If you see someone nearby wearing thick Ray-Ban glasses, maybe staring off into space a bit and making small gestures with their fingers, you could be witness to the next big piece of wearable tech. Gesture-enabled smart glasses are here in the form of Meta Ray-Ban Displays, and I've been wearing them for about two weeks now, off and on. Yes, I'm one of those people.
Will you eventually be one of those people, too? Well, start by asking yourself whether you even want a display hovering around near your eyes, able to be called into existence with a double tap of a middle finger and thumb. Do I? Yes and no.
Watch this: My Life With Meta Ray-Ban Displays: A Weird Wild Future 07:39
Meta's latest $800 glasses feel to me like a transformational gadget for life. At their best, they reveal magic glimpses of a subtle interface, another layer of information on the world, with a display that conjures itself on demand. At their worst, they highlight the numerous missing pieces still needed to make smart glasses truly essential. Including, by the way, prescription support for my eyes. Right now, I'm testing them with contact lenses on.
Also, I have fundamental concerns about distraction and safety while wearing them.
7.0 Meta Ray-Ban Display $799 at Meta Like Nearly invisible in-lens heads-up display
Nearly invisible in-lens heads-up display Impressive gesture controls via included wristband
Impressive gesture controls via included wristband Assistive captioning and maps apps are truly useful
Assistive captioning and maps apps are truly useful Viewfinder and zoom functions for taking photos and videos Don't like Shorter battery life than standard, display-free Meta Ray-Bans
Shorter battery life than standard, display-free Meta Ray-Bans Neural band can feel annoying to wear
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