The case has advertising links that provide revenue to VG. The editorial team sets priorities regardless
On Tek you will find shop windows with advertising links, where you can purchase the products we have mentioned or compare prices. We believe this is relevant information for our readers.
Which products Tek will write about, and what we will write about them, are chosen by journalists and no one else. But it is also important for you to know that if you click on such an advertising link for price comparison on Prisjakt or buy a product after clicking in a store from one of our articles, Tek earns money. These advertising links are always marked “ad link”.
It’s important to note that when we mention products to Tek it’s because we think it’s journalistically interesting. Nobody can buy advertising in our cases.
In product tests or guides, the main rule in VG is that we buy or borrow the product. If this is not practically possible, we base the review on the product samples sent to us. If so, we will inform you which product and why.
These glasses could fit straight into a James Bond film, but are they smart enough?
VG correspondent Nilas Johnsen tried out RayBan/Meta smart glasses.
Ingeborg Huse Amundsen/VG camera
Save
Glasses that can take photos and films?
It looks futuristic, like something out of a spy movie. A bit of an old-fashioned spy movie, sure, because smart glasses have been around for quite some time now.
For the past two weeks I’ve been trying out a copy of the new Ray-Ban/Meta glasses released in the US last fall.
I initially purchased these to use for “point of view” (POV) videos that we will include in VG reports, but I tested them as a regular user first and want to share the experiences I’ve had.
Nilas Johnsen camera, Tek.no
- Film and take photos with a side button.
- Speakers in your ears that can play music and voice messages.
- It allows you to live stream directly to Facebook and Instagram.
- It has a built-in artificial intelligence from Meta with which you can control the glasses and get information from
Who the hell am I?!?
I, who try these glasses, am not a Tek.no expert. I am VG’s US correspondent and live in New York.
I have experience shooting reports shot with a GoPro, like this one on the fight against IS, and I regularly use my iPhone to film short clips in reports from the US, like this one on the drug scene in Philadelphia.
In this test I’m mainly dealing with using an iPhone 14 Pro, for filming short clips, but I tested most of the other functions of the glasses.
Wed +
Straight from the case
Nilas Johnsen camera, Tek.no
The glasses come in a nice case, which looks exclusive and has RayBan’s lovely light brown leather.
When you open the glasses for the first time, you should download the app first. The rest is very simple: via Bluetooth the glasses connect to your mobile phone and give you a short and simple introduction to the main functions.
If you want to use the glasses to stream live, you’ll also get a quick introduction via the app.
Nilas Johnsen camera, Tek.no
The case is the charging station for the glasses. Uses a USB-C cable, which is not included. The manufacturer claims that the glasses’ battery provides four hours of use, but if you film a lot, the battery runs out relatively quickly.
A fully charged case should provide 32 hours of battery life, but even that seems a bit high.
Wide angle photos
One of the main functions of glasses is to take photos. The 12-megapixel camera is located on the left side of the glasses and gives you images that closely resemble what you see with your left eye. The small button that controls the camera is located on the right temple.
Ray-Ban/Meta is an update to Ray-Ban/Stories that is no longer produced, and according to the manufacturer, the main reason is that the new version takes better photos.
The images are perfectly OK and it’s a great effect to be able to take a quick photo without taking out your phone.
But is the image quality comparable to what you get from your cell phone?
The answer is no: naturally an iPhone 14 Pro has 48 megapixels for example, four times more and last but not least a significantly larger image chip.
The glasses also take photos at a wide angle, which is also a bit annoying. Even when you stand straight, it becomes crooked. And it will always be a large format, which is ultimately a wise choice.
Below are some still images taken with the glasses and then the same subject with the iPhone, to show the difference. Select an image to compare with the buttons at the top of the pane:
Open full screen
Watch with glassesWatch with iPhone 14 ProSign with glassesSign with iPhoneChildren with glassesChildren with iPhoneBushes with glassesBushes with iPhone
Watch with glassesWatch with iPhone 14 ProSign with glassesSign with iPhoneChildren with glassesChildren with iPhoneBushes with glassesBushes with iPhone
Poor resolution
Photos taken with glasses have a much lower resolution than those taken with the iPhone, the angle looks a bit strange and you don’t have the depth effect, portrait function or close-up effect that, for example, iPhone has.
The camera is simply much worse than the one you have on your cell phone. Since the sound function of the glasses can only be used with the cell phone, it is unlikely that you will use the glasses without having the cell phone with you. Then the only advantage is that you don’t have to take out your cell phone to take a photo.
And the photos you take with your glasses are still saved on your phone. Since you can’t see what the image will actually look like until later, it’s not so easy to know what the image will look like.
Plus, only a short second passes from when you press the button until the photo is actually taken, and if you don’t keep your head still and the subject is still, it will easily be out of focus.
The photos I took with the glasses do not appear in the annual album that I create based, so to speak, on cell phone photos.
Below are two photos taken in exactly the same place with glasses and then with the iPhone, showing the difference in sharpness – and not least the wide angle (which reveals all the clutter I had put away):
PreviousNextNilas Johnsen/Tek.no Like sunglasses: do they look okay? Nilas Johnsen/Tek.no Oh uffameg: VG test doesn’t wear these glasses! A little better with the Wayfarer model? No, not really!
I have an acquaintance who wears glasses quite well and the people on the Ray-Ban site seem really nice….
However, these glasses are not discreet at all: the first time I wore them my sister-in-law didn’t recognize me. Even the iPhone’s FaceID didn’t recognize me with these huge bezels.
In other words, they’re not recommended if you like thin glasses; if you like particular frames, however, they can be fine.
The bottom line: Glasses are in no way a replacement for your phone’s camera, but it’s a fun gimmick if you like shooting POV videos. Both the sound and the AI voice function are very good.
to remove
RayBan/Meta Headliner
quoteA fun and well-working gimmick, especially if you want POV videos
Benefits
- +
Very good for shooting short video clips
- +
Surprisingly good sound quality
- +
It worked well for phone calls
- +
Meta’s voice assistant often gets it right
Things to think about
- —
Still images are a shame
- —
Bigger and bulkier than expected
- —
The voice assistant is intended for English, not Norwegian
HERE IS THE COST OF VG GLASSES:
The glasses: $299
Prescription lenses: $166
Sunglass Effect: $150
Total: 615 dollars / 6500 crowns
2024-01-20 11:00:00
#RaybanMeta #smart #glasses #Preview #Tek.no