In a sign that they could follow the roughly monthly Meta Quest 3 software update schedule we’re used to, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have received several new tools like Calm and improved Instagram integration just 29 days since they got their massive April 23 upgrade.
While none of these improvements seemingly include wider access to the still-in-beta and still-US-and-Canada exclusive Meta AI, they do include some helpful hands-free features that users can enjoy right now.
The first are new Meta AI prompts that allow you to enjoy guided meditation, mindfulness exercises, and self-care content through your smart specs by simply saying “Hey Meta, play the Daily Calm.” New Calm users will also be able to access a three-month free subscription through prompts in the Meta View app.
Beyond this, your smart specs can now directly stream tunes from Amazon Music using voice-only controls (joining Apple Music which added hands-free support in April) – you just need to connect your account via the Meta View app. There’s new Instagram Story sharing options, too.
Simply say something like, “Hey Meta, post a photo to Instagram” to snap a pic that’ll be shared automatically to your connected Instagram account.
As the Meta blog post sharing details of the update explains, these new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses features are rolling out gradually. So if you don’t see the update in the Meta View app, don’t panic – you should get the update soon enough.
Three new styles
The Skyler in Shiny Chalky Gray (above) are one of three new versions of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses (Image credit: Meta / Ray-Ban)
If you don’t like waiting for software changes, there are also some hardware updates – which are available now.
The internal specs are the exact same as the original models, but Meta and Ray-Ban have launched three new styles which are available in the US, Canada, Australia, and “throughout Europe.” They are:
Skyler in Shiny Chalky Gray with Gradient Cinnamon Pink Lenses
Skyler in Shiny Black with Transitions® Cerulean Blue Lenses
Headliner Low Bridge Fit in Shiny Black with Polar G15 Lenses
Hopefully this monthly software schedule will continue, and if it does maybe those of us outside the US might not have to wait too much longer for the Meta AI to hit our devices in a future update.
After months of waiting the moment is here: Meta AI features have arrived on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses for everyone – well, everyone in the US and Canada, for now.
The exclusivity to those regions is not the only caveat unfortunately. Another big one is that while the Meta AI tools are no longer locked behind an exclusive beta, Meta notes in its blog post announcement that they are still beta features – suggesting that you’ll likely run into several problems with regard to reliability and accuracy.
But while the update isn’t quite as complete as we’d have liked, it’s still a major leap forward for Meta’s smart glasses – finally having them deliver on the impressive AI promises Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made when they were revealed back at Meta Connect 2023 in September last year.
What can Meta AI do?
(Image credit: Ray-Ban / Meta)
The main Meta AI feature you’ll want to take advantage of is ‘Look and Ask.’ To activate it simply start a phrase with “Hey Meta, look and …” then ask the glasses a question about something you can see.
You could try “… tell me about this animal,” or “…tell me about this building,” or even “…tell me what I can make for dinner with these ingredients.”
The glasses will then use your command alongside an image captured by the camera to search for an answer in its database – which include data the Meta AI has been trained on, and information it has gathered from Google and Bing.
As with all AI responses, we’d recommend taking what the Meta AI says with a pinch of salt. AI assistants are prone to hallucinating – which in the AI context you can read simply as “getting stuff completely wrong” – and this Meta model is no different. It will get stuff right too, but don’t take its advice as gospel.
(Image credit: Meta)
Beyond Look and Ask you can use the Meta AI assistant like the Google or Siri assistant on your phone. This means starting video calls (above), sending texts and images, or playing music all with just voice commands.
Just be prepared to get some attention as you walk around talking to your smart glasses – we got some odd looks when we were testing a different pair of specs the other day.
While Meta’s most recognizable hardware is its Quest VR headsets, its smart glasses created in collaboration with Ray-Ban are proving to be popular thanks to their sleek design and unique AI tools – tools that are getting an upgrade to turn them into a wearable tourist guide.
In a post on Threads – Meta’s Twitter-like Instagram spinoff – Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth showed off a new Look and Ask feature that can recognize landmarks and tell you facts about them. Bosworth demonstrated it using examples from San Francisco such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Painted Ladies, and Coit Tower.
As with other Look and Ask prompts, you give a command like “Look and tell me a cool fact about this bridge.” The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses then use their in-built camera to scan the scene in front of you, and cross-reference the image with info in the Meta AI’s knowledge database (which includes access to the Bing search engine).
The specs then respond with the cool fact you requested – in this case explaining the Golden Gate Bridge (which it recognized in the photo it took) is painted “International Orange” so that it would be more visible in foggy conditions.
(Image credit: Andrew Bosworth / Threads)
Bosworth added in a follow-up message that other improvements are being rolled out, including new voice commands so you can share your latest Meta AI interaction on WhatsApp and Messenger.
Down the line, Bosworth says you’ll also be able to change the speed of Meta AI readouts in the voice settings menu to have them go faster or slower.
Still not for everyone
One huge caveat is that – much like the glasses’ other Look and Ask AI features – this new landmark recognition feature is still only in beta. As such, it might not always be the most accurate – so take its tourist guidance with a pinch of salt.
(Image credit: Meta)
The good news is Meta has at least opened up its waitlist to join the beta so more of us can try these experimental features. Go to the official page, input your glasses serial number, and wait to get contacted – though this option is only available if you’re based in the US.
In his post Bosworth did say that the team is working to “make this available to more people,” but neither he nor Meta have given a precise timeline of when the impressive AI features will be more widely available.
When the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses launched they did so without many of the impressive AI features we were promised. Now Meta is finally rolling out these capabilities to users, but they’re still in the testing phase and only available in the US.
During their Meta Connect 2023 announcement, we were told the follow-up to the Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses would get some improvements we expected – namely a slightly better camera and speakers – but also some unexpected AI integration.
Unfortunately, when we actually got to test the specs out its AI features boiled down to very basic commands. You can instruct them to take a picture, record a video, or contact someone through Messenger or WhatsApp. In the US you could also chat to a basic conversational AI – like ChatGPT – though this was still nothing to write home about.
While the glasses’ design is near-perfect, the speakers and camera weren’t impressive enough to make up for the lacking AI. So overall in our Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses review we didn’t look too favorably on the specs.
Press the button or ask the AI to take a picture (Image credit: Meta)
Our perception could soon be about to change drastically, however, as two major promised features are on their way: Look and Ask, and Bing integration.
Look and Ask is essentially a wearable voice-controlled Google Lens with a few AI-powered upgrades. While wearing the smart glasses you can say “Hey Meta, look and…” followed by a question about what you can see. The AI will then use the camera to scan your environment so it can provide a detailed answer to your query. On the official FAQ possible questions you can ask include “What can I make with these ingredients?” or “How much water do these flowers need?” or “Translate this sign into English.”
To help the Meta glasses provide better information when you’re using its conversational and Look and Ask features the specs can also now access the internet via Bing. This should mean the specs can source more up-to-date data letting it answer questions about sports matches that are currently happening, or provide real-time info on what nearby restaurants are the best rated, among other things.
Still not perfect
(Image credit: Meta)
It all sounds very science fiction, but unfortunately these almost magical capabilities come with a catch. For now, the new features – just like the existing conversational AI – are in beta testing.
So the glasses might have trouble with some of your queries and provide inaccurate answers, or not be able to find an answer at all. What’s more, as Meta explains in its FAQ any AI-processed pictures you take while part of the beta will be stored by Meta and used to train its AI. So your Look and Ask snaps aren’t private.
Lastly, the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses beta is only available in the US. So if you live somewhere else like me you won’t be able to try these features out – and probably won’t until 2024.
If you are in the US and happy with the terms of Meta’s Privacy Policy, you can sign up for the Early Access program and start testing these new tools. For everyone else hopefully these features won’t be in beta for long, or at least won’t be US-exclusive – otherwise we’ll be left continuing to wonder why we spent $ 299 / £299 / AU$ 449 on smart specs that aren’t all that much better than dumb Ray-Ban Wayfarers at half the cost.
We knew Meta Connect 2023 would be when Meta finally told us everything we needed to know about the soon-to-release Meta Quest 3 VR headset, but that’s not the only XR gadget up Meta’s sleeve. It also introduced us to its latest smart glasses collaboration with Ray-Ban, (up for preorder right now starting at £299, US and Australian pricing to be confirmed) and I got to try them out.
This follow-up to the Ray-Ban Stories may not be called the Ray-Ban Stories 2 – officially it’s known as the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Collection (quite the mouthful, I know) – but it might as well be a sequel. Meta has improved everything, from the internal components to the design of the case, while keeping everything that makes the Ray-Ban Stories what they are.
The first improvement is the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses’ camera. It now boasts a 12MP snapper instead of 5MP, which will capture images and video at a higher resolution than before. The 32GB of internal storage can hold up to 500 photos, or 100 30-second videos. The mic system has also been upgraded, and Meta says the five-microphone setup is better at capturing immersive spatial audio.
You’ll likely notice the speakers are better too. According to Meta, the open ear speakers in each arm are 50% louder than those found in Ray-Ban Stories. Plus, Meta promises they can deliver deeper bass, greater clarity and have less audio leak (so people should have a harder time hearing what you’re listening to).
(Image credit: Meta)
A new useful feature is the addition of a simple voice assistant. You can instruct it to take a photo or video, or if your Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are wirelessly connected to a phone, you can ask the assistant to call someone in your contacts and send them a pic of where you are.
The design has also been refreshed. You can still pick up a pair in the classic Wayfarer style (either standard or large) or you can buy them in the new Headliner style created for this collaboration. Every frame type is compatible with a range of different lens styles for prescription to polarized, and you can customize the frames with five different colors: glossy black, matte black, transparent black, transparent turquoise, or transparent orange. Thanks to all these options, there are over 150 different combinations, so you should be able to find the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses you want.
The new specs are set to ship on October 17, with preorders live right now. The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Collection starts at £299 (US and Australian pricing to be confirmed). If you want to pick up a pair with Transitions or Polarized lenses, this will cost you a little more, at £379 and £329 (US and Australian pricing to be confirmed) respectively.
Images and videos I snapped with the glasses look fine – plus the hands-free nature makes it easy to capture moments that wouldn’t suit your holding a phone in hand. I also agree with Meta that the glasses allowed me to capture a memory while also feeling more active in the moment than I might feel if I were recording on my phone.
Audio from the glasses seem solid too. I didn’t have the opportunity to hear as wide a range of tracks as I’d need to for a full assessment but my first impression is that they offer good clarity and volume, though I’m not sure the sound is as forceful as I like. As for audio leakage, this seem controlled. I had my demo at the same time as another person and when their music was on moderate loudness and mine was off, I couldn’t hear what they were playing even though I was standing fairly close.
My main concern is that the glasses feel a bit niche. Ideally, these are something you’d wear as often as possible to enjoy music wherever you are, or to capture a picture or recording of whatever impromptu moments come your way – but I’m not sure the people around me will love that I’m wearing a noticeable camera everywhere I go.
Sure, I could carry them around in their charging case and only take them out when I need them, but then why wouldn’t I just use my phone instead – even mid-range phones have a better 50MP+ camera.
If I need both of my hands free or I want to feel more involved in the moment, I could whip out one of the best action cameras, many of which are cheaper or only slightly more pricey than these specs. And for a similar music experience, you could pick up a pair of air-conduction headphones such as the JBL Soundgear Sense.
(Image credit: Future)
That said, I’m admittedly not super familiar with this category of glasses. My experience is with specs like the Xreal Airs, which are focused on AR video rather than having an in-built camera. During a longer test, I imagine finding a use-case for these RayBan glasses that makes them feel less niche.
If you can already see how these glasses would suit your lifestyle then they might be a worthwhile purchase. But if you can’t think of a good use for them, maybe think twice about getting your pre-order in.
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