Still the Best Non-Display Smart Glasses

It’s never ideal being the second-most anything in the world, but there are worse places to be, too. The same applies to the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses Gen 2, which were the second-most exciting thing that Meta announced at Meta Connect this month. The first, if popular opinion is any indication, is Meta’s Ray-Ban Display that, as you may already have gathered, has a screen in it.

But even if the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 (starting at $379) are the second-most exciting pair of smart glasses to come out of Connect, they can still be the first-most something, and in my estimation, they are. These are the best pair of Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses you can buy without a screen. Period.

What’s new in Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses Gen 2?

I’ve already covered this a few times, so I’ll keep it brief; the biggest updates in the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 are battery life and video. The size (aside from 2 grams of additional weight in Gen 2) is the same, there are all the same features as the original, and the speakers and mics are all carried over.

The battery life, though, is now rated for double, which in this case equates to about 8 hours of general use. The charging case also gets a bump from 32 hours to 48 hours. The battery increase in the smart glasses is thanks to what Meta is calling “ultra-narrow steelcan” batteries—the same ones it’s putting in the Meta Ray-Ban Display, its smart glasses with a screen in them. On the video side of things, it’s upping the max resolution of recording to 3K and also introducing a 60 fps option, though that will only be available if you’re recording in 1080p. Unfortunately, for anyone who is more interested in still photos, the sensors are the same this generation. It’s 12 megapixels with a max resolution of 3,024 x 4,032.

That may not sound like a lot, but you can’t really understate the importance of battery life and videos in a pair of smart glasses—those are pretty important to any device that would dare encroach on phone territory. Even more important, though, is how videos look, and whether battery life is actually as advertised. On that front, Meta mostly delivers.

I often use my first-gen Ray-Ban Meta to record video while I’m biking, because recording with your phone in one hand while you’re on a bike in New York City is kind of a death wish. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of a still frame pulled from the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 1’s maximum 1080p video versus an image from the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2. As you can see in the screenshot on the right, the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 came out less blurry, which is to be expected with the resolution increase.

In my experience, the improved detail in image quality is fairly noticeable. Where some edges used to be blurred and a little too smooth, the videos recorded in 3K feel like a more accurate slice of life. That’s not going to be important to everyone (a lot of people are just going to take still photos), but if you’re like me and you want to capture some beautiful foliage on a bike ride, the upgrade is welcome.

There’s another aspect to the video upgrade, 60 fps, that I would have loved to test out for you guys, but unfortunately, it’s not available yet. According to a Meta representative, 60 fps will roll out in a software update for Ray-Ban Gen 2 on Oct. 1, coinciding with the release of the Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses. I’ll update this review once my review unit gets the 60 fps option.

What about the battery?

So, the other big piece of the puzzle is the battery. While it may not be as easy to test as shooting videos, I tried my best to use the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 for as long as possible. The verdict here is that, while you may not get the full 8 hours promised, you’re definitely getting a lot more battery than the Gen 1.

As is the case with any gadget, the battery life will largely depend not just on density or size but also on your usage. One thing that I love to do with the first-gen Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses is use them as open-ear headphones, and I think lots of people who own them would agree. The speakers are the same here, so there are no upgrades in fidelity, but I wanted to test the mileage when it comes to audio. Listening to a podcast and eventually a live radio broadcast (Buffalo Bills sports talk radio in case anyone wants to know), I was able to go about 5 hours, which drained the battery from 100% to about 15%. The volume was fairly loud, though (a metric that affects battery life), since I was listening in a crowded coffee shop and needed to overpower music and chatter. That’s not the 8 hours promised by Meta, but it’s also an improvement over the first-gen smart glasses, which usually expire fully after about 3 to 4 hours for audio streaming.

That’s not gold medal-worthy news, but again, your battery is going to depend on what you’re doing with the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2. My second-favorite use of Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses is taking calls with them. I hopped on a call with my mom, which lasted 32 minutes at full volume, and the smart glasses barely took a hit, battery-wise. I started at 100% and after more than 30 minutes of talking, they were at 96%. Again, your mileage here is going to vary based on what you’re doing. Taking lots of 3K video? Well, you can expect the Meta Ray-Ban Gen 2 to die sooner. Using them intermittently for audio and calls? You might get closer to the advertised 8 hours of battery life.

One thing is for sure: the battery definitely gets more juice, which should be welcome for anyone who’s sick of having to pop their smart glasses back in the case just so they can listen to some music while they go for a walk. How this battery will hold up under the strain of Meta Ray-Ban Display is anyone’s guess, but this is definitely the best battery in a pair of non-display Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses yet.

Should you upgrade?

Those are the two main arenas where you’re going to see improvements gen-over-gen, so if you feel like you want higher-res videos or you’re really yearning for more battery life, Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 should be on your radar. If you’re fine with how your smart glasses perform in those areas, though, I can’t see a reason to rush out and pick up a new pair. Whether the updates appeal to you or not, though, these are still the best pair of non-display Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses you can buy, even if I would have liked to see substantive improvements to things like Meta AI, which is still finicky at best. Still pictures could have used an update, too, but you’ll have to keep waiting for that.

As for connectivity to other apps, things are also the same. Spotify is what I use the most, and it works well most of the time. Meta’s voice assistant nails your simple commands the majority of the time (like skip this song or play and pause), but asking it to play specific songs or artists can be hit and miss. What’s also the same is the fact that messaging and calls are still limited. There is no direct integration with iOS and Android, so if you want to call or text with your smart glasses via the voice assistant, you’ll need to link your Instagram or WhatsApp. For some people, that will be fine, but for others who don’t use those platforms, it may be a dealbreaker.

Oh, and the Meta AI app still unfortunately loves to promote AI slop. And while it works fine for transferring and storing pictures and videos from your smart glasses, I still wish it didn’t shoehorn an LLM (large language model) in there.

As is the case with any of Meta’s products, you’re going to have to be okay with knowing that you won’t always get the best protections when it comes to personal privacy, too. As I’ve pointed out previously, Meta has a pretty bad track record on that front, so if the idea of Meta using photos and videos you take by using the “Hey, Meta” function to train its AI skeeves you out, you’d best steer clear of Ray-Ban smart glasses.

The second-gen glasses aren’t groundbreaking, but they’re improved. And for anyone who’s not willing to spend $800 on the Meta Ray-Ban Display, the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 are probably the only smart Ray-Ban smart glasses worth buying.