I've been testing smart glasses for almost a decade. And in that time, one of the questions I've been asked the most is "oh, but can you see anything in them?" For years, I had to explain that no, glasses like that don't really exist yet.
That's no longer the case. And while I've seen a bunch of glasses over the last year that have some kind of display, the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses feel the closest to fulfilling what so many people envision when they hear the words "smart glasses."
To be clear, they don't offer the kind of immersive AR that's possible with Meta's Orion prototype. In fact Meta considers "display AI glasses" to be a totally separate category from AR. The display is only on one lens — the right — and its 20-degree field of view is much smaller than the 70 degrees on Orion. That may sound like a big compromise, but it doesn't feel like one.
Karissa Bell for Engadget
The single display feels much more practical for a pair of glasses you'll want to wear every day. It's meant to be something you can glance at when you need it, not an always-on overlay. The smaller size also means that the display is much sharper, at 42 pixels per degree. This was especially noticeable when I walked outside with the glasses on; images on the display looked even sharper than in indoor light, thanks to automatic brightness features.
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I also appreciated that you can't see any light from the display when you're looking at someone wearing the glasses. In fact the display is only barely noticeable at all when you at them up close.
Having a smaller display also means that the glasses are cheaper, at $799, and that they don't look like the chunky AR glasses we've seen so many times. At 69 grams, they are a bit heavier and thicker than the second-gen Meta Ray-Bans, but not much. As someone who has tried on way too many pairs of thick black smart glasses, I'm glad Meta is offering these in a color besides black. All Wayfarer-style frames look wide on my face but the lighter "sand" color feels a lot more flattering.
The Meta Ray-Ban Display (left) and second-gen Ray-Ban Meta glasses (right.) The display glasses are a little thicker. (Karissa Bell for Engadget)
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