Experience Your World Through the Lenses of Next-Generation Eyewear with the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) Smart Eyeglasses

AI-driven smart eyeglasses are something you’d expect to see in a James Bond movie, but they’ve become a reality thanks to a joint venture between Ray-Ban and Meta. The Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses represent the second generation of this technology, which is definitely an improvement over the original product. However, I discovered there’s still plenty of room for evolution and improvement in this wearable tech product category as a whole. 

These $379 (and up) eyeglasses come with non-prescription Transitions or clear lenses. The Transitions lenses go from clear to tinted when exposed to sunlight, while the alternative is for continuously clear lenses. For an additional fee, custom prescription lenses can be ordered. Based on your prescription, and where you purchase the lenses from, this adds several hundred dollars to the price of the smart glasses.

Ray-Ban Headliner (Gen 2) Smart Glasses

$379.00 from Amazon $379.00 and up from Ray-Ban

The folks at Meta recently sent me a pair of the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses with shiny asteroid gray frames and clear to emerald green Transitions (non-prescription) lenses to review. The eyeglasses came with a charging case, and must be used in conjunction with a proprietary app (available for the iPhone and Android smartphones). After wearing and using these smart glasses, my reaction is very mixed. 

Yes, these smart eyeglasses are innovative and offer a lot of potential when it comes to wearable tech. However, they’re also expensive (especially if you need to add custom prescription lenses). However, I have some privacy concerns related to their use. Keep reading to learn more about my experience wearing the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses, so you can better determine if they’d be a useful addition to the mobile tech gear you already use in your daily life. 

Discover the Best Features Offered By These AI-Driven Smart Glasses

Right out of the box (once they’re fully charged and paired with a smartphone), the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses can perform a variety of tasks. For example, you get continuous voice access to the Meta AI digital assistant. Just like any digital assistant, you can ask it questions, issue commands, or discover useful information pulled from the internet in real-time. 

The open ear speakers and microphone array built into the eyeglass frame can be used to participate in hands-free phone calls, to send and receive text messages (using voice dictation for outgoing messages), or for listening to streaming audio (music, podcasts, etc.). Meanwhile, using the built-in ultra-wide cameras, it’s easy to capture 3K resolution video, or 12MP resolution still images that can be transferred, edited and shared almost immediately via your smartphone. 

These glasses can also handle real-time language translation, identify things you’re looking at, and more. Just as AI continues to evolve rather quickly, so does the functionality offered by the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses. These second generation smart glasses have a rechargeable battery that lasts up to eight hours (but this varies based on how they’re used throughout the day).

As someone who wears prescription eyewear all day, I was immediately a bit turned off by the thickness of the eyeglass frames, which are made from plastic. They’re not at all fashionable, like the traditional eyeglass and sunglass frames offered by Ray-Ban. I felt these frames looked too big and too thick for the size and shape of my face. However, these frames are rather lightweight, so they’re comfortable to wear for extended periods. 

One of my biggest concerns while wearing the glasses is that I quickly found that the people I interacted with immediately thought they were being recorded without their permission, which they found very offputting. There is a small LED light that flashes when the glasses are recording, but an onlooker who doesn’t know what this flashing white light means won’t understand they’re having their photo taken or are being captured on video (with accompanying audio). I also noticed that while the glasses are recording video, there is no indication of this for the person wearing the glasses, so it’s easy to forget the recording function is active.

Sure, it’s convenient to have a bunch of interesting functionality accessible from eyewear, but keep in mind, the majority of what the glasses can do relies on a paired smartphone being in close proximity. Also, while the eyewear has built- in speakers, these are open ear speakers. As a result, the speakers sit outside of your ear, while traditional earbuds go inside your ear and are able to provide noise cancellation and added privacy. If someone is in close proximity while you’re participating in a hands-free call, for example, they could potentially hear every word both parties are saying. 

The eyeglass speakers provide audio that’s rich, immersive, and clear – with the ability to adjust the volume. Yet, because the speakers do not directly cover your ears, you retain full environmental awareness in terms of what’s happening around you. 

Interacting with the eyeglasses while they’re being worn can be done using the touch controls built into the arms of the frames. You can also rely on voice commands (which I found to be easier). All eyeglass features can also be managed using the proprietary Meta AI smartphone app. What these smart eyeglasses do not offer is the ability to visually display content on the lenses via a HUD (heads up display), although the cameras can accurately identify whatever you’re looking at in real-time. 

The ability to capture photos or video clips from a first-person perspective is similar to what’s possible using an action camera that’s mounted on your body, or the equipment you’re using. If you already have a smartwatch or typically keep your smartphone close by, you already have access to a digital assistant, audio player, cameras, and language translation capabilities. So, while the capabilities of these eyeglasses are impressive, all of its core functions can be done using other mobile gear. 

As for language translation, this can happen in two ways. You can use the microphones integrated into the glasses to capture and translate voices, or you can look at a printed sign or restaurant menu displaying text in another language, for example, and ask the glasses to translate what you’re looking at. 

I have written several books that have been published in different languages, including Spanish and Korean. While looking at a printed page while wearing the glasses, I said, “Hey Meta, translate what I am looking at.” Almost immediately, the Meta AI’s voice began reading me the text in English with extreme accuracy. For real-time audio voice translation, it’s necessary to first download a free audio pack from the Meta AI app for the language you want to translate from. This process takes about three minutes. The live translation works well, but on a slight delay.

The cameras built into the glasses can be used to identify and tell you about whatever you’re looking at. I found this to be one of the most intriguing features the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses offer. This works like Google Lens, but you simply have to look at something while wearing the glasses and say, “Hey Meta, tell me about what I am looking at.” It’s then possible to ask follow up questions.

While wearing the glasses, it’s easy to snap a photo or record a video clip by commanding Meta AI to do this, or by tapping on the control button located on the right arm of the glasses. As soon as a video or a photo is captured, it becomes accessible from the Meta AI app on the smartphone the glasses are paired with. You then have the option to share the content via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Messages, or as an Instagram Story. By tapping on the Share To button, you get access to other content sharing options. But before that, you can use some basic image editing tools integrated into the Meta AI app. 

I discovered that all interaction with the smart glasses is all rather intuitive, but some voice commands need to be spoken more than once, especially if they’re ambient noise in the background. Since I already have access to my smartphone, smartwatch, and tablet, along with a laptop and desktop computer, I personally don’t have an everyday need for what the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses offer. Although I could see how they’d be useful to me when traveling to non-English speaking countries. That said, there are plenty of folks who would love to wear these smart glasses and take advantage of them throughout their day. It all comes down to what your needs and preferences are when it comes to using the latest tech gadgets.

Who Will the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) Smart Eyeglasses Appeal To?

This is a tricky question. They’ll certainly appeal to early adopters who want to own and use the very latest tech gadgets. They might also be used by frequent travelers (since the glasses can serve as a virtual tour guide and language translator). Business people could use them as a tool for participating in hands-free calls, and working with the Meta AI digital assistant to obtain information as it’s needed throughout the day. 

These glasses can also be used while someone is out and about, and wants to enjoy listening to music or a podcast, for example. And yes, the glasses could potentially be used as a tool for spying on, photographing, recording, or capturing videos of the people around you – with or without their consent. 

Prescription Lenses Are Not Included

From the Ray-Ban website, as you’re ordering the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses and selecting your lenses, to order custom prescription lenses, tap or click on the Prescription button. You can then choose between single vision or progressive lenses. Next, you are prompted to upload your current eyeglass prescription. 

The type of prescription lenses you choose, and the lens upgrades selected, determines the prescription lens’ pricing (which is in addition to the smart eyeglass frames). If you choose progressive, extra thin Transitions lenses, for example, the price for the lenses is $633, which brings the cost of the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses up to $1,012 (without the optional protection plan).

I Have Some Serious Privacy Concerns, and You Should Too

Any wearable technology that contains cameras and microphones, that interacts with an AI model, and has access to the internet can potentially be used to record or photograph people without their knowledge or consent. Thus, it’s up to the integrity of the person using the technology that determines if it’s used to spy on people, or gather information covertly through non-consensual monitoring, for example. Smart eyeglass wearers can use facial recognition (with the help of a separate smartphone app) to identify strangers in close proximity, and then use a technique called “doxxing” to access public databases and retrieve personal details about that person (potentially in real-time). I consider this to be a huge invasion of someone’s privacy.

And then there are the privacy and security issues related to how the data collected by the smart glasses is used by their manufacturer (in this case Meta). This data includes the photos, videos, live voice interactions, transcriptions, translations, voice commands, voice inquiries, and other information the glasses collect anytime they’re being used. 

Meta has released a written statement pertaining to AI glasses which outlines the various ways the company collects and uses information obtained from the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses. In this document, Meta describes what information is collected and used for its own purposes. 

For example, according to one Meta document found on the web, “Text transcripts and audio recordings of your voice interactions are stored by default to help improve Meta’s products. This includes improving the Meta AI service (and related technologies) and features, and training and improving our speech technologies. For example, audio recordings are stored and used to help Meta’s products better understand and fulfill requests. We use machine learning and trained reviewers to process this data to improve Meta’s products.” 

The Meta document does not reference specifically to how photos or video content captured by smart glasses are used, but it’s been documented that Facebook and Instagram (both Meta social media services) use text, photos, and product-related “activities” to collect data for targeted advertising, AI model training, and for user profiling. This potentially includes tracking and using someone’s location information. And since the smart glasses make it easy to publish photos and video clips on social media, this activity also makes content acquired or created by the smartglasses accessible and usable by Meta.

The privacy policy related to Facebook that’s published online states in part that, “To train effective models to unlock these advancements, a significant amount of information is needed. This is why we draw from publicly available and licensed sources, as well as information people have shared on Meta Products, including interactions with AI.”

So, before you consider wearing and using smart eyeglasses throughout your day, consider all of the private conversations you have, for example, and how the information and data collected by the glasses could be used by you, the company you purchased them from (in this case Meta), and that company’s “integrated partners.” Meta explains that its integrated partners can “handle the information you share with them according to their own terms and policies, not Meta’s.” This opens even more potential privacy and security loopholes and concerns. Keep in mind, companies like Meta are constantly updating their user agreements, which can directly impact a user’s privacy.

Through the Meta AI app that’s used in conjunction with the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses, there are some user-adjustable settings which can improve user privacy and how certain types of content can be shared. However, these tools are by no means comprehensive, and they must be activated by the user. To adjust these preferences, access Settings from the Meta AI app while the glasses are in use. Next, select the Glasses Privacy option, and choose Review Your Privacy Choices. From this submenu, you can turn on/off virtual switches associated with Share Additional Data and Cloud Media to give yourself some additional privacy.

My Final Thoughts: Are the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) Smart Eyeglasses Worth It?

From a purely functionality standpoint, the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses do exactly what they’re designed to do – and most of the time, the glasses handle these tasks exceptionally well. The audio quality is much better than I expected, considering the eyewear depends on open-ear speakers. I also found the Meta AI to be highly responsive, and the overall performance of the glasses to be rather impressive. 

It’s the privacy concerns I have with the smart eyeglasses product category in general that would make me hesitant to purchase and use them – especially in public. The Ray-Ban Meta Headliner (Gen 2) smart eyeglasses wind up being rather expensive when you add prescription lenses. But, if you don’t wear prescription eyewear in general, and can get away with using the included non-prescription lenses, these smart glasses are a better deal financially. 

Ray-Ban Headliner (Gen 2) Smart Glasses

$379.00 from Amazon $379.00 and up from Ray-Ban

Do people “need” smart glasses in their lives? Probably not. But, they can be a fun gadget to work with, as long as they’re not used for nefarious purposes, and you don’t mind collecting and sharing data a company could find useful for profiling and tracking you, and then targeting ads to you, for example. To what level this is actually being done by Meta is anyone’s guess and other companies that manufacture and sell smart eyeglasses is anyone’s guess. 

If you’re interested in purchasing traditional prescription eyewear online and saving money a ton of cash in the process, check out my reviews of Warby Parker, GlassesUSA, and Zenni Optical.