I think the biggest problem with these is that they are sunglasses. Getting to live stream watching my kid’s hockey game so my family can watch is awesome… but watching through sunglasses bugs me. With that said I really wish these weren’t limited to Instagram and Facebook. Messenger would be awesome to do video conferencing with or WhatsApp, where I’m not broadcasting to the world and my dad could feel like he is in person during holidays he has to miss every once in a while. So basically, I don’t like it that it doesn’t have more integration with more facebook products and seems to be aimed at social media versus more personal interactions; I also don’t like that they are just sunglasses, but that is quite fixable and I am currently doing that; and I don’t like ... MoreI think the biggest problem with these is that they are sunglasses. Getting to live stream watching my kid’s hockey game so my family can watch is awesome… but watching through sunglasses bugs me. With that said I really wish these weren’t limited to Instagram and Facebook. Messenger would be awesome to do video conferencing with or WhatsApp, where I’m not broadcasting to the world and my dad could feel like he is in person during holidays he has to miss every once in a while. So basically, I don’t like it that it doesn’t have more integration with more facebook products and seems to be aimed at social media versus more personal interactions; I also don’t like that they are just sunglasses, but that is quite fixable and I am currently doing that; and I don’t like the battery life, it’s better, but it still has a way to go on that front and four hours is optimistic. With all that out there…What a difference a generation makes. The glasses and the app. I like the old generation for what they were and as a Bluetooth headset they worked quite well, but these take it to the next level. First, mat black is so much better than shiny black. Second, the case with integrated charging is so much better. Everything is a little bit slimmer and just better designed. The fact that these have live streaming is just amazing.Don’t think that you’ll be sleuthing around taking videos of everyone with no one the wiser as there is an LED on the right side that turns on a varies in intensity so as to attract attention I assume. I like this feature as it adds a level of comfort to everyone around you who might get a little bit… hesitant... around cameras in glasses.Just having them out of the case and on your head drains the battery, with me doing nothing with them on a drive, they lost about 6% in an hour. Once I got to the hockey game and did some recording, they lost about 10% in as many minutes and one live stream even took them even further down, basically if you planning on live streaming plan on a dead battery in 30 min. I would also recommend not downloading photos until you are done or can put them in the case for a bit (which you can upload while they are in the case) Using them just as Bluetooth headsets and taking some pictures every once in a while is how I assume they get the 4 hours. However, I am closer to 2.5 hours in my use, but I did switch the default of one click to a 60 second video versus a picture.The speakers are so much clearer and the music sounds pretty good on them and everyone says I come across crystal clear, except if I put them on my head I almost completely disappear, I found this out when I walked inside while talking and naturally just rose them to the top of my head so I could see more clearly. So that is the main difference is the mics are much more attuned to being on your eyes and don’t work if the glasses are 5” higher.Also, if you haven’t worn for a bit, don’t expect to be able to just whip them out, if it’s been awhile they go into a pretty deep sleep and take 15 or 20 seconds to boot up and connect to your phone and realize they need to be awake.Overall, they look and feel like Rayban quality sunglasses with the added benefit of being able to capture video, camera and voice. And if I could wave my wand and ask for anything it would be the ability to use the live video on messenger or WhatsApp while being able to choose if the speakers could be heard by everyone or just me as well as the mic working for just me or for everyone… the ultimate experience of someone being there that can’t be there.

I can consider myself an owner of one of the first pairs of Ray-Ban's smart sunglasses, but I've never been able to count myself as much of a user of them. While they are stylish and somewhat cool to use they were marred by a variety of flaws. The lenses were non-replaceable, making them either unreasonably expensive or largely useless to anyone who required a prescription. The audio quality was somewhat mediocre. And the quality of the cameras left a lot to be desired. This second generation manages to improve on just about everything about the first attempt - though it admittedly does still have a bit of room for improvement.First up, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the lenses. With the original glasses you could only get lenses installed in the ... MoreI can consider myself an owner of one of the first pairs of Ray-Ban's smart sunglasses, but I've never been able to count myself as much of a user of them. While they are stylish and somewhat cool to use they were marred by a variety of flaws. The lenses were non-replaceable, making them either unreasonably expensive or largely useless to anyone who required a prescription. The audio quality was somewhat mediocre. And the quality of the cameras left a lot to be desired. This second generation manages to improve on just about everything about the first attempt - though it admittedly does still have a bit of room for improvement.First up, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the lenses. With the original glasses you could only get lenses installed in the factory, and most opticians wouldn't even consider working on them if the originals got damaged or you found yourself wanting to get a prescription made up. The lenses in this version can be replaced, though admittedly you do need to take them into one of their approved partners for this service. The price is fairly reasonable for Ray-Ban branded optics, and while at the moment selection is fairly limited this is something that could realistically be improved over time. I do find myself missing the option for transition lenses, which is what I had with my last pair, but the polarized gradient lenses I got with this one are great sunglasses and offer sterling clarity out in the field.Next up is the frame. Once again, my original pair was pretty good but not perfect. It was a bit bulky and heavy around the temples, which could lead to some discomfort after a while. Additionally the sound produced by the built in directional speakers lacked good bass response, even going by the somewhat lower standards of open-air headphone designs like this. The new pair feels like it's got a much better balance and while tolerances haven't changed much they have changed enough to alleviate the pain that came with prolonged use. And much to my surprise, they sound amazing. Music and speech both come through very clear and there's bass to spare, almost as good as my in-ear headphones. They've also got plenty of volume - perhaps a little too much, in fact. Audio bleed is definitely a thing so if privacy is your goal you may not want to make use of these for calls or listening to your favorite music. But my main use case is biking or going for hikes with my dog, and I find them to be perfect for that. Finally, the cameras. The new cameras they've installed here are significantly improved over the last generation, offering much greater clarity for both video and still images. There's also the new ability to do live streaming. I'll admit that this feature still feels rather odd to me, but it's undeniably cool.I'm still not quite ready to make these my daily glasses - I'd definitely want transition lenses for that as I don't want to have to choose between being able to listen to my invisible earbuds or being that weird guy wandering around a convenience store with dark sunglasses on. But they have managed to fulfill the promise of the originals of being the best smart glasses currently on the market. They're an easy recommendation for me - assuming of course you're willing to pay Ray-Ban prices.

I have the original Ray-Ban Stories and while they are nice there were some shortcomings. The Ray-Ban Meta – Wayfarer offers some improvements. As far as style, they look like Wayfarer’s, but you can tell these are smart glasses due to the camera. Most people you come across will never realize you’re wearing smart glasses unless they get a close look at them or hear you listening to music or talking through them to your phone. The lenses are typical Ray-Ban quality and are great, especially the polarized version that really helps to cut down on glare and reflections.The case is nice and sturdy and includes a battery to charge the glasses without needing to plug them into an outlet. You will get about 8 charges out of the case before it needs to be recharged. The ... MoreI have the original Ray-Ban Stories and while they are nice there were some shortcomings. The Ray-Ban Meta – Wayfarer offers some improvements. As far as style, they look like Wayfarer’s, but you can tell these are smart glasses due to the camera. Most people you come across will never realize you’re wearing smart glasses unless they get a close look at them or hear you listening to music or talking through them to your phone. The lenses are typical Ray-Ban quality and are great, especially the polarized version that really helps to cut down on glare and reflections.The case is nice and sturdy and includes a battery to charge the glasses without needing to plug them into an outlet. You will get about 8 charges out of the case before it needs to be recharged. The glasses themselves last about 4 hours on a single charge. The frames are sturdy with the charging contact points moved from the hinge to the underside of the nose piece. This didn’t affect wear comfort at all for me. The glasses are kept secure inside the case by a magnet and so is the closure. There is a status light on the front of the case to let you know what’s going on with your glasses. There is 32 GB of memory so you can store about 500 photos or about 50 videos on the glasses.So, let’s get into use of the glasses. Flip the switch on the left earpiece to turn them on. There is a small status light on the right side of the frame that faces towards you so you can see it while wearing them. When you put the glasses on it senses that you just put them on your face and the glasses tell you its battery level. It can even sense when you flip the glasses up on your head and pull them back down over your eyes. They are easy to pair with your phone and they include a microphone for giving commands or speaking on calls. Just say “Hey Meta” and give your command after the glasses let you know they are listening. You can’t control 3rd party apps on your phone, but you can control the phone itself to send calls and messages, take a picture or video, check on the battery status, get the time and date, control media playback and volume, take and send a picture to a contact on your phone, and a few other things. You can also link to some services, like Spotify. There is button on the right earpiece to control the camera for pictures and video as well as a touch panel where you can slide your finger in different directions to control things like volume, and to pause media.The speakers work well and because they are so close to your ears you don’t need to turn them up too loud. When listening to music they give a great 3D spatial feeling as if you are surrounded by the music. There isn’t a lot of bass here, but they also don’t sound tinny or flat. Just a nice overall sound. Sound quality while on calls is equally good and the microphone does a good job picking up your voice and it sounds clear on the other end. The camera is slightly improved at 12 MP and you can now record video clips for up to 60 seconds. To access the pictures and video you take you just need to open the app on your phone. The media is still squarish, but the quality is good. I would very much prefer pictures and video to be recorded in a 16x9 format.Overall, a nice improvement to the Stories and easy to recommend if you’re in the market for smart glasses.