear anything. I’m still not sure how that works, exactly, but it’s a mystery I’m happy about.

3. The glasses take photos and videos.

With the touch of a button or command of your voice, the Meta Smart Glasses can capture what you are looking at by picture or video. This picture or video is then stored on the Meta View app and can also be downloaded to your phone’s camera roll automatically if you would like. This is perfect for snapping a quick shot of something you see or taking a video of an event while you enjoy with your own eyes! The quality of the images and videos is very good, about on par with that of an iPhone camera.

4. The glasses sync to your phone.

One of the most convenient features of these glasses is that they easily pair with your phone. This allows you to prompt Meta to send text messages. For instance, when wearing the glasses, I said, “Hey Meta, text Billy.” Meta responded, “What would you like to send?” Then, I was able to speak whatever I wanted to send, without ever touching my phone. I was also impressed by the ability to send photos and videos. For instance, I said, “Hey Meta, send a picture of what I’m looking at right now to Jenny.” On command, it did just that. Before sending the picture, however, it asked me if I would like to review it on my phone first or if it was okay to send. This was a helpful buffer and put to rest some worries I had about accidentally sending people odd pictures of what I was looking at.

Beyond text messages, the glasses sync for calls as well. With a simple, “Call Joseph,” I was able to make a phone call with ease. The people on the other end of the phone call said the voice quality was clear, as if I was talking directly into my phone. This mimics the voice recognition and background noise cancelling of other wireless devices like Air Pods. Like the music, the voice from the other end of the phone was loud and clear, yet my conversations were kept private from nearby people.

One more impressive feature of the glasses syncing to your phone is that they alert you of notifications. For example, I got a text message from one of my friends, and Meta AI informed me, “You got a text message from Alfred that says … ” The same goes for phone calls and notifications from social media sites like Instagram and Facebook, if you are interested in that sort of thing.

SOME SLIGHT WORRIES

I was very pleased with the features of the Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses I have outlined. Many of the worries I had, such as concerns about others overhearing my conversations or being annoyed by my music, have been resolved. However, there are a few things that still leave me a bit on edge.

As I have previously alluded to, I am worried about privacy. Meta has assured users that it does not monitor what they are looking at unless prompted, but I still find this difficult to fully trust. There is something about wearing glasses that can answer questions about what I am looking at that makes me wonder when “it is watching” and when it isn’t. It’s also not clear if and how my information is being stored. For instance, if I take a picture of my surroundings, is Meta now storing the things I look at? Does it store the conversations I have? And what is this data being used for? In some weird way, it seems that over time, the model will learn what I see, how I think, and what it’s like to be me. Of course, this worry may be overstated, but it definitely gets one thinking!

Lastly, I worry about the way others may perceive me as I wear sunglasses with cameras on them. Although the two frontal cameras are small, they are still visible, and when people in public see me wearing glasses with a camera pointed at them, it may give them the wrong impression—that I am invading their privacy. Meta has implemented a feature where a light comes on the glasses when it is recording or taking a picture, but not everyone knows that, and if a camera were pointed at me, I’d be a bit suspicious.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, despite some privacy concerns, the Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses exceeded my expectations. I’m quite impressed with their ability to live up to the hype they have gotten, and I’m excited to see what is in store for the future of AI wearables. In fact, the future of AI wearables almost seems too bright … Good thing I got some sunglasses!

*Disclosure: We have received no incentive to share this product from the companies mentioned in this article. We are just genuinely interested in exploring the technology and sharing our thoughts with you.*