Ray-Ban Meta RW4009F Headliner (Low Bridge Fit) Sunglasses in Black
With Ray-Ban Meta Headliner smart glasses you can express yourself with the most unique perspective there is – yours. Integrated with wearable tech, the lightweight frame enables you to listen, call, capture and livestream, all while staying present in the moment. The Headliner panthos shape is a hybrid of the Wayfarer and the Round, bringing together the best of two icons.
With Ray-Ban Meta Headliner smart glasses you can express yourself with the most unique perspective there is – yours. Integrated with wearable tech, the lightweight frame enables you to listen, call, capture and livestream, all while staying present in the moment. The Headliner panthos shape is a hybrid of the Wayfarer and the Round, bringing together the best of two icons.
With Ray-Ban Meta Headliner smart glasses you can express yourself with the most unique perspective there is – yours. Integrated with wearable tech, the lightweight frame enables you to listen, call, capture and livestream, all while staying present in the moment. The Headliner panthos shape is a hybrid of the Wayfarer and the Round, bringing together the best of two icons.
With Ray-Ban Meta Headliner smart glasses you can express yourself with the most unique perspective there is – yours. Integrated with wearable tech, the lightweight frame enables you to listen, call, capture and livestream, all while staying present in the moment. The Headliner panthos shape is a hybrid of the Wayfarer and the Round, bringing together the best of two icons.
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The lowest price for Ray-Ban Meta RW4009F Headliner (Low Bridge Fit) Sunglasses in Black right now is $337.00 at Myer, compared across 10 retailers.
The all-time low was $337.00 on 13 June 2026. That's the lowest price we've ever tracked — a great time to buy.
Prices last updated 13 June 2026.
Last updated at 13/06/2026 03:33:37
Meta Headliner Sunglasses in Black
30-day returns
Meta Headliner Sunglasses in Black
30-day returns
Meta Headliner Polarised Sunglasses in Black
30-day returns
(Gen 1) Ray-Ban Meta Black Frame Green Lenses AI Glasses
Free delivery
Ray-Ban | Meta Headliner Gen 1 AI Glasses (Shiny Black/Green Polarised)
Delivery $6.99
Ray-Ban Meta Headliner AI Glasses - Shiny Black Frame with Green Lens
Ray-Ban Meta Low Bridge Fit Headliner Black - Unisex Sunglasses, Clear/Sapphire Lens
Free delivery
Ray-ban Meta (gen 1) Headliner
Free delivery
Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Meta Headliner RW4009
Delivery between 16–23 June $5.95
RAY-BAN 0RW4009 Black Sunglasses
Free delivery
originally posted on bestbuy.com
💪 BUILD:I have the glossy version of the low-bridge Headliner model. While I typically prefer matte textured frames, I do like the aesthetic of the shiny Headliner. I wear glasses all the time, so my frames tend to go through some wear and tear. My Headliners already have a few scuffs on the frames, but it’s not noticeable unless I’m really looking. Not really an issue in the grand scheme of things, but I do wish that Meta offered a matte version of the Headliner. Hopefully there will be an option in the future, as a couple other models have matte options.Folding the glasses feels confident, and stowing them away in the charging case feels secure without them rattling around. The case itself feels nicely designed—neither cheap nor premium, but certainly more ... More💪 BUILD:I have the glossy version of the low-bridge Headliner model. While I typically prefer matte textured frames, I do like the aesthetic of the shiny Headliner. I wear glasses all the time, so my frames tend to go through some wear and tear. My Headliners already have a few scuffs on the frames, but it’s not noticeable unless I’m really looking. Not really an issue in the grand scheme of things, but I do wish that Meta offered a matte version of the Headliner. Hopefully there will be an option in the future, as a couple other models have matte options.Folding the glasses feels confident, and stowing them away in the charging case feels secure without them rattling around. The case itself feels nicely designed—neither cheap nor premium, but certainly more premium than my normal sunglasses cases. And I appreciate that there’s an indicator light on the magnetically closing lid to give me a quick status on its battery level. The USB-C port on the bottom makes it easy to charge the case, and a stealthy pairing button on the rear of the case makes it easy to pair with your smartphone.It should also be mentioned that the glasses themselves are IPX4 rated, so they can withstand some splashes, but they won’t necessarily be able to sustain a downpour. I wouldn’t recommend taking them into a pool unless you’re cautious as not to get them wet, since submerging them is completely out of the question.🔘 CONTROLS:The control scheme is pretty straight forward on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. When you’re wearing them, you’ll find the ability to take pictures by pressing the button on the top-right of the frame, and holding the button will begin a video clip.For music playback and spawning the Meta AI assistant, you can use the stealthily hidden touch area of the frame, also found on the right side. Swiping gestures will control volume, single tap to play/pause, and double-tap or triple-tap to skip forward and backward. And a long-hold to spawn the Meta AI assistant or optionally Spotify Tap or Apple Music. You can also configure a 3-finger hold in the app, but only to spawn the Meta AI assistant.There’s also a switch found on the inner-left side of the frames if you want to completely power off the glasses and use them as a normal pair of sunglasses without additional features. Whether it's for privacy purposes or to save battery, the option is there.And lastly, you can control many of these features simply using your voice with Meta AI, in addition to all the other benefits an AI assistant could yield you. So if your hands are preoccupied, saying “Hey Meta” spawns the AI with a very high success rate.👓 COMFORT:I’ve been wearing the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner under a variety of different scenarios—driving, working on a computer outdoors, wearing them on my 7 mile round-trip scooter commute to work, and other leisurely scenarios.For me, the low bridge fit of the Headliner has been good, overall. Many other glasses I’d be constantly re-adjusting as they’d be slipping down my nose, but these have been much more pleasant than I’d expected. I’ll still need to put them through the paces of more strenuous activity like running or volleyball, but in casual day-to-day usage, wearing them has been seamless and pleasant.📷 CAMERA:Still images are captured from the camera at 12MP (3024x4032) in a portrait/vertical aspect ratio. In well-lit environments, the images and videos aren’t as sharp as a modern smartphone when you zoom in and compare frame-by-frame—but I was still very impressed with the color and contrast. In dimly lit environments, the images will be much softer, so perhaps not as good for sharing on social media.Videos are captured at 1360x1824 @ 30 fps in a portrait/vertical aspect ratio, and are limited to 60 second clips. This consistently yielded a file size of about 115MB per 60 second clip. So you won’t be able to sustain a long recording session on the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, but you’ll certainly be able to store quite a few clips on its internal 32GB storage.Video stabilization was impressively good in my experience. As someone who rides a fast electric scooter, all my footage was very smooth with no lens distortion or rolling shutter effects. But since the framerate is capped at 30fps, this does mean that quick head motions will yield blurrier footage during those moments.And I noticed that during really sunny outdoor environments, the auto-exposure was very good and quick to react—but this could be distracting if the amount of light being captured by the sensor is constantly changing. Since you don’t have a viewfinder, you won’t really know if you’re getting a good shot until you’ve imported it. So I certainly wouldn’t rely on this as a main camera, but it’s been an absolute joy to have at the ready.Importing videos and images is as simple as opening the Meta View app on your phone and hitting the “Import” button which will join your phone to the glasses over a direct Wi-Fi connection. However, you can also auto-import while charging the glasses in the case while connected to a saved Wi-Fi network. I really appreciate this feature since it means I can take pictures and videos while being in the moment, then automatically have photos imported when I’m home.🎤 MICROPHONE:The onboard microphones also surprised me quite a bit, as well. While they won’t do very well while blazing through wind on my electric scooter, they are excellent for capturing audio in most other situations. They do a very good job of recording your own voice, and a decent job at recording your immediate environment. Personally, I’d say the audio is about on par with many smartphone microphones which was a pleasant surprise.I frequently used these microphones to spawn the Meta AI by saying “Hey Meta”, and was surprised to find that it was able to hear me and consistently fulfill my inquiries while blazing in the wind on an electric scooter.🔊 SPEAKERS:The speakers on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are certainly not going to replace my earbuds for more intimate listening purposes, but for casual listening while working outdoors or on a scooter ride, I do enjoy them.In bassier music (which is a lot of music these days), the dynamic EQ will cause vocals and other instruments to become much quieter whenever there’s a low-end punch, so this can be pretty distracting for me. I’m hoping they can revise their algorithm to alleviate this behavior. These speakers aren’t built to deliver this kind of bass; I’d be much happier if they would keep the rest of the frequency range intact and let the bass response take a sacrifice because at least then I wouldn’t be hearing vocals constantly changing loudness. Producers use vocal compression to alleviate these kinds of problems in studio recordings, but these are undoing that work.The speakers will function much more consistently for podcast style content, but a lot of my library exhibited this distracting behavior to varying lengths. It really depends on how the music was produced, so it really doesn’t matter what genres you listen to—your library just isn’t safe from this EQ algorithm.This makes the listening experience less immersive than many $20-$30 in-ear monitors, and I imagine for the majority of people, this is supposed to be one of the main selling points of the glasses. So if you’re listening casually and not very intently, these can be great, but if you’re looking to be immersed, I found this behavior to keep me distracted.🤖 META AI:Meta AI is one of the cooler features about these glasses, but they’re still a work in progress. You’re able to control most of the features of the glasses through a simple voice command, and also provide answers to inquiries you’d run through most AI search algorithms these days. However, responses will typically be short and succinct, so you shouldn’t expect really detailed responses. Moreover, there’s still a lot of things Meta AI cannot do—like reminders, calendar events, sending images over SMS, language translations, voice memos, etc. Only time will tell which features will be integrated into Meta AI.I haven’t quite found a genuine use-case for telling the Meta AI to tell me more about something in front of me, but it performs best when analyzing things close by, as opposed to off in the distance.🔋 BATTERY:Meta claims that you can achieve 4 hours on a single charge (capturing and syncing up to 100 videos or up to 500 photos per full charge). This will vary depending on how you use them, but I did find that claim to be pretty reasonable even with music playback, but it’ll also vary depending on how loud you are listening. With that said, it takes only 75 minutes to reach a full charge from dead in the charging case, and you can achieve a 50% charge in only 22 minutes. So if you are expecting to use the smart features throughout an entire day, you’ll likely need to top up throughout the day to keep the action going. Thus far, I only reached a low battery one time, and I appreciated that the Meta AI assistant told me so I could charge them for my next usage.🧐 CONCLUSION:For the asking price, I do think the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are innovative, and I’m making them a more integral part of my everyday life as someone who frequently wears glasses. My biggest criticism is in regards to the sound EQ—which I hope can be improved with a firmware update. But there are a lot of things to like about these glasses, and I hope to see Ray-Ban and Meta improve upon them over time.
originally posted on bestbuy.com
The Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses are a stylish and functional pair of shades that offer excellent protection from the sun. They feature a classic Ray-Ban design with a modern twist, having Meta AI integrated into the sunglasses while providing audio and video capabilities. The glasses are packed with features, so I’ll try to break them down a little in this review.DesignThey feature a lightweight frame made from a combination of metal and plastic, and the lenses are available in a variety of colors. The sunglasses also come with a charging case and a cleaning cloth. My glasses were a shiny black material that scuffed and scratched the second I touched them, but that’s to be expected with this kind of finish. The lenses seem high quality and the ones in my ... MoreThe Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses are a stylish and functional pair of shades that offer excellent protection from the sun. They feature a classic Ray-Ban design with a modern twist, having Meta AI integrated into the sunglasses while providing audio and video capabilities. The glasses are packed with features, so I’ll try to break them down a little in this review.DesignThey feature a lightweight frame made from a combination of metal and plastic, and the lenses are available in a variety of colors. The sunglasses also come with a charging case and a cleaning cloth. My glasses were a shiny black material that scuffed and scratched the second I touched them, but that’s to be expected with this kind of finish. The lenses seem high quality and the ones in my pair are listed as green, but it’s a subtle tint.There’s a camera, and speakers built into these sunglasses, so they’re going to be bulkier than a normal pair of shades, but the design team did a wonderful job in making them comfortable to wear, even on my big head.I’m not in love with the design, but that’s going to be pretty subjective depending on your preferences. A more squared pair of frames just seem to complement my head better, but I think if you have a smaller head, these would look just fine on you. I also believe these are meant to be a unisex frame, as they look at home on my daughter’s face as well. The shiny black finish is very prone to smudges, scuffs, and scratches as well. I already have a couple of scuffs on the legs of the frame, and I’ve done nothing but baby them in the last few days.FeaturesThe Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses are packed with features, including:Meta AI integration: The sunglasses have Meta AI built-in, which allows you to use voice commands to control your music, take photos, and more. You can ask Meta to describe what you’re seeing, take a photo, make a phone call or even search the web for something. While it can’t do everything that you’re used to your other AI assistants doing, it does have some basic functions and hopefully we’ll see more in the future.Audio capabilities: The sunglasses have built-in speakers and a microphone, so you can listen to music and make phone calls without having to take your phone out of your pocket. The speakers actually sound quite good, but have a lot of sound leakage.Gestures: You can customize the gestures on the glasses to activate things like Spotify or other applications. Changing the volume is simply a swipe left or right. A tap will pause your music and a button press will take a photo. It’s all very well-designed and intuitive.Video capabilities: The sunglasses have a built-in camera, so you can take photos and videos. While the camera isn’t the greatest at capturing action photos, the videos I captured turned out nice.UV protection: The lenses provide 100% protection from UV rays. Which is what a good pair of sunglasses should do.PerformanceThe Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses perform well in all areas. The lenses provide excellent protection from the sun, and the audio and video capabilities work well. The Meta AI integration is also very impressive, and it allows you to control your sunglasses with just your voice. All the features work well and are customized via the Meta View app on your phone.OverallThe Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses are a stylish and feature-packed pair of shades that offer exceptional protection from the sun. I’m not a fan of the design or the shiny black finish as it’s very prone to scuffs and scratches, but those are subjective, and you may just absolutely love those aspects of the design. If you’re okay with the design and find a finish you like, these are a fun pair of sunglasses, especially for a tech enthusiast.
originally posted on bestbuy.com
These Meta Headliner glasses are very nice. If I had any complaint about them, it's that if you listen to music with them, you might notice the bass is weak/missing. However, considering they do not go into your ears, the sound is surprisingly good otherwise (volume control is easy with the touch pad).They come with a charging case (USB-C) which looks just like any other traditional eyeglass case, not much bigger) that you can carry in your pocket. The pairing button is on the case. When I paired them, it said to check of a code matched the code on my glasses, unfortunately I did not know where to look for that so I just accepted it. Note that there was an error connecting to the temporary Wi-Fi network on the glasses when I first tried, but rebooting the phone ... MoreThese Meta Headliner glasses are very nice. If I had any complaint about them, it's that if you listen to music with them, you might notice the bass is weak/missing. However, considering they do not go into your ears, the sound is surprisingly good otherwise (volume control is easy with the touch pad).They come with a charging case (USB-C) which looks just like any other traditional eyeglass case, not much bigger) that you can carry in your pocket. The pairing button is on the case. When I paired them, it said to check of a code matched the code on my glasses, unfortunately I did not know where to look for that so I just accepted it. Note that there was an error connecting to the temporary Wi-Fi network on the glasses when I first tried, but rebooting the phone seemed to fix that message.They Meta AI feature is impressive, that's not even a strong enough word for how amazing it is. As an example, there was a picture of a bee on my phone, I asked what kind of insect I'm looking at and it got it right. I later, looked at the TV when History channel was on, and asked it what was on the TV and it said "a show or documentary about Poland" which was right. Later, an auto insurance commercial was on and I asked it what kind of commercial it was and it said it appeared to be for auto insurance. These examples were just in my living room where I was first testing it. In each of these examples, I prefaced my prompt with "Hey meta, look and" which enables it to take a snapshot and look before answering. You can also ask it questions without having it look like you might any other AI, fortunately it seems to keep its answers fairly short (great, because it's talking in your ear, not like a screen where you can just skim what you want from the text).Unfortunately, I can't test these too extensively in the wild yet because I don't have prescription lenses in them. While they are intended to be used as Sunglasses, there is fortunately an option to install prescription lenses in them. I plan to do that at my regular eyeglass store if they support it, I know they carry Ray Ban glasses there. My intention is to install transition lenses so that I could potentially use them indoors or outdoors somewhat regularly.You take photos and video with the capture button (quick press = photo, long hold=capture video). Photos came out clear, though I'm sure some reviewers might be more picky about the resolution than I am. It will now be really easy not to miss a great photo opportunity - I won't have to dig in my pocket for a phone or open a photo app. When you record video, a light comes on to indicate that you are recording. Someone in the family joked that I should just put a piece of tape over the light (like black electrical tape). I don't recommend doing this, though, it's usually a good (legal) idea to let people know they're being recorded. The HD quality video it recorded though was impressive, and the sound on the recording sounded clear (my voice sounded better to me in the recording than I sound to myself in my ears when I talk).I allowed it to make phone calls, and tried it out. The person on the other end of the phone said I was clear, and the call sounded as clear as if I were holding a land line to my ear. Answering and hanging up is with a double tap, or you can (for example) say "Hey Meta, Answer". It could even send texts, "Hey Meta, Send message to [name] [message]" and it responds confirming the contact name and message content before sending. The recipient confirmed they received the message.None of the AI systems out there may be perfected yet (and may never be), but this is a very cool toy to play with and if you can afford it and normally wear glasses, these make wearing them fun. I intend to use them regularly once I get prescription lenses, and would recommend them to others.
| FIT | Regular |
| EXCLUSIVE | FALSE |
| CUSTOMIZABLE | FALSE |
| ENGRAVABLE | FALSE |
Meta Headliner Sunglasses in Black
30-day returns
Meta Headliner Sunglasses in Black
30-day returns
Meta Headliner Polarised Sunglasses in Black
30-day returns
(Gen 1) Ray-Ban Meta Black Frame Green Lenses AI Glasses
Free delivery
Ray-Ban | Meta Headliner Gen 1 AI Glasses (Shiny Black/Green Polarised)
Delivery $6.99
💪 BUILD:I have the glossy version of the low-bridge Headliner model. While I typically prefer matte textured frames, I do like the aesthetic of the shiny Headliner. I wear glasses all the time, so my frames tend to go through some wear and tear. My Headliners already have a few scuffs on the frames, but it’s not noticeable unless I’m really looking. Not really an issue in the grand scheme of things, but I do wish that Meta offered a matte version of the Headliner. Hopefully there will be an option in the future, as a couple other models have matte options.Folding the glasses feels confident, and stowing them away in the charging case feels secure without them rattling around. The case itself feels nicely designed—neither cheap nor premium, but certainly more ... More💪 BUILD:I have the glossy version of the low-bridge Headliner model. While I typically prefer matte textured frames, I do like the aesthetic of the shiny Headliner. I wear glasses all the time, so my frames tend to go through some wear and tear. My Headliners already have a few scuffs on the frames, but it’s not noticeable unless I’m really looking. Not really an issue in the grand scheme of things, but I do wish that Meta offered a matte version of the Headliner. Hopefully there will be an option in the future, as a couple other models have matte options.Folding the glasses feels confident, and stowing them away in the charging case feels secure without them rattling around. The case itself feels nicely designed—neither cheap nor premium, but certainly more premium than my normal sunglasses cases. And I appreciate that there’s an indicator light on the magnetically closing lid to give me a quick status on its battery level. The USB-C port on the bottom makes it easy to charge the case, and a stealthy pairing button on the rear of the case makes it easy to pair with your smartphone.It should also be mentioned that the glasses themselves are IPX4 rated, so they can withstand some splashes, but they won’t necessarily be able to sustain a downpour. I wouldn’t recommend taking them into a pool unless you’re cautious as not to get them wet, since submerging them is completely out of the question.🔘 CONTROLS:The control scheme is pretty straight forward on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. When you’re wearing them, you’ll find the ability to take pictures by pressing the button on the top-right of the frame, and holding the button will begin a video clip.For music playback and spawning the Meta AI assistant, you can use the stealthily hidden touch area of the frame, also found on the right side. Swiping gestures will control volume, single tap to play/pause, and double-tap or triple-tap to skip forward and backward. And a long-hold to spawn the Meta AI assistant or optionally Spotify Tap or Apple Music. You can also configure a 3-finger hold in the app, but only to spawn the Meta AI assistant.There’s also a switch found on the inner-left side of the frames if you want to completely power off the glasses and use them as a normal pair of sunglasses without additional features. Whether it's for privacy purposes or to save battery, the option is there.And lastly, you can control many of these features simply using your voice with Meta AI, in addition to all the other benefits an AI assistant could yield you. So if your hands are preoccupied, saying “Hey Meta” spawns the AI with a very high success rate.👓 COMFORT:I’ve been wearing the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner under a variety of different scenarios—driving, working on a computer outdoors, wearing them on my 7 mile round-trip scooter commute to work, and other leisurely scenarios.For me, the low bridge fit of the Headliner has been good, overall. Many other glasses I’d be constantly re-adjusting as they’d be slipping down my nose, but these have been much more pleasant than I’d expected. I’ll still need to put them through the paces of more strenuous activity like running or volleyball, but in casual day-to-day usage, wearing them has been seamless and pleasant.📷 CAMERA:Still images are captured from the camera at 12MP (3024x4032) in a portrait/vertical aspect ratio. In well-lit environments, the images and videos aren’t as sharp as a modern smartphone when you zoom in and compare frame-by-frame—but I was still very impressed with the color and contrast. In dimly lit environments, the images will be much softer, so perhaps not as good for sharing on social media.Videos are captured at 1360x1824 @ 30 fps in a portrait/vertical aspect ratio, and are limited to 60 second clips. This consistently yielded a file size of about 115MB per 60 second clip. So you won’t be able to sustain a long recording session on the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, but you’ll certainly be able to store quite a few clips on its internal 32GB storage.Video stabilization was impressively good in my experience. As someone who rides a fast electric scooter, all my footage was very smooth with no lens distortion or rolling shutter effects. But since the framerate is capped at 30fps, this does mean that quick head motions will yield blurrier footage during those moments.And I noticed that during really sunny outdoor environments, the auto-exposure was very good and quick to react—but this could be distracting if the amount of light being captured by the sensor is constantly changing. Since you don’t have a viewfinder, you won’t really know if you’re getting a good shot until you’ve imported it. So I certainly wouldn’t rely on this as a main camera, but it’s been an absolute joy to have at the ready.Importing videos and images is as simple as opening the Meta View app on your phone and hitting the “Import” button which will join your phone to the glasses over a direct Wi-Fi connection. However, you can also auto-import while charging the glasses in the case while connected to a saved Wi-Fi network. I really appreciate this feature since it means I can take pictures and videos while being in the moment, then automatically have photos imported when I’m home.🎤 MICROPHONE:The onboard microphones also surprised me quite a bit, as well. While they won’t do very well while blazing through wind on my electric scooter, they are excellent for capturing audio in most other situations. They do a very good job of recording your own voice, and a decent job at recording your immediate environment. Personally, I’d say the audio is about on par with many smartphone microphones which was a pleasant surprise.I frequently used these microphones to spawn the Meta AI by saying “Hey Meta”, and was surprised to find that it was able to hear me and consistently fulfill my inquiries while blazing in the wind on an electric scooter.🔊 SPEAKERS:The speakers on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are certainly not going to replace my earbuds for more intimate listening purposes, but for casual listening while working outdoors or on a scooter ride, I do enjoy them.In bassier music (which is a lot of music these days), the dynamic EQ will cause vocals and other instruments to become much quieter whenever there’s a low-end punch, so this can be pretty distracting for me. I’m hoping they can revise their algorithm to alleviate this behavior. These speakers aren’t built to deliver this kind of bass; I’d be much happier if they would keep the rest of the frequency range intact and let the bass response take a sacrifice because at least then I wouldn’t be hearing vocals constantly changing loudness. Producers use vocal compression to alleviate these kinds of problems in studio recordings, but these are undoing that work.The speakers will function much more consistently for podcast style content, but a lot of my library exhibited this distracting behavior to varying lengths. It really depends on how the music was produced, so it really doesn’t matter what genres you listen to—your library just isn’t safe from this EQ algorithm.This makes the listening experience less immersive than many $20-$30 in-ear monitors, and I imagine for the majority of people, this is supposed to be one of the main selling points of the glasses. So if you’re listening casually and not very intently, these can be great, but if you’re looking to be immersed, I found this behavior to keep me distracted.🤖 META AI:Meta AI is one of the cooler features about these glasses, but they’re still a work in progress. You’re able to control most of the features of the glasses through a simple voice command, and also provide answers to inquiries you’d run through most AI search algorithms these days. However, responses will typically be short and succinct, so you shouldn’t expect really detailed responses. Moreover, there’s still a lot of things Meta AI cannot do—like reminders, calendar events, sending images over SMS, language translations, voice memos, etc. Only time will tell which features will be integrated into Meta AI.I haven’t quite found a genuine use-case for telling the Meta AI to tell me more about something in front of me, but it performs best when analyzing things close by, as opposed to off in the distance.🔋 BATTERY:Meta claims that you can achieve 4 hours on a single charge (capturing and syncing up to 100 videos or up to 500 photos per full charge). This will vary depending on how you use them, but I did find that claim to be pretty reasonable even with music playback, but it’ll also vary depending on how loud you are listening. With that said, it takes only 75 minutes to reach a full charge from dead in the charging case, and you can achieve a 50% charge in only 22 minutes. So if you are expecting to use the smart features throughout an entire day, you’ll likely need to top up throughout the day to keep the action going. Thus far, I only reached a low battery one time, and I appreciated that the Meta AI assistant told me so I could charge them for my next usage.🧐 CONCLUSION:For the asking price, I do think the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are innovative, and I’m making them a more integral part of my everyday life as someone who frequently wears glasses. My biggest criticism is in regards to the sound EQ—which I hope can be improved with a firmware update. But there are a lot of things to like about these glasses, and I hope to see Ray-Ban and Meta improve upon them over time.
The Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses are a stylish and functional pair of shades that offer excellent protection from the sun. They feature a classic Ray-Ban design with a modern twist, having Meta AI integrated into the sunglasses while providing audio and video capabilities. The glasses are packed with features, so I’ll try to break them down a little in this review.DesignThey feature a lightweight frame made from a combination of metal and plastic, and the lenses are available in a variety of colors. The sunglasses also come with a charging case and a cleaning cloth. My glasses were a shiny black material that scuffed and scratched the second I touched them, but that’s to be expected with this kind of finish. The lenses seem high quality and the ones in my ... MoreThe Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses are a stylish and functional pair of shades that offer excellent protection from the sun. They feature a classic Ray-Ban design with a modern twist, having Meta AI integrated into the sunglasses while providing audio and video capabilities. The glasses are packed with features, so I’ll try to break them down a little in this review.DesignThey feature a lightweight frame made from a combination of metal and plastic, and the lenses are available in a variety of colors. The sunglasses also come with a charging case and a cleaning cloth. My glasses were a shiny black material that scuffed and scratched the second I touched them, but that’s to be expected with this kind of finish. The lenses seem high quality and the ones in my pair are listed as green, but it’s a subtle tint.There’s a camera, and speakers built into these sunglasses, so they’re going to be bulkier than a normal pair of shades, but the design team did a wonderful job in making them comfortable to wear, even on my big head.I’m not in love with the design, but that’s going to be pretty subjective depending on your preferences. A more squared pair of frames just seem to complement my head better, but I think if you have a smaller head, these would look just fine on you. I also believe these are meant to be a unisex frame, as they look at home on my daughter’s face as well. The shiny black finish is very prone to smudges, scuffs, and scratches as well. I already have a couple of scuffs on the legs of the frame, and I’ve done nothing but baby them in the last few days.FeaturesThe Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses are packed with features, including:Meta AI integration: The sunglasses have Meta AI built-in, which allows you to use voice commands to control your music, take photos, and more. You can ask Meta to describe what you’re seeing, take a photo, make a phone call or even search the web for something. While it can’t do everything that you’re used to your other AI assistants doing, it does have some basic functions and hopefully we’ll see more in the future.Audio capabilities: The sunglasses have built-in speakers and a microphone, so you can listen to music and make phone calls without having to take your phone out of your pocket. The speakers actually sound quite good, but have a lot of sound leakage.Gestures: You can customize the gestures on the glasses to activate things like Spotify or other applications. Changing the volume is simply a swipe left or right. A tap will pause your music and a button press will take a photo. It’s all very well-designed and intuitive.Video capabilities: The sunglasses have a built-in camera, so you can take photos and videos. While the camera isn’t the greatest at capturing action photos, the videos I captured turned out nice.UV protection: The lenses provide 100% protection from UV rays. Which is what a good pair of sunglasses should do.PerformanceThe Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses perform well in all areas. The lenses provide excellent protection from the sun, and the audio and video capabilities work well. The Meta AI integration is also very impressive, and it allows you to control your sunglasses with just your voice. All the features work well and are customized via the Meta View app on your phone.OverallThe Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses are a stylish and feature-packed pair of shades that offer exceptional protection from the sun. I’m not a fan of the design or the shiny black finish as it’s very prone to scuffs and scratches, but those are subjective, and you may just absolutely love those aspects of the design. If you’re okay with the design and find a finish you like, these are a fun pair of sunglasses, especially for a tech enthusiast.
These Meta Headliner glasses are very nice. If I had any complaint about them, it's that if you listen to music with them, you might notice the bass is weak/missing. However, considering they do not go into your ears, the sound is surprisingly good otherwise (volume control is easy with the touch pad).They come with a charging case (USB-C) which looks just like any other traditional eyeglass case, not much bigger) that you can carry in your pocket. The pairing button is on the case. When I paired them, it said to check of a code matched the code on my glasses, unfortunately I did not know where to look for that so I just accepted it. Note that there was an error connecting to the temporary Wi-Fi network on the glasses when I first tried, but rebooting the phone ... MoreThese Meta Headliner glasses are very nice. If I had any complaint about them, it's that if you listen to music with them, you might notice the bass is weak/missing. However, considering they do not go into your ears, the sound is surprisingly good otherwise (volume control is easy with the touch pad).They come with a charging case (USB-C) which looks just like any other traditional eyeglass case, not much bigger) that you can carry in your pocket. The pairing button is on the case. When I paired them, it said to check of a code matched the code on my glasses, unfortunately I did not know where to look for that so I just accepted it. Note that there was an error connecting to the temporary Wi-Fi network on the glasses when I first tried, but rebooting the phone seemed to fix that message.They Meta AI feature is impressive, that's not even a strong enough word for how amazing it is. As an example, there was a picture of a bee on my phone, I asked what kind of insect I'm looking at and it got it right. I later, looked at the TV when History channel was on, and asked it what was on the TV and it said "a show or documentary about Poland" which was right. Later, an auto insurance commercial was on and I asked it what kind of commercial it was and it said it appeared to be for auto insurance. These examples were just in my living room where I was first testing it. In each of these examples, I prefaced my prompt with "Hey meta, look and" which enables it to take a snapshot and look before answering. You can also ask it questions without having it look like you might any other AI, fortunately it seems to keep its answers fairly short (great, because it's talking in your ear, not like a screen where you can just skim what you want from the text).Unfortunately, I can't test these too extensively in the wild yet because I don't have prescription lenses in them. While they are intended to be used as Sunglasses, there is fortunately an option to install prescription lenses in them. I plan to do that at my regular eyeglass store if they support it, I know they carry Ray Ban glasses there. My intention is to install transition lenses so that I could potentially use them indoors or outdoors somewhat regularly.You take photos and video with the capture button (quick press = photo, long hold=capture video). Photos came out clear, though I'm sure some reviewers might be more picky about the resolution than I am. It will now be really easy not to miss a great photo opportunity - I won't have to dig in my pocket for a phone or open a photo app. When you record video, a light comes on to indicate that you are recording. Someone in the family joked that I should just put a piece of tape over the light (like black electrical tape). I don't recommend doing this, though, it's usually a good (legal) idea to let people know they're being recorded. The HD quality video it recorded though was impressive, and the sound on the recording sounded clear (my voice sounded better to me in the recording than I sound to myself in my ears when I talk).I allowed it to make phone calls, and tried it out. The person on the other end of the phone said I was clear, and the call sounded as clear as if I were holding a land line to my ear. Answering and hanging up is with a double tap, or you can (for example) say "Hey Meta, Answer". It could even send texts, "Hey Meta, Send message to [name] [message]" and it responds confirming the contact name and message content before sending. The recipient confirmed they received the message.None of the AI systems out there may be perfected yet (and may never be), but this is a very cool toy to play with and if you can afford it and normally wear glasses, these make wearing them fun. I intend to use them regularly once I get prescription lenses, and would recommend them to others.
I want to thank the BestBuy Tech Insioders Network for sending me the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner Smart Glasses. To be able to look at some unknown object and say "Hey Meta, what is this object" and hear the complete description of it makes me feel like a superhero in front of my friends. I can ask it any question I have along the way such as "What time is it?" or "Will it rain in the next hour?" and it will let me know. I think this would be very helpful to a blind person if the glasses described what's in front of them without having to shoot a photo first. The information it tells you is also saved in a list to the app along with a photo of what you were looking at.The sound quality is terrific and my ears are not blocked since the sound is "projected" into my ears ... MoreI want to thank the BestBuy Tech Insioders Network for sending me the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner Smart Glasses. To be able to look at some unknown object and say "Hey Meta, what is this object" and hear the complete description of it makes me feel like a superhero in front of my friends. I can ask it any question I have along the way such as "What time is it?" or "Will it rain in the next hour?" and it will let me know. I think this would be very helpful to a blind person if the glasses described what's in front of them without having to shoot a photo first. The information it tells you is also saved in a list to the app along with a photo of what you were looking at.The sound quality is terrific and my ears are not blocked since the sound is "projected" into my ears from the stems and I can still hear sounds around me. I walked around a park listening to music streamed from my iPhone and took photos and videos using the glasses' HD camera along the way. The quality of the photos and video are great for social media and can be automatically posted to Instagram as a post or Instagram Stories, a Facebook post or Facebook stories, and text messages and photos can be sent to WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. Of course the photos and videos can be saved to the app and then transferred to the camera roll to be used anywhere else as well. The photos and videos can also be selected and transferred with a touch on the app or automatically transferred when the glasses are put into the charging case. Speaking of the charging case, it looks like a standard leather eyeglass case but contains a battery that can recharge the glasses every time you put the glasses in the case. The case can be charged using a USB-C cable to a charger (not included) or to your computer.The only limitations the glasses have is that you can only shoot vertically for social media and that you can only shoot for up to 60 seconds per clip. At first I thought that would be a problem but while walking through the park I realized that by standing still and turning my head slowly and steadily and only shooting as much as necessary for a given shot, I could later edit the shots together and make a much longer video that wouldn't make get people dizzy. If I knew I needed to shoot an entire event, I would use one of my professional cameras but as they say the best camera you have is the one you have with you and since I'm wearing the glasses, the camera is always available when I need it.I needed to make a call while walking in the park so I decided to try out the calling feature on the glasses. The quality of the call was great and I asked the other person how I sounded and he was amazed how clear the call was when I told him I was calling through my glasses. After the call, I went back to listening to music. You can stream the music from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify or Calm if you subscribe to them.Since the glasses are from Meta, you need a Facebook account but since I already have one and also have the Meta Quest 3, I just logged in and was able to set up the glasses in a few minutes.Since the Headliner glasses look like a regular pair of glasses, I will wear them all the time and be a total Know-it-all.
It is hard to believe that until recently, this category of devices/tech did not exist: sunglasses that also serve your audio, picture, video and lately AI needs. Ray-Ban’s Meta Headliner sunglasses is a device that caters to the aforementioned functions in a stylish somewhat discrete package.My Ray-Ban Meta Headliners are primarily durable sunglasses with some tweaks. They feature two open-ear speakers along the temples/arms. This technology manages to deliver very audible sound with even some bass. Audio capture is facilitated by a five-mic array setup that help deliver clear audio/voice for conversation and or commands. A single 12 MP HD camera with maximum resolution of 3024 x 4032 for stills and 1440 x 1920 (at 30fps) for videos is located on the left rim ... MoreIt is hard to believe that until recently, this category of devices/tech did not exist: sunglasses that also serve your audio, picture, video and lately AI needs. Ray-Ban’s Meta Headliner sunglasses is a device that caters to the aforementioned functions in a stylish somewhat discrete package.My Ray-Ban Meta Headliners are primarily durable sunglasses with some tweaks. They feature two open-ear speakers along the temples/arms. This technology manages to deliver very audible sound with even some bass. Audio capture is facilitated by a five-mic array setup that help deliver clear audio/voice for conversation and or commands. A single 12 MP HD camera with maximum resolution of 3024 x 4032 for stills and 1440 x 1920 (at 30fps) for videos is located on the left rim (when wearing the sunglasses.) Picture and video outputs are very sharp in sunlight and well-lit environments. An LED indicator is located on the right rim to alert your surrounding environment that capture may be in progress; it illuminates briefly for stills and stays on for the duration of videos, currently maxed at 60 seconds per take. You may reduce the length to 30 or even 15 seconds. Video and picture capture are either by voice command (preceded by Hey Meta) or the shutter located on the right temple/arm. With updates, the voice recognition has been perfected to wake Meta (Hey Meta or OK Meta.) Inside the right rim is the status indicator for the user. The protective case also has an LED that displays the battery level of the sunglasses when they are in the case and only the case’s battery level when the sunglasses are not inside the case.The Meta View app, available via Google Play or Apple App Store is the gateway between the sunglasses (including case), features and captured content. Setup is very simple via short videos which guide the user. There are options to connect to either your phone, Messenger or WhatsApp. Once connected, commands are very conversational. Through additional questions, Meta (the AI assistant) can help narrow your options: an example having a contact listed with a “regular” mobile number that is also stored as a WhatsApp number. The assistant will help you confirm your preference of either the mobile or WhatsApp number you want to call. Names are also pronounced with decent effort. Incoming Messages can also be composed and sent via Meta. As the handsfree interaction could account for a bigger portion of its use, the Meta View app provides a list of different voices that can also be sped up or slowed depending on your preference.The Ray-Ban Meta devices have really evolved with regards to AI. I have been fortunate to own the earlier Ray-Ban Stories which were trendsetting on their own as they paved the way. I also remember early updates when my first pair of Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses (Wayfarers) gained the ability to tell time. AI has now been developed to provide time, weather, temperature and my personal favorite “Hey Meta, what am I looking at?” With the last command, the sunglasses take an instant picture of your field of view, analyze and summarize it for you. I was very much amazed the first time I tried it and feel this could go a long way to assist anyone who may be slowly losing their vision, in my opinion. Meta can also help with translations: upon asking for a translation, Meta asks for you to share the phrase or word and it provides the English translation. I have asked what the breaking news of the day was and Meta has responded credibly. Should the question or request be too challenging, Meta lets you know it is still evolving every day! The AI features also spill over into the images via the Smart Crop feature which seeks to “fix” pictures by attempting to straighten and/or remove “unwanted” elements that may have not been the intended target.With up to four hours on a single charge and an additional 32 hours through charging via the case, my Ray-Ban Meta Headliners are very handy when it’s time to hit the road. There is no anxiety for running out of power. They also have an IPX4 water resistant rating meaning light drizzle and possibly sweat should not be worries when using them. That being said, I am diligent to clean them as soon as I have the opportunity. 32Gb of onboard flash memory are said to be capable of storing over 500 still pictures or at least one hundred 30-second videos, neither of which I am anywhere near. The Meta View app also facilitates seamless transfer of content via Messenger, Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp. Bluetooth, text messages, print options are also available to me to help reclaim storage should the need arise. Calm and Spotify are available in the Meta View app as default streaming apps although any streaming app may use the device to deliver content. Spotify, as a result can thus be configured to begin play by tapping the right arm for example. We can certainly wish for our individual preferred apps/services to be offered these options through an update, perhaps? Another recommendation I have for future consideration would pertain to the actively paired device count in the Meta View app. Currently, this number is two. To their defense, pairing and unpairing are relatively quick and simple.I have no doubt the future is clearly very bright for my Ray-Ban Headliner sunglasses and its family of devices, serving a primary purpose providing eye protection while helping users gain some handsfree options for filming, calling or streaming audio. In my opinion, a great thing is getting a whole better with boundless potential.
How did they fit all this technology into a pair of sunglasses?I can’t wait to take these on vacation this summer!In the box, I received the Headliner smart sunglasses with shiny black frames and the G15 green tint polarized lenses, a leather case that also doubles as a charger, a cleaning cloth, a quick start guide, safety and warranty info, and info on where to purchase prescription lenses. There is no charge cable included but the case uses a USB-C cable to charge which is pretty common these days so you probably already have one.As a hands free device, the sound quality during calls has been good, I was able to talk at a normal loudness and the caller could hear me fine. If you have audio prompts turned on, the glasses will announce when you receive a text ... MoreHow did they fit all this technology into a pair of sunglasses?I can’t wait to take these on vacation this summer!In the box, I received the Headliner smart sunglasses with shiny black frames and the G15 green tint polarized lenses, a leather case that also doubles as a charger, a cleaning cloth, a quick start guide, safety and warranty info, and info on where to purchase prescription lenses. There is no charge cable included but the case uses a USB-C cable to charge which is pretty common these days so you probably already have one.As a hands free device, the sound quality during calls has been good, I was able to talk at a normal loudness and the caller could hear me fine. If you have audio prompts turned on, the glasses will announce when you receive a text and who it’s from so your phone can stay in your pocket. You can use voice commands to have the text read to you.As headphones, I thought the sound was a little thin but I can say these are the best sounding sunglasses I ever owned! It’s understandable, the speakers are tiny and aimed across your ear instead of into it. At louder volume levels you will get a lot of audio bleed and anyone around you will be able to hear what you’re listening to. The touchpad on the right ear piece can be used with a tap or swipe to pause, resume, adjust volume, or skip. I do find that handy. Playback pauses automatically when you remove the glasses from your face and resumes when you put them back on.As a camera, you’re able to take photos and video either with voice commands or by tapping or holding the capture button on the right earpiece. Videos are limited to either 15, 30, or 60 seconds max unless you are live streaming. There is a tiny LED on the right side of the frame where the user can see it that illuminates briefly during photos or stays on during video recording, there is also a capture LED on the right side facing out to let others know they are being recorded. The camera is on the user’s left side so photos may not be centered on the subject until you get the hang of looking slightly right before snapping a pic. Video quality is quite good when played back on a phone screen, videos are portrait mode only as far as I could tell. I did upload a couple to YouTube to see how they looked. YouTube’s compression or viewing on a larger screen made the video quality suffer. I did have some wind noise in the mics when I took videos while riding my bike.This is my first time using Meta AI, it was freakishly accurate. Using the command “Ok Meta, look and…..” it was able to identify landmarks and POI’s. My son was playing a video game and my other son asked Meta to look and tell him what game was on the tv, Meta correctly identified Fallout 4! It was able to identify animals and plants and we had it read a sign that was in Spanish. I understand that the foreign languages are limited at the moment and only work in the US and Canada but it’s still impressive.If I had a choice, I probably wouldn’t buy the model with dark lenses. I would opt for the Transitions lenses so I could use them indoors also. I could see making use of these while visiting places like museums or aquariums or places like that and these lenses are too dark for me to want to use them indoors.
Meta has been expanding into hardware over the past several years and these new smart sunglasses were an impressive integration of technology into a pair of stylish Ray-Ban sunglasses that would be expensive by themselves without all the cool features. I've used smart sunglasses from two other manufacturers in the past and these, by far, were the best.First, the glasses are comfortable, look good, and protect your vision on sunny days as well as any sunglasses that I've used. They have a little bit of extra weight because of the onboard tech / battery, but not enough to be a bother.Setting up the glasses was an easy process. If you have a Facebook account you can easily launch the app and get going with that log-in. Otherwise you can create a new Meta account. ... MoreMeta has been expanding into hardware over the past several years and these new smart sunglasses were an impressive integration of technology into a pair of stylish Ray-Ban sunglasses that would be expensive by themselves without all the cool features. I've used smart sunglasses from two other manufacturers in the past and these, by far, were the best.First, the glasses are comfortable, look good, and protect your vision on sunny days as well as any sunglasses that I've used. They have a little bit of extra weight because of the onboard tech / battery, but not enough to be a bother.Setting up the glasses was an easy process. If you have a Facebook account you can easily launch the app and get going with that log-in. Otherwise you can create a new Meta account. You are not required to create a Facebook account to use these, similar to Meta's Quest VR. The set up process was quick and painless. A software update took place automatically and then I was given a quick tutorial on the app that shortened the learning curve admirably.Where this product really shines is the tech. I've had other Bluetooth sunglasses before, but the audio quality was not great with them. Music and podcasts sound GREAT on these, and sound can actually get TOO loud where others can hear what you are listening to in quieter areas. Fortunately, it is easy to toggle volume with a quick swipe on the touch pad.These sunglasses are the first I am aware of to have an integrated camera....and it works very well! I wore them to my nephew's high school graduation yesterday and was able to take pictures and record video while staying in the moment and enjoying a wonderful event. I would caution everyone to NOT wear a hat when using the camera though, as your hat's brim will get in the way. You can tip your hat up to get it out of the way if you like.The camera has an important outward-facing LED feature that lights up and the glasses make a shutter sound when you are taking a picture. When you are recording video, the LED remains lit for the duration. These are important privacy features so that subjects are not captured on images/videos without their knowledge. You can toggle the brightness of the LEDs, but not turn them off.Lastly, I found the AI to work extremely well. Meta is not yet thought of as a leader in AI, but their companion worked very well for me. You can activate it by saying "Hey Meta" or, as I preferred to do, adjust the settings in the app to activate the AI by touching the touchpad. I toggled settings so that a single touch and hold launches Spotify, while a 3 finger touch and hold activates the AI. I was able to do pretty much anything other AI can do. My favorite was asking it to tell me what I was looking at. Other AI can do this too if you are holding up your phone camera, but it was great to be able to perform this function just by looking toward something while wearing the glasses. I can imagine this being helpful for tourists, shoppers, etc. You can keep your phone in your pocket and keep your hands free while you are living life!These sunglasses are an incredible buy at their current price, considering that you get excellent quality Ray-Ban sunglasses AND all of the smart features mentioned above.
Bottom Line: The Ray-Ban Meta Headliners pack incredible hardware and features into a classic Ray-Ban design.Pros: relatively lightweight; easy to use controls; very good picture and video quality; excellent audio quality; Meta voice controlled features work really wellCons: can feel heavy after extended wear; video recording limited to 60 second clips; Meta AI works well in some areas but still needs development in othersReview: If you’re looking for “smart sunglasses”, the Meta Headliners are a really cool product. The glasses pack a solid camera system, excellent speakers, a responsive mic, button and touch controls, and the computing power to make Meta AI fast and responsive into glasses that look just like classic Ray-Bans.The designers followed the ... MoreBottom Line: The Ray-Ban Meta Headliners pack incredible hardware and features into a classic Ray-Ban design.Pros: relatively lightweight; easy to use controls; very good picture and video quality; excellent audio quality; Meta voice controlled features work really wellCons: can feel heavy after extended wear; video recording limited to 60 second clips; Meta AI works well in some areas but still needs development in othersReview: If you’re looking for “smart sunglasses”, the Meta Headliners are a really cool product. The glasses pack a solid camera system, excellent speakers, a responsive mic, button and touch controls, and the computing power to make Meta AI fast and responsive into glasses that look just like classic Ray-Bans.The designers followed the wireless earbud model, which makes setup and charging super simple. The glasses come with a charging case, which pairs easily with the Meta AI app. The case itself has a USB-C port, and, as long as you keep the case charged, charging your glasses is a simple as putting them back in the case. The glasses also auto-on/off when you unfold/fold the arms.The physical controls are also really simple and intuitive. There’s a single button on the right arm, which, by default, snaps a picture when pressed, and starts/stops recording when held. There’s also a touch sensor on the right arm that lets you turn on/off music with a tap and increase/decrease the volume by sliding your finger forward/backward.Picture and video quality is really good. The meta data from the photos report that the camera is 12 megapixels. Outdoor photos look vibrant, and both indoor and outdoor photos look sharp. The speaker quality is excellent for music, offering balanced sound, especially compared to another pair of speaker sunglasses I own where the lows are conspicuously absent.Much of what you’ll do is voice controlled (you can also use the camera this way) by saying “Hey Meta”, and the glasses are quick and responsive. I’ve had no issues with Meta AI understanding me. Being able to take pictures and video when your hands are full is really great. One of the flagship features is that you can ask Meta AI what it sees. By taking and analyzing the picture, Meta AI will report back what’s contained in the image, such as “a white dog” or “a greenhouse surrounded by trees and grass.” Meta AI also can draw on location data from your phone to fulfill requests like telling you where you are or checking the weather.Although Meta AI works really well with its intended features, there are definitely noticeable shortcomings. Meta’s service and data infrastructure isn’t as robust as its competitors, and so, at this point, the experience relies bit on connected services. For instance, connecting my Apple Music account allows access my music, but Meta AI can’t identify the song that is playing (it also can’t identify a song playing in the room). Similarly, Meta AI is able to provide really accurate descriptions of what it sees, but they are pretty generic. For instance, Meta AI can’t tell you what type of dog you’re looking at nor identify specific buildings or people despite that level of identification being available even on some of Meta’s other platforms (i.e., Facebook; Instagram).
I am the type of person that always uses the latest and greatest tech gadgets. Smart glasses are something I’ve had my eye on for a bit but wanted the technology to go through a season or two of iterations before jumping on board. The Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses were appealing to me so I was interested and eager to test them out and see how they would fit into my everyday life.First impressions of the sunglasses are that they feel like a premium product. The glasses have a nice weight to them and feel well made but not as heavy as I anticipated them to be for a pair of smart glasses. The lenses themselves are crystal clear as expected and the glasses fit my face nicely. The carrying case that comes with them double as a charging case for the glasses which I ... MoreI am the type of person that always uses the latest and greatest tech gadgets. Smart glasses are something I’ve had my eye on for a bit but wanted the technology to go through a season or two of iterations before jumping on board. The Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses were appealing to me so I was interested and eager to test them out and see how they would fit into my everyday life.First impressions of the sunglasses are that they feel like a premium product. The glasses have a nice weight to them and feel well made but not as heavy as I anticipated them to be for a pair of smart glasses. The lenses themselves are crystal clear as expected and the glasses fit my face nicely. The carrying case that comes with them double as a charging case for the glasses which I think is ingenious. Theres a little indicator light on the case itself that will tell you the battery status of the glasses and they’re firmly held in the case by a magnet.Initial Bluetooth pairing with my phone took literally one click with the Meta View app. Once connected you can link services like Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, WhatsApp, Messenger and even the Calm app. The Meta View app has a clean user interface and is straight forward. You can setup your glasses to automatically import photos while charging and do automatic updates as well. You can also change the gestures on the side of the glasses as well to recall apps or take photos and videos easily.Once everything was setup, I was really able to put the glasses through the paces. I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy owning a pair of smart glasses until I saw their functionality with my everyday life as a realtor. I’ve owned plenty of Bluetooth earbuds that do some of the same functions but always felt odd outside of the gym because you couldn’t hear your surroundings. There’s something different about smart glasses that really make things feel “hands free” while not impeding on the world around you. Talking on the phone with them is seamless with crystal clear audio and zero issues with the microphones picking up my voice. I’m amazed how well I can hear phone calls and music with these sunglasses because they aren’t actually in my ear canal. The ability to be hands free and drive and look around and feel like I’m not distracted by anything while on the phone is a huge win. Music sounds great with a good sound range and a decent amount of bass considering they’re sunglasses. You can use voice commands by saying Hey Meta just like Alexa to play different songs, call people, take photos or video or even ask the Meta AI what you’re looking at through your lenses. The answers are astounding because the AI can really tell what you’re looking at. I haven’t been able to test this function out fully yet because I haven’t travelled anywhere in the last week but I’m excited to see the possibility of them when I do travel. The coolest feature in my opinion though is being able to take photos and Videos by either clicking a button or talking to your glasses. I am a realtor and I do walkthrough videos a lot for my properties, and I was very impressed how crystal clear the video is. It’s a 12 MP camera with 32 gb of onboard storage that can take photos and up to 1 minute videos that can then be easily exported to your phone. The video feature is almost like strapping a go pro to your face. It’s very effective in my opinion for showing homes in the POV perspective which is incredibly important for my business. Because these glasses are paired with Meta you can use them to do Facebook live or even do Facetime style calls from the perspective of what you see. If you’re at a concert or a festival or a cool location and really want to show someone what you’re seeing its MUCH easier than using video on your smartphone. Battery life so far has been good at roughly 4 hours of use on a single charge. I usually don’t wear my glasses for longer periods than that and with the charge case battery life hasn’t been an issue at all so far.Overall, I am very pleased with the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner sunglasses. They have been much more functional than I anticipated and something I can’t see myself living without at this point. I highly recommend them!
The Meta/Facebook collaboration with iconic sunglasses maker RayBan has released a new generation of a combination product of “smart” sunglasses. This recalls for me the original, but ill fated smart glasses first introduced in 2012. Modified over the years to a more industrial focus, they really did not catch on. I think they were perhaps just ahead of their time. Finally their parent company pulled the plug in 2023, although other manufacturers still have competing products available..With the passage of time, the evolution of technology and social media has softened the bias against recording all of your life and posting it online, whether it is on Facebook / Instagram (of course, subsidiaries of Meta) or TikTok or the social media du jour.The prior ... MoreThe Meta/Facebook collaboration with iconic sunglasses maker RayBan has released a new generation of a combination product of “smart” sunglasses. This recalls for me the original, but ill fated smart glasses first introduced in 2012. Modified over the years to a more industrial focus, they really did not catch on. I think they were perhaps just ahead of their time. Finally their parent company pulled the plug in 2023, although other manufacturers still have competing products available..With the passage of time, the evolution of technology and social media has softened the bias against recording all of your life and posting it online, whether it is on Facebook / Instagram (of course, subsidiaries of Meta) or TikTok or the social media du jour.The prior generation of this product was released by the same partners of Meta/RayBan in 2021, under the product name “Stories”, to suggest the utilization of the glasses to record the Story of your life experiences, as they happen, without having to dig out and fire up your mobile phone.This model has several technical advances over the 2021 model, for the same suggested price. Please note that the base price comes without prescription lenses, which can be ordered either from the factory or can be added, at a cost, to your off the shelf glasses. The cost of the prescription lenses can double the cost of the base Headliner glasses, depending on your lens options (polarized, mirrored fronts, bifocal or multifocal lenses, adjustable lens darkening, etc.).The lens retrofit can be done after you have a chance to try them out. If you are a contact lens wearer, this is an expense you can avoid. You can locate the closest vendor or a mail away source for your lens replacement via the “Meta View” app, available in iOS and Android versions. There was a local LensCrafter store identified to my locale, and I was able to get a price quote for exactly what I would need to upgrade my sun-spectacles. I'm yet to decide whether to make the financial leap to the lens upgrade for more versatile vision usage.Compared to the 2021 Stories, back when Meta was still Facebook, for the same MSRP, you now are getting a much improved product: a sharper 12MP still camera, louder speakers, five microphones (up from three), and a water-resistant build. You no longer need to fear taking your sunglasses to the pool-side or the beach.I have not previously owned smart glasses, although I was quite aware of the original recoil to the public, generating the epithet “Glass-Hole” around 2012, for early adopters of the product. The backlash centered on privacy and lack of consent of those being audio/visually recorded.Meta has made several accommodations to make the capacities less creepy to those in your social circles. When you initiate a video recording session, there is a visible white LED on the left hinge area facing forward. If you cover the LED, recording stops. The LED is easily seen, but not overly obtrusive.Walking down a sidewalk, you probably would not create stares and avoidance; certainly less than if you were walking along with your phone up at eye view facing forward and obviously recording your local events. Is this enough notice to the public of your video recording, to comply with local statutes against audio-visual recording by you without the consent of the subjects of your recording? I suppose that is a topic that Meta deals with somewhere is the fine print that you scroll though to get to the “accept and proceed” button when you first install the Meta View app.The app is easily installed, taking really only 5 minutes or so. It walks you through an easy pairing process, connecting the glasses to your phone without requiring you to manually pair over Bluetooth or sign into your home Wi-Fi network. It does require you to create a Meta account, but does not force joining FaceBook or Instagram. If you already have an account, you can use your FB or I’gram account, as a passage into the Meta View app.The app smoothly guides you through setting up the glasses, turning on the notification and preference options to best integrate with your phone. A software update was noticed, and with my permission, was installed during the original installation. Connecting to your favorite music network provider was facilitated, Apple Music in my case.MetaAI was also an option, to open up the evolving capacities of the glasses. The example offered was that you could verbally ask your Headliner glasses: “Meta, what is that building?” while you are sightseeing in a foreign country, for a narrative of the object and its history. Apparently it uses GPS to locate the options of the image, and report back to you over the speakers in the frame. This is an introductory version of AI functionality, which will mature with future software updates.The field of view that the glasses capture are a bit wide angle. The lens is mounted on the left hinge, so the field of a snapshot might be a touch off center over what you were truly seeing. To get the object of the picture back to the center might benefit from a bit of cropping after the fact, but with the wide angle capture, seldom would you loose the central object off the width of the picture.In setting up the app, you have several choices for how you want to deal with your photos and videos. I opted for automatic download to my phone. I chose not to automatically upload to my Instagram account, at least until I become more comfortable with the whole process. There are several choices to choose from, and as expected Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp are all choices. But saving automatically to your personal phone is always an option.The sound quality of the glasses is quite surprisingly robust. Whether it is listening to music, an audiobook/podcast, or receiving/making a cell phone call the clarity was quite acceptable.You have the added advantage over earbuds of much improved awareness of your surroundings, so automobiles approaching, less than friendly dogs barking, etc. are given an early audible warning for your personal safety.I found the music playback surprisingly good. Not audiophile, sound isolating, noise canceling, but not requiring inserting ear buds or over the ear headphones, with their disadvantages as outlined above.You can answer a phone call, pause the music, change the volume, etc. with touches/swipes to the right temple frame. And the music coming so close to your ears still keeps it audible, but private. And a quick tap of the glasses’ temple piece pauses it discretely without having to fumble for your phone to put the tunes on hold.If you connect your Headliners to your home WiFi, then software updates, photo/video synchronization, and messages will be automatic. Photos and videos will be automatically downloaded to your phone. Video clips are taken in your choice of up to 30 seconds, set in the Meta View app. There is the option to continuously Live Stream what you are seeing for active, longer segments of video, which I have yet to experiment with. The short clips seem to be made for TikTok or Instagram postings.All told I found the RayBan/Meta smart glasses more compelling than I would have anticipated. I’m waiting to spring for the prescription lenses, which ups the ante on price by a lot. Without prescription focusing available, I am limited from wearing to read or drive with the Meta glasses, making switching between pairs a bit of a chore. If I had contact lenses, these would be an excellent choice for sunglasses, where I could wear them driving, to the beach or pool, and able to use them in all environments.
| FIT | Regular |
| EXCLUSIVE | FALSE |
| CUSTOMIZABLE | FALSE |
| ENGRAVABLE | FALSE |
