This video provides a hands-on review of Meta's new $799 Ray-Ban display smart glasses, highlighting them as a potentially convincing step towards replacing smartphones for certain functions. The product comprises three main components: the glasses themselves (an upgraded version of standard Ray-Ban Metas with a high-resolution camera, speakers, five microphones, transition lenses, and a custom-designed battery), a novel neural wristband controller, and a smartphone-reliant software ecosystem.
Key features of the glasses include a unique, bright, and private projected display near the right eye, impressive comfort despite integrated technology, and a premium foldable case. The neural band offers an intuitive and reliable gesture-based control system, translating wrist muscle impulses into commands without relying on cameras. While currently 50% reliant on a paired smartphone and featuring a limited, Meta-centric app selection, the glasses demonstrate surprisingly practical functionalities. These include advanced WhatsApp messaging (dictation, on-leg writing), real-time captions and high-quality translation (leveraging directional audio isolation), intuitive navigation, Spotify integration, and hands-free interaction with Meta AI, suggesting future potential for memory augmentation. The camera quality is comparable to older smartphones, and the speakers lack privacy at higher volumes. Ultimately, the reviewer sees the product as a strategic move by Meta to normalize smart glasses and build brand association, rather than a mass-market purchase at its current price and stage of development.
Meta's Ray-Ban Display Smart Glasses: A Hands-On Review
0:00 First Impressions & Vision: The reviewer is "convinced" by Meta's new $799 Ray-Ban display smart glasses, seeing them as a potential device to replace the smartphone for many tasks.
Upgraded Design: More advanced than standard Ray-Ban Metas, featuring a camera (2.5x resolution, 3K video, 12MP photos), two speakers, and five microphones.
Key Additions: Default transition lenses (tint automatically), and a custom-designed larger battery filling the arms.
Display Technology: A projected image visible slightly to the side of the right eye; not augmented reality, but a fixed "glanceable window."
Brightness & Privacy: Incredibly bright, yet only visible to the user due to indirect projection.
Comfort: Weighs 69g (compared to 45g for regular Ray-Bans), but remains comfortable for extended wear (worn for 1.5 hours without notice), aided by overextension hinges.
Premium Case: A "sick" storage case that converts from glasses storage to a flat pack for pocketability.
Primary Control: A wrist-worn neural band measures electrical impulses from wrist muscles to enable hand gestures.
Intuitive Gestures: After an hour of use, gestures (double-tap for screen, pinching, imaginary joystick for navigation, rotating for volume) felt "mindless" and reliable (97% accuracy) without accidental triggers.
Versatility: Unlike camera-based systems (e.g., Apple Vision Pro), these gestures work "anywhere."
Current Reliance: About 50% of functions still rely on a paired smartphone.
User Interface: Home screen displays events, notifications, and time, aiming to reduce phone checks. App selection is "tiny" with no app store, primarily featuring "Meta versions" of services (MetaMaps, Meta AI).
WhatsApp Experience: Messages are easy to read in full on the display, and links can be opened (e.g., watching a reel hands-free).
Communication Methods: Supports voice notes, dictation (phenomenally good due to five microphones, even whispering), pre-made responses, and a beta "writing on leg" feature for discreet text input.
Captions & Translation:
Real-time Captions: Utilizes the five-microphone array to isolate a speaker's voice, providing near-instant subtitles in the user's peripheral vision, even with background noise.
Real-time Translation: Uses the same tech for high-quality translation, though with a slightly awkward delay, it facilitates more natural conversations by accurately capturing speech.
Other Apps:
Maps: Real-time navigation arrow rotates with head movement, providing intuitive directions.
Music (Spotify): Good speaker quality for a "side feature," but lacks privacy above 40% volume.
Camera: 12MP photos and 3K video (720p slow-mo); quality is comparable to a smartphone from 8 years ago, with a slight capture delay.
Meta AI: Activated by gesture, provides information (e.g., recipes) in peripheral vision, allows follow-up questions, and enables hands-free UI navigation.
Future Potential: The always-on nature and camera integration suggest future possibilities like automatic memory (e.g., glasses remembering where keys were placed).
Current Value: Not recommended for most people at $800, as it's an early-stage product.
Meta's Goal: Seen as Meta's strategic effort to enter the market early, normalize smart glasses, and establish brand association before competitors like Apple introduce more affordable mixed reality devices.
Rapid Improvement Expected: The reviewer anticipates rapid improvements to the product now that it's released.
10:36 Sponsor Mention: Brief mention of Surfshark VPN for secure travel connectivity.