Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Review: Are They Worth It for Everyday Use?
So it was eye test time, and of course my prescription had changed (thanks, getting older) and what better reason to upgrade my current Ray-Bans to the Ray-Ban Metas. And so that is exactly what I did lol.
Now these are going to be my everyday glasses (I can’t really see without them), so I was intrigued to see how these could help me in my day-to-day life. The hope is that they reduce my screen time, as I will be getting most notifications through them, and I am excited to see what else I can do with them to keep me from getting distracted.
So let’s dive into how I actually got on with the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses.
What’s in the box 📦
Because I am using them as my main glasses and I have my prescription in them, I tried them out in-store first to make sure that they actually suited me. So I already knew what they were going to be like, but I want to go through what you can expect to get alongside the glasses in the box.
- Meta Glasses
- Glasses charging case
- Cleaning clothe
- Interchangeable nose pads
There is no charging cable in the box, as you can charge the case using a standard USB-C cable, which most, if not everybody, already has at home.
Setup Process
Once the glasses had been charged up, it was pretty straightforward to connect the Meta glasses to my phone. If you are a fellow two-phone person, you can only have them connected to one phone at a time. So if you want to swap between them, you will need to disconnect and forget the device from your phone and then connect them to the other device; it’s a pain, but it only takes a few minutes.
First up, you will need to set up a Meta AI account by downloading the app to your phone. Then you put the glasses into pair mode, and they will connect like another Bluetooth device, and this is when you use the app to start to customise and set up the app that you want to connect to. In my case, I connected them to WhatsApp and Messages, phone, music (Apple Music or Spotify) and IG and Facebook. There are other apps that are supported, like Gmail, etc but I have decided against connecting them for the moment.
I did connect my glasses to both my Pixel 11 Pro XL and my iPhone 17 Pro. I found that it worked straight away with my iPhone, but I had to play around with the settings to get WhatsApp messages to announce, and once I had fixed the settings, it worked perfectly fine. The app itself is pretty nice and easy to navigate, and you can customise the gesture, but I have not bothered as I am happy with them as they are.
In terms of connecting the app, it’s very easy. You simply go to the app sections in the app and then hit connect, and it will prompt you to connect your glasses, and that is it.
Design, Comfort & Build Quality
There are a few different designs, but I went with Blayzer Optics, which are similar to the standard Ray-Ban Wayfarers but they are specifically designed for prescription wearers. They are slimmer, which means a more comfortable fit, and feel more like regular glasses, which is what I wanted because if I’m spending that sort of money, I want to be able to wear them all of the time. They also come in 7 different colours, so you have a decent amount of choice as well, which is the same across most of the Meta range. I personally think that it is noticeable that they are AI glasses, with the camera being prominent on the frame and also the arms being fairly chunky, but not in a bad way, in my opinion.
In terms of comfort, they fit nicely but are taking a while to get used to, as they are a bit heavier than my last pair and are hurting behind the ears slightly. I expect that this will be short-lived, and when I have worn them for a good period of time, I won’t notice them, but just something for you to be aware of. In terms of the build quality, they feel premium and definitely sturdy enough for everyday use.
In terms of the case that comes with the glasses, it’s heavier and slightly bigger than a standard case, but not by much. Again it looks really premium come in a dark brown leather that is would be easy to fit into a bag or a larger coat pocket if you are not a bag fan.
Camera and Video Quality 📸
I recently visited Rome with my family, which gave me a great opportunity to try out the camera and video quality, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, they are not going to be as good as the camera on your phone, but they are half decent and great for those POV shots and for when you don’t have your phone to hand. I did find the video better than the photos and something that I will be using more, especially for YouTube content, etc.
One thing that I am still a bit self-conscious about is having to say, ” Hey Meta, take a photo I am getting more used to it, but I do feel a bit silly doing it in public. However, you can take a photo by pressing the button on the arm of the glasses if you don’t want to say it out loud.
Audio Quality: Listening to music and taking calls 🎧
I can safely say that the audio on the Meta glasses is what I have been impressed with the most and is what I will be using the most. I am not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination, but I find that the quality of the audio coming out of the open ear speaker is really good, and I can’t tell a great deal of difference between them and my earbuds.
Taking calls through the glasses has been great, especially when I am out walking or doing things around the house. They get plenty loud enough, and when walking outside, the volume will adjust to the noise around you or even the wind so you can still hear what you are listening to.
I would say that I haven’t really tested them in really busy or noisy environments, so I am not sure that you would be able to ditch your headphones completely in all situations. But for my use case, it means one less thing that I need to remember to take out with me.
I haven’t had anyone mention that they can hear background noise when on calls, but if you have the volume up pretty loud, they can hear your music. But I imagine that this would be the same with most open-ear speakers.
Notifications and Messaging 💬
This is an interesting one because I have found this to be useful in certain circumstances but also distracting in others. Let me explain a bit here. When I am out walking, it is really useful when I get a message which I can ask Meta to read, and I can also respond to that message, all without having to look at my phone or my watch. The message is clear, and it’s pretty good at getting my response right as well, albeit not perfect.
Now, where it’s distracting is when you are with people or in a meeting. Recently I had parent’s evening, and I had to take the glasses off because it was announcing my messages, and I couldn’t pay attention and focus on the conversation.
Meta AI: Is it actually useful?
The jury is still out here, as I am still testing it, but I have found it pretty useful so far. It been able to answer most of the question that I ask and of course been British the thing I ask it the most is the for the weather forecast 😄. Setting timers has also been super helpful, and just not having to pick up my phone to ask a simple question has been great. Again, there are two ways that you can trigger the assistant: the first is saying ” Hey Meta, ” and the other is a long press on the button on the glasses arm.
The glasses respond pretty quickly, with only a slight wait for them to pull back the information you have asked for. I do have to admit that I do sometimes forget that I have an AI assistant in the glasses, so I still reach for my phone to get answers, but the more I use the feature, the more I hope to not have to use my phone.
As with anything, it’s about getting used to it and also working out what features are really adding value to your day-to-day life.
Battery life and charging 🔋
I have been relatively happy with the battery life, and I am getting pretty much a full day (from when I get up to when I go to bed) of use out of them, but they need charging daily. So I pop them back into the charging case at night so they are fully charged and ready to go in the morning. Depending on how much you use, features like playing music and video recording will impact how quickly the battery will drain, but so far it’s been pretty good for me. I am listening to music for about 1hr or 2 hrs a day, so if you listen to music a lot, then you will need to charge more throughout the day.
I have generally been charging overnight, so I haven’t really worried about how long it takes to charge, but when I have forgotten to charge them, it’s taken about an hour or so to fully charge them from around 16%. You may not need to charge overnight; I choose to do this as it’s part of my routine.
So for quick top ups will be pretty quick on the whole. The case itself holds a lot more charge than I was expecting, and I am charging it every 3-4 days, which I think is pretty impressive.
Meta AI App: How good is the experience?
The app is well set out and pretty easy to navigate. This is where you will need to go to set up your glasses and connect your apps to use with them, e.g. WhatsApp. Your photos and videos will show up in the app and can be imported so that they appear in your camera roll. All of your conversations will also appear in the app so you can go back and reference them if you need to
Everyday use: What are they actually good for?
First and foremost, these are my everyday glasses, so they need to be comfortable and durable, which they are. In terms of using them as AI glasses, I have found them to be really good for the basic day to day activities, which have mainly been listening to music and consuming content without disturbing those around me.
I have really enjoyed not having to take earbuds out with me; it is so convenient to be able to just tap my glasses and just listen. This might not feel like much, but it is just one less thing to remember. I have found myself using my phone less for certain things like checking in on messages, timers and taking the odd photo, but I am still reaching for my phone for other things like social media.
I really think that the AI assistant will start to come into its own as I get more and more familiar with it, especially with my goal been to spend less time on my phone and not have to open it to find things out will certainly help in me not getting distracted by the other apps on there.
Final Thoughts 💭
Am I glad that I went for the Ray-Ban Metas? Yes, I think I am.
I am going to caveat this with: if they were not my everyday glasses, I would be less sure, and a lot of that comes down to the price. At roughly £400, they are expensive for a pair of glasses that you don’t need to wear all the time or at all to help you see. That’s not to say don’t buy them; just be sure that they are giving you value for the money you are about to spend.
They do have useful features that I think will add value to most. Being able to listen to music, take photos, ask general questions and do other tasks without having to use my phone has genuinely been really helpful for me in my day-to-day life. And for me, I want to see if they could help me with having to pull out my phone as much as before. And in the main, it has helped, but it’s also a distraction at times, especially when they are announcing notifications when I am midway through a conversation or in a meeting.
I am also still working them into my everyday life, as I have only had them for coming up three weeks, so I am expecting to use them more and more over the coming months.
Would I recommend them? Yes, they are well built and great fun, but as with everything, make sure you are clear on your use case for them and that they meet your requirements before you make the decision to buy them or not.
Have you tried the Ray-Ban Meta glasses?
I’d love to hear what you think! Are they something you’d consider buying, or do you think smart glasses are still a bit of a gimmick? Drop me a comment below!
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