Two years ago, I really didn\u2019t see the point of having voice commands on the Ray-Ban Stories. Saying \u201chey Facebook\u201d felt too cringey to utter in public, and it just didn\u2019t seem like there was much point to the feature. However, the addition of Meta\u2019s AI assistant makes voice interactions a key feature rather than an afterthought.<\/p>\n

The Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses are one of the first hardware products to ship with Meta\u2019s new generative AI assistant built in. This means you can chat with the assistant about a range of topics. Answers to queries are broadcast through the internal speakers, and you can revisit your past questions and responses in the Meta View app.<\/p>\n

To be clear: I still feel really weird saying \u201chey Meta,\u201d or \u201cOK Meta,\u201d and haven\u2019t yet done so in public. But there is now, at least, a reason you may want to. For now, the assistant is unable to provide \u201creal-time\u201d information other than the current time or weather forecast. So it won\u2019t be able to help with some practical queries, like those about sports standings or traffic conditions. The assistant\u2019s \u201cknowledge cutoff\u201d is December 2022, and it will remind you of that for most questions related to current events. However, there were a few questions I asked where it hallucinated and gave made-up (but nonetheless real-sounding) answers. Meta has said this kind of thing is an expected part of the development of large language models, but it\u2019s important to keep in mind when using Meta AI.<\/p>\n

Meta has suggested you should instead use it more for creative or general interest questions, like basic trivia or travel ideas. As with other generative AI tools, I found that the more creative and specific your questions, the better the answer. For example, \u201cHey Meta, what\u2019s an interesting Instagram caption for a view of the Golden Gate Bridge,\u201d generated a pretty generic response that sounded more like an ad. But \u201chey Meta, write a fun and interesting caption for a photo of the Golden gate Bridge that I can share on my cat\u2019s Instagram account,\u201d was slightly better.<\/p>\n

If any of that makes you uncomfortable, or you\u2019re interested in using the shades with non-Meta apps, then you might want to steer clear of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Though your photos and videos can be exported to any app, most of the devices\u2019 key features work best when you\u2019re playing in Meta\u2019s ecosystem. For example, you can connect your WhatsApp and Messenger accounts to send hands-free photos or texts but the glasses don’t support other third-party messaging apps. (Meta AI will read out incoming texts and can send photos and texts via your phone’s native messaging app, however). Likewise, the livestreaming abilities are limited to Instagram and Facebook, and won\u2019t work with other platforms.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a creator or already spend a lot of time in Meta\u2019s apps, though, there are plenty of reasons to give the second-generation shades a look. While the Ray-Ban Stories of two years ago were a fun, if overly expensive, novelty, the $299 Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses feel more like a finished product. The improved audio and photo quality better justify the price, and the addition of AI makes them feel like a product that\u2019s likely to improve rather than a gadget that will start to become obsolete as soon as you buy it.<\/p>\n

Update, October 18 2023, 12:33PM ET: <\/strong>This story has been updated to reflect that the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses support sending text messages with voice commands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A lot has changed in the two years since Facebook released its Ray Ban-branded smart glasses. Facebook is now called Meta. And its smart glasses also have a new name: the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Two years ago, I was unsure exactly how I felt about the product. The Ray-Ban Stories were the most polished […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,423,159,164,107,2477,330],"tags":[59,426,162,169,110,2478,333],"yoast_head":"\n