Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are the most practical glasses to launch lately. The biggest advantage of such smart glasses is that they free you from the constraints of taking out your smartphone or a camera to record a moment. Being wearable, it records what you see, bringing a unique perspective or simplifying – truly living in the moment. 
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses camera samples
The video, on the other hand, is the real deal here. The idea of shooting images and videos without taking out your phone is cool. The Meta glasses can record up to 60-second videos, and that’s fine for your Instagram or Facebook Story. What impresses you the most is the stabilisation of the videos and the details captured by the glasses. Additionally, the Meta glasses also offer you an option to live stream videos—the quality, however, isn’t great.
The company has made huge battery life claims; however, in reality, it’s not close to those figures. We will talk about battery performance in a bit.
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses house the camera on the left side
Coming to audio, the Meta glasses pack open-ear speakers, meaning if you are travelling in a metro, you are not alone who can hear your private calls, but also people around you. The same goes for music or a clip you are seeing on your phone with Meta glasses as your speaker. During the review, there were moments when I forgot my earbuds for meetings, but Meta glasses made sure I could hear music while on the go.
Quality-wise, the treble is nice, but the base is completely missing, which is expected. But at the end of the day, if you forgot your buds, then Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are your saviour.
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Review: Meta View App Support
The Meta View app is the companion app for Meta glasses. It is easy to connect with your glasses and offers quick options to transfer files. The app provides plenty of features, including privacy, where you can tweak a few things for calls and voice commands and opt for a different video length. The app is your quick reference point for checking the battery and changing settings. The app also offers options to share the clicked photo or video on social media.
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses work with a companion app named Meta View
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Review: What Can Improve
There are plenty of things we love about the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, but there are a few that need improvements. When you put on the glasses, a voice tells you the battery status, which is very useful. Well, that’s the only time glasses get anything concrete, such as voice commands. The entire Meta AI thing doesn’t work here in India and a lot of international markets. The voice command is limited to a few functionalities, and most “Hey Meta” voice triggers go unanswered. The only helpful use for voice commands was for recording videos and photos hands-free. Then, what actually spooked us was the shutter lag. From the moment you want to click a picture or record a video and tap on the Capture button on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, there’s a proper 1-second delay.
There was an instance when, while driving, I was trying to click a sunset picture appearing just above Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, but thanks to shutter lag, the frame I wanted to record was missed because of the delay. Another thing that could have given Meta glasses a bump in terms of usage was a toggle to zoom and then click a photo or record a video. The glasses offer touch gestures, and it would have been useful to zoom in and then click images. But I guess this could only be possible in next-gen Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
Smart glasses feature a blinker light indicating snaps and video recording
Next, the photos and videos do come out excellent for social media when in good lighting. The moment the lighting is slightly off, the recorded images and videos turn slightly dark.
Another minor issue is undocking the glasses from the case. The pin is placed on the nose of the glasses and is docked in the charging case. Every time you want to take them out, you must put some effort in because it’s not as easy as removing your sunglasses from their case. We wish Ray Ban and Meta had simplified this on the smart glasses, as a regular consumer may do this several times during the day, which hampers the overall user experience.
Battery performance is the next thing that could have been improved. The company claims up to four hours of battery life without a charging case, but in our review period, the battery dropped to 20 percent when we continuously wore them for 2 hours. Yes, the charging case drastically increases the battery life, but we would have loved it if Meta glasses could match the claimed numbers.
Meta glasses come with a charging case
The glasses charge up to 50 percent within 20 minutes and up to 100 percent in about 65 minutes. When you use the Meta glasses for short durations, which means keeping them back in the case every now and then, you won’t see the battery drop on most occasions. The battery issue only occurs when you wear these glasses for long hours.
The best thing, however, is that when the battery is dead, you can still use these glasses as your regular sunglasses without the smarts.
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Review: Verdict
The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses can easily be your choice for daily wear, fitted with prescription glasses (if required), or simply used as sunglasses. They pack a camera and record a unique perspective. The Meta glasses are best used as glasses with a camera and speakers.
Ray-Ban Meta is the most practical smart glasses available right now
What it offers—a plethora of things, including hands-free images and video recording alongside a live streaming option. There’s also hands-free calling and music. The call quality is good, and the gestures work well on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The design is interesting and lightweight.
Priced at $299, these can be your new sunglasses with a camera that lets you click snaps or record anything anywhere without taking out your phone—one of the product’s biggest USPs. The Ray-Ban Meta is one of the most practical smart glasses money can buy but has limited functionalities.
Pros –
- Smart glasses with plenty of combinations on offer
- Decent picture and video quality for social media uploads
- Comfortable to wear
- Excellent voice quality on calls and videos
- Amazing battery life
Cons –
- Limited availability (not available in India, too)
- Undocking glasses from the case is a task every time
- Minimal Shutter lag while clicking photos or recording videos
- Missing AI features
- Average camera performance in low-light conditions
