Thoughts on Rayban x Meta Glasses
2025-02-28
As I write this, I've had a pair of Wayfarers with cameras and microphones in them for almost a week. I've made them my primary sunglasses and gone about my life. In that time, I've had my stepdad in town, who lives in another state, been to an expo and to a concert, and this weekend will be on a short holiday with a solid group of mates.
I have some thoughts.
What are they?
Smart Glasses, but not quite how you think.
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They're equipped with directional speakers so that you can listen to music and podcasts from another device without blocking the world out - which is great for cycling, running and other activities requiring heightened spatial awareness.
They have micropohones you can use to take calls while you're wearing them, which are both better than you'd expect and worse than you'd expect at the same time.
They have a camera on your temple, which is good for spur of the moment POV pictures that you'd miss by taking your phone out, be it because its out of reach or because it would make it awkward.
And they have ✨AI✨ because they have to.
The ask? About A$450, or a $250 premium on a dumb pair of specs.
At what point in that passage did I lose you? If I didn't, then in short, you should give these a go. Take advantage of the 30 day returns period and try them out.
Otherwise, what I'll do is address some of the questions I've asked myself over the last week, as well as what other people have asked me, explore what it means that these are becoming more popular and what it may signify for what may come next.
Why did you even want these?
To be honest, I'm not sure I did - but I wanted to know what I was missing, because what I'm seeing online in tech publications suggests that these glasses have transcended beyond the early adopter group that normally adopts tech super early. I'm a nerd. It's my job to at least have an opinion.
Isn't it weird having a camera on your head?
Well... something I noticed very quickly is that most people literally do not notice. I've had to literally point out to people what I'm wearing for them to notice. In some sense, I think that's reassuring. I expected to meet people's gaze awkwardly, as they think quietly to themselves "ew, why is Inspector Gadget at my deli?". As a result, I found the self-conscious thoughts subsude rather quickly, in public settings.
That is except for one occasion.
I grabbed some lunch the other day at a local sandwich joint. It absolutely pops off, especially on a sunny day - and for good reason. As such, it is typically wise to prebook, and common to find yourself waiting for your food in the company of thirty other people. And so, I found myself standing around, listening to my podcast out loud, being mindful of where I looked so as to not inadvertently point a camera at someones face. It felt incredibly uncomfortable.
As I waited, though, I had a thought. Is having a camera attached to my head all that different from having three on the back of my phone, which is often in my hand? Any one can record me already - and a stranger's phone hardly has an LED on it designed to make me aware of that fact.
Nonetheless, I was eager to get my stuff and go, so that I could feel like a normal person again.
At that point, I had had the glasses for about 18 hours. That feeling hasn't returned in that time.
Also worth noting is that the cameras are suprisingly good! Well, "good" might be a touch string but they're absolutely sharp enough, and most importantly, the colour is right. In a world where phone images are increasingly processed, the images captured actually have a sort of charm which isn't ubiqutous.
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