The 2-year-old Meta Ray-Bans, which currently top my list of the best smart glasses, have been a pretty great everyday pair of smart glasses for me, except for when the battery runs out. Which happens often.
But that may not be happening as much anymore with Meta Ray-Bans Gen 2, which Meta announced on Wednesday. They're available immediately for $379, which is $80 more than the originals, but they promise twice the battery life and improved images from the built-in camera.
Meta's got some AI upgrades coming too, including a few extra live translation languages and a new assistive audio mode called Conversation Focus that can filter out background noise when talking to someone.
I've seen them in person and have been setting up my own pair to review. They look just the same as before, but I hope for fewer moments when I need to suddenly recharge my glasses in the middle of the day.
The 2023 Meta Ray-Ban models I wear (top) compared to the 2025 Gen 2 glasses, both in matte black Wayfarer. Can you even tell the difference except for the prescription lenses? Scott Stein/CNET
The new Meta Ray-Bans will soon be joined by two other, spendier smart specs announced here at Meta Connect. There's a new pair of Oakley Vanguard wraparound sports glasses (Oct. 21, $499) and a futuristic model called Ray-Ban Display Glasses (Sept. 30, $799) that include a display built into the lenses and a neural wristband.
Watch this: Meta Ray-Bans Get Built-In Displays and a Neural Wristband 05:53
Battery and camera boosts
The new Ray-Ban line is similar in frame design and weight but has an 8-hour battery life instead of 4 (according to Meta) and a camera that can shoot in a higher-resolution 3K video resolution. These glasses will also get two new slow-mo and hyperlapse video shooting modes, coming to the Oakley sports models as well, which I saw in brief hands-on demos at Meta's campus. They're welcome extras, although these Ray-Bans will still shoot photos and videos in a rather limiting vertical wide-angle format.
The charge case promises 48 hours of battery now, and there's also a fast-charge mode that can bring the glasses to 50% battery life in 20 minutes. If that works as well as it sounds, it might mean I could just live a day without spare glasses. As long as I take a little power nap during the recharge.
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