The Verge reviews Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses with no camera

In short: The Verge reviewed Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses, a $349 smart glasses model that plays audio and offers a voice assistant, but does not include a camera.

The details

The Verge’s Victoria Song spent several days using Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses in everyday situations, like running in a park, ordering coffee, reading on a bench, making a phone call, and asking the glasses about calendar meetings. The glasses look like normal Ray-Bans and come in styles similar to Clubmaster and Wayfarer frames.

Because this model is audio-only, it removes a major concern people often have with smart glasses, whether they are being recorded. Song writes that she did not feel like a creep wearing them, and she notes it is “harder to be a perv” with no camera. It is similar to wearing open-ear headphones, where sound comes from the glasses’ arms without blocking your ears.

The review also points out some drawbacks. At $349, Song says the glasses can feel expensive for what they are. She also describes a moment where the built-in AI voice said her Google Calendar was not connected, even though it was, and then suggested helping reconnect it. Her takeaway is that she is still not convinced AI is the main reason to buy these glasses.

Overall, the review frames Ray-Ban Meta Audio as a more privacy-friendly version of smart glasses, but also a less “useful” one compared to camera-equipped models.

Source: The Verge AI