When the Ray Ban Stories first came out I was amazed with the technology in the glasses and with Meta`s second generation here they have only expanded on that technology in ways that this may potentially be the next big thing that everyone "must have."First right out of the box these sunglasses are exactly what you would expect from a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses as the look, feel, and fit are all top notch. By collaborating with Ray Ban I feel Meta has definitely made a great decision as there is a reason Ray Ban sunglasses are some of the most sold. The other major thing to note here is the vast improvement in the case as previously it was more of a blocky case whereas now the new case looks nearly identical to your traditional leather Ray Ban case. The led ... MoreWhen the Ray Ban Stories first came out I was amazed with the technology in the glasses and with Meta`s second generation here they have only expanded on that technology in ways that this may potentially be the next big thing that everyone "must have."First right out of the box these sunglasses are exactly what you would expect from a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses as the look, feel, and fit are all top notch. By collaborating with Ray Ban I feel Meta has definitely made a great decision as there is a reason Ray Ban sunglasses are some of the most sold. The other major thing to note here is the vast improvement in the case as previously it was more of a blocky case whereas now the new case looks nearly identical to your traditional leather Ray Ban case. The led indicator on the outside where the clasp goes is also a nice subtle touch.Moving onto the actual usability there is definitely a lot to unpack here. First, pairing the glasses to your phone is absolutely seamless with the sue of the Meta View app. Here you can tell Meta specializes in smartphone apps as this app is so easy to use. Also, one thing to mention is battery life as these made it through multiple hours of use and I did not have to charge the case at all throughout the week.Next was looking at how easy it would be to use these and to start off I started with the audio component and listened to a variety of songs to which the sound is definitely an upgrade from the prior version and I will say even with the improved sound there is very little, if any, leakage in sound for others to hear. Supposedly the touch pad on the side of the glasses is larger this time around and I can say I did not have any issues using any of the touch controls when using them for play feedback whereas in the previous version it did occur occasionally where I would go to turn up or down the volume and it wouldn`t register so a definite upgrade again here.Moving onto the actual camera/video component of these glasses I was thoroughly impressed with the improvements as yea it may not be as good as your $1,000 smartphone camera, but the differences are negligible. The video component is where these really shine though as it is exceptional! My biggest concern for wearable cameras is the stabilization component and Meta has done a great job here as it is barely noticeable with the video not bobbing around all over as you film. Also, the transition from lighting situations (outside to inside of a building) is seamless as there is no adjustment/focus period here. The microphone for filming is also exceptional as this time around they have used five microphones where when filming it films in spatial audio to which when you play the video back you can actually here the various sounds occurring in different areas when you captured the video. In regard to the microphones with two of them being on the nose piece it is naturally closer to your mouth so when talking it is crystal clear.The last item I have to mention is the voice assistant / AI. This allows you to simply speak and tell the glasses to take a picture or start a video to which this feature worked seamlessly. It also allows you to ask more simple questions in my experience and even creates automated captions for you as well. The feature I really hope they deliver on is that they promised a feature where you can look at something and ask a specific question pertaining to that item and it will answer accordingly. Again, this may be one of those pie in the sky ideas, but my hope is still intact.Overall, with the breadth of advancements from the first generation I again come away thoroughly impressed as I was with the previous product. Everyone scoffed at Bluetooth headphones and smart watches when they first came out, but nowadays they are evident everywhere to which I believe this may be that next true "must have" item. I feel that virtual reality may be too far off in the future, but Meta`s advances in virtual reality are evident here in a more inconspicuous way.

💪 BUILD:I have the glossy version of the low-bridge Headliner model. While I typically prefer matte textured frames, I do like the aesthetic of the shiny Headliner. I wear glasses all the time, so my frames tend to go through some wear and tear. My Headliners already have a few scuffs on the frames, but it’s not noticeable unless I’m really looking. Not really an issue in the grand scheme of things, but I do wish that Meta offered a matte version of the Headliner. Hopefully there will be an option in the future, as a couple other models have matte options.Folding the glasses feels confident, and stowing them away in the charging case feels secure without them rattling around. The case itself feels nicely designed—neither cheap nor premium, but certainly more ... More💪 BUILD:I have the glossy version of the low-bridge Headliner model. While I typically prefer matte textured frames, I do like the aesthetic of the shiny Headliner. I wear glasses all the time, so my frames tend to go through some wear and tear. My Headliners already have a few scuffs on the frames, but it’s not noticeable unless I’m really looking. Not really an issue in the grand scheme of things, but I do wish that Meta offered a matte version of the Headliner. Hopefully there will be an option in the future, as a couple other models have matte options.Folding the glasses feels confident, and stowing them away in the charging case feels secure without them rattling around. The case itself feels nicely designed—neither cheap nor premium, but certainly more premium than my normal sunglasses cases. And I appreciate that there’s an indicator light on the magnetically closing lid to give me a quick status on its battery level. The USB-C port on the bottom makes it easy to charge the case, and a stealthy pairing button on the rear of the case makes it easy to pair with your smartphone.It should also be mentioned that the glasses themselves are IPX4 rated, so they can withstand some splashes, but they won’t necessarily be able to sustain a downpour. I wouldn’t recommend taking them into a pool unless you’re cautious as not to get them wet, since submerging them is completely out of the question.🔘 CONTROLS:The control scheme is pretty straight forward on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. When you’re wearing them, you’ll find the ability to take pictures by pressing the button on the top-right of the frame, and holding the button will begin a video clip.For music playback and spawning the Meta AI assistant, you can use the stealthily hidden touch area of the frame, also found on the right side. Swiping gestures will control volume, single tap to play/pause, and double-tap or triple-tap to skip forward and backward. And a long-hold to spawn the Meta AI assistant or optionally Spotify Tap or Apple Music. You can also configure a 3-finger hold in the app, but only to spawn the Meta AI assistant.There’s also a switch found on the inner-left side of the frames if you want to completely power off the glasses and use them as a normal pair of sunglasses without additional features. Whether it's for privacy purposes or to save battery, the option is there.And lastly, you can control many of these features simply using your voice with Meta AI, in addition to all the other benefits an AI assistant could yield you. So if your hands are preoccupied, saying “Hey Meta” spawns the AI with a very high success rate.👓 COMFORT:I’ve been wearing the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner under a variety of different scenarios—driving, working on a computer outdoors, wearing them on my 7 mile round-trip scooter commute to work, and other leisurely scenarios.For me, the low bridge fit of the Headliner has been good, overall. Many other glasses I’d be constantly re-adjusting as they’d be slipping down my nose, but these have been much more pleasant than I’d expected. I’ll still need to put them through the paces of more strenuous activity like running or volleyball, but in casual day-to-day usage, wearing them has been seamless and pleasant.📷 CAMERA:Still images are captured from the camera at 12MP (3024x4032) in a portrait/vertical aspect ratio. In well-lit environments, the images and videos aren’t as sharp as a modern smartphone when you zoom in and compare frame-by-frame—but I was still very impressed with the color and contrast. In dimly lit environments, the images will be much softer, so perhaps not as good for sharing on social media.Videos are captured at 1360x1824 @ 30 fps in a portrait/vertical aspect ratio, and are limited to 60 second clips. This consistently yielded a file size of about 115MB per 60 second clip. So you won’t be able to sustain a long recording session on the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, but you’ll certainly be able to store quite a few clips on its internal 32GB storage.Video stabilization was impressively good in my experience. As someone who rides a fast electric scooter, all my footage was very smooth with no lens distortion or rolling shutter effects. But since the framerate is capped at 30fps, this does mean that quick head motions will yield blurrier footage during those moments.And I noticed that during really sunny outdoor environments, the auto-exposure was very good and quick to react—but this could be distracting if the amount of light being captured by the sensor is constantly changing. Since you don’t have a viewfinder, you won’t really know if you’re getting a good shot until you’ve imported it. So I certainly wouldn’t rely on this as a main camera, but it’s been an absolute joy to have at the ready.Importing videos and images is as simple as opening the Meta View app on your phone and hitting the “Import” button which will join your phone to the glasses over a direct Wi-Fi connection. However, you can also auto-import while charging the glasses in the case while connected to a saved Wi-Fi network. I really appreciate this feature since it means I can take pictures and videos while being in the moment, then automatically have photos imported when I’m home.🎤 MICROPHONE:The onboard microphones also surprised me quite a bit, as well. While they won’t do very well while blazing through wind on my electric scooter, they are excellent for capturing audio in most other situations. They do a very good job of recording your own voice, and a decent job at recording your immediate environment. Personally, I’d say the audio is about on par with many smartphone microphones which was a pleasant surprise.I frequently used these microphones to spawn the Meta AI by saying “Hey Meta”, and was surprised to find that it was able to hear me and consistently fulfill my inquiries while blazing in the wind on an electric scooter.🔊 SPEAKERS:The speakers on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are certainly not going to replace my earbuds for more intimate listening purposes, but for casual listening while working outdoors or on a scooter ride, I do enjoy them.In bassier music (which is a lot of music these days), the dynamic EQ will cause vocals and other instruments to become much quieter whenever there’s a low-end punch, so this can be pretty distracting for me. I’m hoping they can revise their algorithm to alleviate this behavior. These speakers aren’t built to deliver this kind of bass; I’d be much happier if they would keep the rest of the frequency range intact and let the bass response take a sacrifice because at least then I wouldn’t be hearing vocals constantly changing loudness. Producers use vocal compression to alleviate these kinds of problems in studio recordings, but these are undoing that work.The speakers will function much more consistently for podcast style content, but a lot of my library exhibited this distracting behavior to varying lengths. It really depends on how the music was produced, so it really doesn’t matter what genres you listen to—your library just isn’t safe from this EQ algorithm.This makes the listening experience less immersive than many $20-$30 in-ear monitors, and I imagine for the majority of people, this is supposed to be one of the main selling points of the glasses. So if you’re listening casually and not very intently, these can be great, but if you’re looking to be immersed, I found this behavior to keep me distracted.🤖 META AI:Meta AI is one of the cooler features about these glasses, but they’re still a work in progress. You’re able to control most of the features of the glasses through a simple voice command, and also provide answers to inquiries you’d run through most AI search algorithms these days. However, responses will typically be short and succinct, so you shouldn’t expect really detailed responses. Moreover, there’s still a lot of things Meta AI cannot do—like reminders, calendar events, sending images over SMS, language translations, voice memos, etc. Only time will tell which features will be integrated into Meta AI.I haven’t quite found a genuine use-case for telling the Meta AI to tell me more about something in front of me, but it performs best when analyzing things close by, as opposed to off in the distance.🔋 BATTERY:Meta claims that you can achieve 4 hours on a single charge (capturing and syncing up to 100 videos or up to 500 photos per full charge). This will vary depending on how you use them, but I did find that claim to be pretty reasonable even with music playback, but it’ll also vary depending on how loud you are listening. With that said, it takes only 75 minutes to reach a full charge from dead in the charging case, and you can achieve a 50% charge in only 22 minutes. So if you are expecting to use the smart features throughout an entire day, you’ll likely need to top up throughout the day to keep the action going. Thus far, I only reached a low battery one time, and I appreciated that the Meta AI assistant told me so I could charge them for my next usage.🧐 CONCLUSION:For the asking price, I do think the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are innovative, and I’m making them a more integral part of my everyday life as someone who frequently wears glasses. My biggest criticism is in regards to the sound EQ—which I hope can be improved with a firmware update. But there are a lot of things to like about these glasses, and I hope to see Ray-Ban and Meta improve upon them over time.

These Meta Headliner glasses are very nice. If I had any complaint about them, it's that if you listen to music with them, you might notice the bass is weak/missing. However, considering they do not go into your ears, the sound is surprisingly good otherwise (volume control is easy with the touch pad).They come with a charging case (USB-C) which looks just like any other traditional eyeglass case, not much bigger) that you can carry in your pocket. The pairing button is on the case. When I paired them, it said to check of a code matched the code on my glasses, unfortunately I did not know where to look for that so I just accepted it. Note that there was an error connecting to the temporary Wi-Fi network on the glasses when I first tried, but rebooting the phone ... MoreThese Meta Headliner glasses are very nice. If I had any complaint about them, it's that if you listen to music with them, you might notice the bass is weak/missing. However, considering they do not go into your ears, the sound is surprisingly good otherwise (volume control is easy with the touch pad).They come with a charging case (USB-C) which looks just like any other traditional eyeglass case, not much bigger) that you can carry in your pocket. The pairing button is on the case. When I paired them, it said to check of a code matched the code on my glasses, unfortunately I did not know where to look for that so I just accepted it. Note that there was an error connecting to the temporary Wi-Fi network on the glasses when I first tried, but rebooting the phone seemed to fix that message.They Meta AI feature is impressive, that's not even a strong enough word for how amazing it is. As an example, there was a picture of a bee on my phone, I asked what kind of insect I'm looking at and it got it right. I later, looked at the TV when History channel was on, and asked it what was on the TV and it said "a show or documentary about Poland" which was right. Later, an auto insurance commercial was on and I asked it what kind of commercial it was and it said it appeared to be for auto insurance. These examples were just in my living room where I was first testing it. In each of these examples, I prefaced my prompt with "Hey meta, look and" which enables it to take a snapshot and look before answering. You can also ask it questions without having it look like you might any other AI, fortunately it seems to keep its answers fairly short (great, because it's talking in your ear, not like a screen where you can just skim what you want from the text).Unfortunately, I can't test these too extensively in the wild yet because I don't have prescription lenses in them. While they are intended to be used as Sunglasses, there is fortunately an option to install prescription lenses in them. I plan to do that at my regular eyeglass store if they support it, I know they carry Ray Ban glasses there. My intention is to install transition lenses so that I could potentially use them indoors or outdoors somewhat regularly.You take photos and video with the capture button (quick press = photo, long hold=capture video). Photos came out clear, though I'm sure some reviewers might be more picky about the resolution than I am. It will now be really easy not to miss a great photo opportunity - I won't have to dig in my pocket for a phone or open a photo app. When you record video, a light comes on to indicate that you are recording. Someone in the family joked that I should just put a piece of tape over the light (like black electrical tape). I don't recommend doing this, though, it's usually a good (legal) idea to let people know they're being recorded. The HD quality video it recorded though was impressive, and the sound on the recording sounded clear (my voice sounded better to me in the recording than I sound to myself in my ears when I talk).I allowed it to make phone calls, and tried it out. The person on the other end of the phone said I was clear, and the call sounded as clear as if I were holding a land line to my ear. Answering and hanging up is with a double tap, or you can (for example) say "Hey Meta, Answer". It could even send texts, "Hey Meta, Send message to [name] [message]" and it responds confirming the contact name and message content before sending. The recipient confirmed they received the message.None of the AI systems out there may be perfected yet (and may never be), but this is a very cool toy to play with and if you can afford it and normally wear glasses, these make wearing them fun. I intend to use them regularly once I get prescription lenses, and would recommend them to others.