Just when the wearable tech revolution seemed to have lost some momentum, Meta came up with a new line of smart glasses, and it’s not called Stories. In association with EssilorLuxottica, they have launched the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses that are available for pre-order and will hit the stores on October 17. 

While it’s a significant upgrade over their previous endeavour Stories smart glasses, what makes this meta-powered Ray Ban glasses a potential game changer in the realm of personal tech is its sleek style. They look easy on your face, come in classic Wayfarer and Headliner frames, and they can easily be mistaken for just everyday glasses. 

Okay, Mark Zuckerberg is perhaps the last person in the world to seek fashion tips from, but Red Bull F1 driver Charles Leclerc has surely got the drip. Leclerc has been announced as the new face of Zuckerberg’s latest unveilings, and he looked pretty charming in Ray-Ban glasses. The subtler design of these glasses doesn’t give a geeky vibe that might have pedestrians in the street shouting “glasshole” at you. 

What Makes Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Unique?

Much Improved Audio

Stories, the earlier version of Ray-Ban X Meta, had just a solitary microphone, and many buyers complained of fading sound in noisy environments. In contrast, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are equipped with five speakers, two embedded in both frames and one just on the nose bridge, for a better audio experience. Furthermore, these microphones are accompanied by embedded speakers, which can be used to converse with the chatbot, Meta AI, that, Zuckerberg unveiled at Connect. “I think the AI part of this is going to be just as important in smart glasses being adopted as the augmented reality features,” he said during the keynote. Though there’s a legit privacy concerns as the user can film without someone’s permission. When Google came up with their glasses almost a decade ago, critics argued how this intrusive technology will compromise the public privacy, as the implication of being filmed without being aware is huge. Meta, however, has tried to tackle this by introducing a barely visible LED indicator that lights up if the device is filming something.

A Visual Delight

Isn’t it irksome to find yourself in a situation where you want to live in the moment, but also want to preserve the beauty that’s unfolding in front of your eyes? This dilemma has been prominently addressed by Meta with its new glasses, whose much-improved camera, a new ultra-wide 12 MP allows you to take high-quality pictures and record 1080p videos at 1440 x 1920 resolution for up to 60 seconds. You can directly stream these videos, or upload them on Instagram and Facebook. Welcome to Metaverse! The frame is lashed with hyper-responsive touchpad that can be used to call someone, play music, or click pictures.

But how long can it endure after one charge? 

The Meta-powered glasses come with a Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 processor, and while gentle contact with water splashes won’t harm, you can’t jump in the pool with this. They can hold up to 4-6 hours after one charge, but the new charging case can be used eight times. You can pre-order Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The basic version that comes with 4GB of storage, and a 5MP camera is available for just $299. The polarized lenses will cost $329, and for transition lenses, you need to spend $379.

Should you go for it? Well, if you always wanted to get a smart glasses for yourself, there’s no doubt Ray-Ban Meta glasses are much better than its rivals, Bose’ Frames or Amazon’s Echo Frames.