Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses reviews are here – 3 things people hate about them

The Ray-Ban Meta data glasses celebrated their debut at Connect 2023 with great fanfare. Yes, the product can record videos, take photos and answer calls – just like its predecessor, Ray-Ban Stories – but what threw people off is the introduction of artificial intelligence.

As it turns out, the Ray-Ban smart glasses are equipped with the social media giant’s new digital assistant: Meta AI.

By simply saying “Hey Meta!” You have a digital assistant within reach. With that in mind, we’ve looked through a slew of reviews from several popular tech companies, including DigitalTrends, Engadget, How-to-Geek, and more. Let’s take a look at the three most important aspects of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses that reviewers highlighted not How.

1. Limitations of Meta-AI

In contrast to the AirGo 3 smart glasses we tested, which support ChatGPT – an established AI chatbot – the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have Meta AI, which is not yet fully developed.

Consequently, many reviewers praised Meta AI for answering basic questions with a “Hey Meta” prompt, but were disappointed that the digital assistant was unable to provide real-time information other than the weather and the current forecast.

“The assistant’s ‘cut-off date’ is December 2022,” it says Karissa Bell from Engadget“and it will remind you of this for most questions related to current events.” In other words, if you ask Meta AI “Tell me about the iPhone 15 Pro Max,” you won’t get an answer because that device was started after December 2022. Bad luck!

It doesn’t help that Meta AI doesn’t have access to the internet – at least not yet.

“It can’t tell me where the nearest electric vehicle charging station is, but the meta-smart glasses can translate and write poetry for me,” said Alan Truly Digital trends. “Still, internet access will be a significant improvement.”

Dean Takahashi of VentureBeatOn the other hand, Meta AI complained that it was far too slow when answering questions.

However, this does not mean that Meta AI is completely useless. You can also use it to launch the following commands:

According to reviews, the digital assistant is best suited for creative endeavors. For example, you can ask it to create a funny caption for your Eiffel Tower picture on Instagram.

2. An invasion of privacy?

After Meta announced its second-generation smart glasses, there was discussion about whether these glasses would compromise others’ privacy.

How do the Ray-Ban Meta data glasses perform in terms of privacy?
Photo credit: Meta

Things Reviewer Jack Needham is extremely critical of this in his review and describes the Ray-Ban Meta data glasses as a privacy nightmare. “It has never been socially acceptable to point a camera in someone’s face without their consent,” Needham said. “So personally, I don’t want to point a camera in anyone’s face without their consent.”

Needham said he shudders at the thought of wearing a camera on his face in public, adding that he finds the experience intrusive and creepy.

Android Central Michael Hicks said something similar: “Honestly, when I walked past someone, I immediately felt uncomfortable looking directly at them, fearing someone would see the functionality of my glasses and assume the worst about my intentions.”

As Vicky Jessop pointed out in a review for Yahoo! FinanceHowever, when you take a photo or video, passers-by will be alerted by the flashing LED light on the side of the frame. “Any attempt to block the light will result in their streaming features being turned off,” the outlet added.

3. Battery life could be better

The Ray-Ban Meta data glasses are designed to last four hours with light use. Not many reviewers have put the streaming giant’s smart glasses to the test, but the few who did weren’t particularly impressed.

According to Meta, the smart glasses will receive a visual search update in the near future.
Photo credit: Meta

In his review for Android Central: Hicks said the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses’ battery lasted between 3 and 3.5 hours after making calls, streaming music, taking photos, asking Meta AI questions and listening to notifications. However, the outlet was clear that Meta had to prioritize the smart glasses’ lightweight form factor over battery life.

Tyler Hayes from How-to-Geek said that the need to use the battery compartment of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses for a full day of use was a “disadvantage.” After using the glasses for a 30-minute video call, Hayes noticed that battery life dropped by about 20%.

Overall, however, reviewers are pleasantly surprised by the Ray-Ban Meta data glasses. “I expected the Ray-Ban meta smart glasses to be lame,” said Truly of DigitalTrends. “I was wrong.”

Reviewers praised the AI ​​glasses for its hands-free photo capture, style, excellent speaker and microphone quality, and Instagram live streaming capabilities. It’s a shame that Meta AI hasn’t yet reached its full potential, but according to Meta, the smart glasses will receive an update for visual search in the near future.

Visual search allows Meta AI to “observe” what you see and answer questions for you. For example, if you look at a strange-looking building while traveling, Meta AI will tell you what it is. This is admittedly very cool – and I can’t wait to try out the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses for myself.