Okay, I have posted twice now about using the new Meta View Ray-Ban glasses so I think it’s time to finally write my review of the glasses and how I have been using them in my day to day life.
Backstory:
Back in January it was time to re-do my prescription for my glasses and after reading/viewing LOTS of reviews of the new Meta View Ray-Bans, I decided to bite the bullet and get a pair. The plan was that I would replace my regular distance glasses with the Meta’s so that I would be forced to wear them whenever I was out and about. If you are really curious about my eye-site, I have to wear glasses for any distant viewing past about 12 feet in front of me. I also need reading glasses for up close. Anything between 3 feet and 12 feet, my vision is fine and I don’t usually have glasses on. This would be why if I am in a crowd or just having a conversation with someone, I am usually seen without glasses on.
What they are:
If you are new to the concept of the Meta View glasses, here is a rough breakdown of their capability:
Camera: 12 MP ultra-wide camera, 2592 x 1944 px video resolution, 3024 x 4032 px portrait capture video resolution, 1080 px video resolution, and Livestream up to 30 minutes
Speakers: Standard open-ear speakers, 5 mics with stereo recording, and custom-built speaker with 50% louder and double the bass
Battery:36 hours of battery life with the included charging/carrying case, which is 50% more than the previous generation
Other features: WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi6, Bluetooth 5.2, and water resistance IPX4
They are available in a variety of styles/colors with the lens option of doing clear, sunglasses, or transition lenses (clear to sun protection triggered by UV light). For me, I went with the glossy black Wayfarer style with transition lenses in my distance prescription. This meant that, if I wanted to use them regularly as a camera and audio headset, I would need to wear them all the time. While it was a little bit of a pain keeping them on while indoors and closer than the aforementioned 12 feet, it wasn’t hard to see the benefit of doing so.
But what do I use them for?!? (Is a question that you may be asking at this point.)
Use Cases:
The short answer to that would be… Everything! The most common comment I hear is “I have my phone with me all the time and it has a great camera, why would I need something strapped to my face?” Speed. That’s why. The amount of time that it takes to see something interesting around me, and then reach in my pocket to get my phone… launch the camera app… aim and shoot… etc. It’s WAY more than you think it is. When I am out walking around at an event or hiking in the desert, All I need to do is reach up and tap the button on the corner of the glasses and BAM! Photo taken. Need a video? Press and hold for ½ a second and I am now recording 60 seconds of video. Aiming is done by my face, and most importantly… and I can’t stress this fact enough, I am not taken out of the moment of what I am looking at.
Here is a perfect example scenario for you:
You are sitting/standing at a concert. The band is rocking out and you want to share the moment with your friends who didn’t manage to get tickets. Everyone around you whips out their phones and are holding them up taking videos or photos, but at that point, they are no longer watching the show, they are watching their phones as THEIR PHONE watches the show. Those people are so focused on holding a device up and aiming, making sure that the event is in the shot, that they aren’t paying attention to what’s going on around them anymore. At that point, they have now become the friend they are sending the video/photo to and are just watching the show on a tiny screen.
Same event with the glasses on. One touch and I am recording a video/photo of the event while still watching (with my eyeballs) what’s going on. The view of the recording is MY view.
Personally I have used them for grabbing a quick shot of something that I thought looked interesting to recording behind the scenes footage of photo shoots, and everything in between! The quality of the video and photos is on par with some of the best smartphones out there. I also love not having to reach for my phone any time I want to grab a quick shot of something. In a word it’s freeing.
Video and Live Streaming:
When recording video, the app allows you to set your preference up to 60 seconds, which is what I leave mine at. It’s kind of a bummer that it’s limited to just 1 min of video capture before you have to hit the button again. Hopefully an update will fix that. (it’s one of the biggest complaints.) You have the capability to live stream from the glasses to Facebook or to Instagram up to 30 minutes. Warning if you do this though, say goodbye to your battery. One session of live streaming dropped my battery from about 90% down to 20% in roughly 20 minutes.
If you are bothered by the limitation of a 1 minute recording, there is a fun little workaround using the live streaming feature. Facebook allows you to create a private group for just you and your friends. In my case, I created a private group with only myself in it. I can then do a live stream just to that group. Once I am done streaming, it’s possible to go to facebook and download the video for offline use. The caveat being that due to the stream, the quality of the video suffers just a tad.
Audio:
One of the lesser advertised features of the glasses should really be the headliner of the whole platform. The audio quality of the speakers in the Meta Ray-Bans are outstanding. I didn’t even realize it until I put them on for the first time. Listening to music or podcasts through them is really a game changer. No in-ear buds means I can still pay attention to the world around me but hear the music crystal clear. At 50-60% volume, it was more than enough to clearly hear what I was playing and no one around me was interrupted.
Voice calls are next level on them. Using them as a Bluetooth headset for any calls I have to make are phenomenal. Example here… I was on the JoCo Cruise (see earlier post) and I made a call to talk to Sarah (my spouse). Where I was sitting on the ship was on the back deck and there was some loud music playing. According to her, she heard none of it. The quality of the microphones limited what she could hear to just my voice. Now, there is a downside to this. Without the in-ear buds to block out all of that music, it was VERY hard to hear her. I had to essentially cup my hand over my ear to focus the sound. Once I did that, I had no issue. I was just amazed that she couldn’t hear anything around me.
AI Integration:
I should probably mention this because, well, it’s there. Meta has its own version of an AI assistant and it’s built into the glasses. Just like with your phone, you can ask it questions like “What’s the weather like?” or “How many people live in Uzbekistan?” (35.65 million if you’re curious). It’s a neat feature, but not one that I use much (if at all). They are slowly rolling out the ability to use the camera with the AI and have it give you information about what you are looking at, but if I am being honest, I don’t really use that either. It’s nice to have, but if I really cared, I would just look it up on my phone. If anyone is using these features, I would love to hear how you incorporate them!
Battery:
I haven’t had to worry about the battery in them at all. The included case can carry up to 8 full recharges for the glasses and getting them back to full takes maybe 15 minutes. The only time I every ran the battery down to nearly nothing was when I did a live stream on Half Moon Cay. If I am just wandering around and occasionally taking photos or videos, I can go almost all day. (they say 4 hours of intense use, but I have gone longer)
Privacy:
The biggest concern that I have heard about the Meta Ray-Bans are around privacy. With such an incognito camera facing towards anything I am looking at, it can be unnerving for some folks. While there is an indicator on the right corner of the glasses to let those around you know that you are filming, it’s NOT obvious. Most of the people I would demonstrate the glasses for didn’t even notice the light until I pointed it out. It’s also very possible to reach up and click the button for the shutter so slyly that someone may not notice that you did it. (it just looks like you are adjusting your glasses.) Most of the time I was actively using them I would let those around me know that I was using them to avoid any potential uncomfort.
That said, I may have flexed a little gray area in their usage on occasion. While I was at a show to take some photos of a friend’s performance, I was curious when he would be going on stage. He mentioned that one of the techs had a set list and we asked if we could take a look at it. As the tech held up the list, I reached up and snapped a photo. This allowed me to reference the list throughout the show. The tech in question wasn’t even looking at me when I grabbed the shot and had no idea what I had done.
So… yeah, there is the possibility of mis-use of these. The only thing I can say about it is that, the more people are aware of what they are, the more people would recognize them and, if they are uncomfortable, avoid them. Aside from that, I believe it’s the users responsibility to inform those around them of their use.
Conclusion:
So many people have recognized the glasses I was wearing and asked me what I thought of them. My answer is always the same, I love them. I would highly suggest that anyone who wants to create projects using photos or videos of the world around them to consider getting a pair and try them out. On a personal suggestion, the transition lenses are a MUST. Not having to swap between sunglasses and clear lenses are a saving grace. Many of the reviews I saw were from people who only got the sunglasses version and were sad that they didn’t spring for transitions as anytime they went indoors, they looked strange wearing sunglasses. (and it was considerably darker.)
And the real reason to get them… Cat Videos:
If you have any questions, please feel free to either comment, or reach out to me!