Meta's Ray-Ban Gen 2 smart glasses offer improved camera and battery life over their predecessor, priced at $379. The WIRED review praises their functionality for photos, videos, music, and AI assistance but criticizes the intrusive Meta AI app and privacy concerns. Despite strong hardware, the glasses evoke unease due to Meta's data history.
The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 glasses, released as Meta's entry-level smart glasses at $379, succeed the original hit model with upgrades including a 12-MP camera for photos and videos up to 3K resolution, 60 frames per second, and slow-motion capabilities. Battery life extends to 8 hours for mixed use, though it drops to 5 or 6 hours with constant activity and less for high-definition recording, limited to three minutes at a time.
Reviewer Julian Chokkattu tested the glasses for about a month after receiving them for free at Meta's Connect developer event in Palo Alto in September. They maintain a similar weight and style options to the previous version, with new colors like cosmic blue. Music playback through frame speakers is adequate, but the reviewer prefers wireless earbuds; podcasts and calls sound excellent. Touch controls along the frames function reliably, avoiding oversensitive issues.
However, the glasses leave red marks on the nose after prolonged wear and lack polarized lenses, though Transitions lenses adapt to light but not fully for bright days. During a walk on San Francisco's Ocean Beach, the AI assistant correctly identified a dead dolphin-like fish and advised calling animal control but failed to name the species. Features like live language translation and whispered navigation directions prove helpful, yet voice interactions feel unnatural, requiring users to speak aloud awkwardly.
The Meta AI app, used for accessing media, prominently features the unwanted 'Vibes' service with low-quality AI-generated videos, such as uncanny cats or cringey political scenes, which users must swipe past. This integration highlights Meta's aggressive AI push, contrasting the glasses' real-world capture strengths. Privacy worries loom large: the company's data-handling history and public suspicions make wearers feel like 'creeps,' especially amid reports of mods disabling recording indicator lights and misuse in harassment.