RayBan Meta smart glasses — as discretely disruptive as they are cool!
Equally intended for my friends and colleagues contemplating purchasing a pair, as well as for many who may not yet have heard about this intriguing new wearable tech that has established a completely new standard at the intersect of communication, AI, camera/video, entertainment, function & style, this post is intended to share highlights of this lightweight tech heavyweight, some of my experience in getting to ‘know’ and customize usage behavior associated with my new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and also to share some key “BUYER BEWARE” items I wish I’d known before purchasing mine.
First of all, these glasses simply just look cool! I opted for the classic Wayfarer frames (noting other frame styles were available but on back-order) that I (optionally) incorporated transition prescription lenses set into. I have yet to encounter anyone at work or in public who realized I was wearing anything other than glasses/sunglasses. Here’s a link to the Ray-Ban Meta page so you can see for yourself: https://www.ray-ban.com/usa/ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses
Secondly, and though no individual piece of ‘tech’ included in the Ray-Ban Meta glasses is unique unto itself, the fact that the following features are uniquely incorporated together in such a way that it opens the door for the Wearer to interact with a combination of tech that is not only new and improved, but prompts the asking of a whole new set of experimental utilization questions & scenarios; these features include:
Meta AI voice assistant (prompted by saying “Hey Meta”)
a good conversational AI that you can ask questions of as well as direct to make calls, generate text messages, etc.
cons: it is not yet conversational in that you cannot converse back and forth on the same thread, as one might do via physically typing into ChatGPT.
Microphone and Speakers (completely concealed; speakers sound amazing and there are over 5 microphones built in, including on bridge of nose)
fantastic for MS Teams calls (just make sure you manually disconnect your call from your glasses after your meeting/call completes!)
Meta AI app settings allows you to control how loudly/softly you’d like to have text message received on your phone announced or announced & read into your ear while listening to music or on a call.
At half volume - someone sitting next to you cannot even hear the sound of your call or music, and you can adjust volume simply by swiping your finger along the right arm of the glasses.
Spotify connectively is integrated
Camera and Video-recorder (includes a front-facing white-light indicator when taking a pic or vid…also, you can take a pic/vid by pressing a button on the right arm or simply by saying “hey Meta - take a picture)
Bluetooth connectable (connects easily to cell phone, including a multitude of personal setting options accessible through the (required) downloadable Meta AI app.
“Look and Ask” (this is a key BUYER BEWARE item in that this feature is an opt-in type of feature that several months ago required registering on an “Early Access” wait list — once notified of availability, the owner/user was directed to opt-in/enable the feature through the settings tab within the Meta AI app. To note, I received my glasses 3 weeks ago and did not have the feature available on my glasses, and the advertised “Early Access” wait list/url advised the wait list was “CLOSED” until further notice….however, I did contact Ray-Ban support this past week and was advised the “Look and Ask” functionality was being released in batches with the expectation that this functionality would be made readily to all purchasers by mid-May)
THIS FEATURE HOLDS THE GREATEST, MOST EXCITING EXPERIMENTAL POTENTIAL OF ALL — as in prompting by saying “Hey Meta - look and ….” you trigger the glasses to take a picture that can be analyzed by Meta AI in the Cloud for feedback on the world around you —- I am soooo excited to experiment with this feature…and frankly, it was the primary reason I bought them. I look forward to sharing in future posts what all I can or cannot do with that literally “game-changing” tech; everything from finding out if it can determine what my next best chess move is, what kind of amazing exotic car just flew past me, can it calculate ROI from the data showing on my computer monitor, to seeing if it can interpret facial recognition signals (like that Tim Roth series “Lie to Me”), etc., etc.,.
Also, as a word to the wise, it’s definitely worth double-checking your cell phone is compatible with the Ray-Ban Meta’s (nothing worse than ramping-up on two new forms of tech at the same time, such as I put myself through in needing to migrate from my Razr flip to the Samsung flip); here’s a link for reference: https://www.meta.com/smart-glasses/compatible-devices/
In conclusion (for now), I’m already realizing gains in productivity and lifestyle by simply not having to pull out and physically look at or use my cell phone as much, test and expand how much data inputs (and at what varying volume levels) I can handle simultaneously without overload or too much distraction, enjoy walking the dog more as a result of great headphone-less tunes pumping in my ear while still fully able to hear what’s happening around me as well as get answers to simple-to-complex answers back from Meta AI as I get those steps in too! I’m also hoping through this blog on my AIvoyager.org site will lead to further experience sharing as others begin experimenting with your own cool new discretely-disruptive smart-glasses! :)
Happy AI Voyaging!
Chadd
