is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
The second-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses aren’t too different from the first. The biggest change is that they have a better battery life, making them much easier to rely on as a private set of speakers or an eye-level camera for an all-day adventure.
I just can’t get over how weird I feel while wearing them.
Meta recently announced the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 smart glasses, promising eight hours of battery — twice as much as the previous version. So far, that seems accurate. I set up a pair provided by Meta the morning before they were announced, and I wore them all day while walking around Meta’s campus, taking demos, writing stories, and just going through a workday, including snapping the occasional photo or using the onboard speakers to help me navigate. They were fully charged when I put them on right before 9AM PT, and when I got to my hotel room 12 hours later, the battery was at 9 percent.
The battery has held up on days when I’ve pushed the glasses more, like taking photos and videos during a trip to the zoo or listening to The Vergecast on a walk to get groceries. Unless you’re really doing a lot with the glasses, you’ll likely be able to wear them for a full day out without plopping them into the case for a charge. The charging case gives the Gen 2 an additional 48 hours of battery — compared to 32 extra hours with the first-gen case — and it charges the glasses by up to 50 percent in 20 minutes.
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1 / 5 A photo taken with the glasses while on a trip to the Oregon Zoo. Photo: Jay Peters / The Verge
The camera on the Gen 2 glasses can also capture 3K (technically, “up to” 2203 x 2938) video at 30fps, up from 1440 x 1920 at 30fps from the last generation, though it still uses a 12MP sensor. Videos are a little sharper, but it’s not that much of a difference in practice. Videos from the glasses can still be a little nauseating to watch; it’s a camera attached to your head, after all, so footage is often a little shaky.
That’s pretty much it in terms of notable hardware changes. Otherwise, these glasses are similar to the first-gen Ray-Ban Meta glasses and the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses. A few potentially cool software features aren’t here yet, including slo-mo and hyperlapse videos and a “conversation focus” feature that boosts the audio of the person you’re talking to, but those are also coming to the first-gen Ray-Bans and the HSTN glasses. The Gen 2 also start at $379, up $80 from the starting price of the first-gen glasses.
If you already have a pair of Meta glasses, the new ones are a solid but not essential upgrade unless you’re already pushing the battery’s limits.
But for everyone else, the real question is whether you will even feel comfortable wearing glasses that put a camera right on your face. I didn’t feel too strange wearing them during Connect — like last year, the glasses were everywhere, which isn’t exactly surprising at a Meta event on Meta’s campus focused on Meta’s smart glasses. Back home, though, I felt really self-conscious. When I hold up a phone to capture a moment, people can tell that I’m trying to take a photo or video, but tapping a button on my glasses feels sneakier in a bad way.
This may be partially a me thing. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses seem to be a hit, with at least 2 million sold already. My colleague Victoria Song was stopped on the street by someone asking about the Oakley Meta HSTN sunglasses. And as Victoria recently wrote, smart glasses can be transformational for disabled communities. People are buying and loving Meta’s smart glasses. But even with a much better battery and improved video, I think I’m going to stick with my regular glasses and my smartphone for now.
Agree to Continue: Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate. To use the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, you’ll need a Meta account and the Meta AI app downloaded onto your phone. A Meta account works across platforms like Meta, Instagram, and Quest and comes with its own Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If you want to partake in early access programs for beta AI features, that will also come with its own terms. Should you decide to integrate with services like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Spotify, you also agree to those terms and privacy policies. You may also be asked to give permissions related to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, location services, voice data, and usage data. If you choose to get a pair of prescription lenses, you may also be asked to share that information with compatible optometrists. The smart glasses also come with supplemental terms of service and privacy policies / notices, including: Supplemental Meta Platforms Technologies Terms of Service
Supplemental Meta Platforms Technologies Privacy Policy
AI Glasses Early Access Program Terms and Conditions
United States Regional Privacy Notice
Health and Safety Information
Voice Controls Privacy Notice You can also view all the associated AI glasses legal and privacy documentation here. Final tally: Two mandatory agreements, six supplemental agreement