REVIEW – I’ve always been a little skeptical of face-computers, but sunglasses I actually understand, and a pair that happens to take a photo or answer a question without me digging my phone out sounded genuinely useful rather than gimmicky. That’s the pitch of the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer, real Ray-Bans first, quietly smart second. I got the Gen 2 in Matte Black with clear-to-grey Transitions lenses, so a single pair covers everything from a bright walk to a dim bar. The base price is $379.00, but here’s the part nobody warns you about: once you add a real prescription and Transitions lenses, the total climbs significantly past that, and mine landed at close to $800. Progressive lenses for my prescription are a big part of why mine cost as much as they did. That makes these a serious commitment, so I’ve been wearing them daily to see whether the smart part is worth it or just a novelty that wears off.
Note: I bought this Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer with my own money. It was not provided by the manufacturer or any affiliated company or brand.
Photos and video by Gregory Morley.
The Basics
The Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer (Gen 2) is a pair of smart glasses built on the classic Wayfarer frame. Tucked into the arms are a camera for photos and video, open-ear speakers, a set of microphones, and a hands-free link to Meta AI you talk to out loud. You can capture what you’re looking at, take calls, listen to music or a podcast, and ask the built-in assistant questions, all without touching your phone. My pair uses Transitions lenses that shift from clear indoors to grey in sunlight, so they work as everyday glasses too.
What You Get
- Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer (Gen 2) glasses, Matte Black
- Clear-to-grey Transitions lenses (installed)
- Charging case
- Cleaning cloth
By the Numbers
- Price: from $379.00 (significantly more with a progressive prescription and Transitions lenses; mine came to close to $800)
- Frame: Wayfarer (Gen 2), Matte Black
- Lenses: Clear-to-grey Transitions
- Camera: On-board for photos and video
- Audio: Open-ear speakers and microphone array
- Assistant: Hands-free Meta AI by voice
- Charging: Portable charging case with additional charges
- Controls: Capture button plus touch controls on the arm
Design & Build
The best compliment I can give these is that they look like Ray-Bans. The Matte Black Wayfarer frame is a shape people have worn for decades, and unless someone is looking closely they won’t clock the camera or speakers at all. They’re a touch chunkier than standard Wayfarers in the arms, where all the tech lives, but the weight is well balanced and they wear comfortably for hours. The Transitions lenses are the smartest part of my configuration, one pair that’s clear at my desk and tinted the moment I step outside.
The Camera
Capturing a photo or a clip from your own point of view turns out to be the feature I use most. A quick press of the arm button and I’ve grabbed the thing in front of me without breaking the moment to pull out a phone, frame a shot, and tap. For walks, quick clips, and hands-full moments it’s genuinely handy, and the first-person angle is something a phone simply can’t do naturally. A small light lets people nearby know when you’re recording, the right call.
Audio & Meta AI
The open-ear speakers are the best thing about these glasses. They pipe music, podcasts, and call audio to your ears while leaving them completely open to the world, exactly what I want when I’m working around the house or moving through my day. I can take and make calls, listen to a podcast, and still hear everything around me, so I stay situationally aware instead of sealed off the way earbuds seal you off. As an always-on Bluetooth headset that happens to look like sunglasses, they’re fantastic.
The Meta AI, on the other hand, is the worst part of the experience by a wide margin. It’s genuinely bad. It barely answers a question correctly, and half the time it doesn’t answer at all. I went in expecting the sci-fi ask-your-glasses-anything moment and got a frustrating assistant that whiffs on the simplest requests. If the AI were the reason you were buying these, don’t. Treat it as a broken feature you ignore, and judge the glasses on the audio and camera instead.
Everyday Use
These earn their place for me as an always-on Bluetooth speaker and mic that I wear on my face. Working around the house, I take and make calls through them, listen to music or a podcast, and never lose track of what’s happening around me because my ears stay open. That situational awareness is the whole appeal, and it’s something earbuds simply can’t match. I put on sunglasses I’d wear anyway, and the useful features, audio and the quick camera, are there without asking me to change my behavior. The Transitions lenses mean they stay on my face from morning to night, and the charging case tops them up between uses like earbuds.
Battery life hasn’t been an issue for me, mostly because of how I use them. They go back in the charging case whenever I’m not wearing them and overnight, and I power them off when I’m driving or whenever I know I won’t need the smart features for a while. Between those two habits, I’ve never been caught out with a dead pair.
What Could Be Better
The Meta AI is the headline disappointment. It’s, bluntly, the worst AI assistant I’ve used, rarely getting an answer right and often not responding at all. For something marketed as a core feature, it’s close to useless, and you quickly learn to stop asking. The price is the other sticking point: the $379.00 headline balloons toward $800 once you add a progressive prescription and Transitions, a lot to pay for glasses whose smartest advertised feature is the weakest thing about them. One thing worth knowing going in: the glasses are sold without a charging cable or a power adapter, so you have to buy compatible accessories separately. That’s consistent across all the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 models, not just my pair, so budget for a USB-C cable and a charger on top of the sticker price.
Quick Questions
Q: Is Meta AI actually useful on these glasses?
A: Not in this review’s experience. It barely answers questions correctly and often doesn’t respond at all, and it’s described as the weakest part of the glasses by a wide margin.
Q: Does the charging case come included with the glasses?
A: Yes, the charging case ships in the box and is how you charge the glasses day to day. What’s not included is a USB-C cable or wall adapter to power the case itself, so you’ll need to supply those separately.
Q: How much do the glasses actually cost with a prescription?
A: More than the $379 headline price. With a progressive prescription and Transitions lenses added, the total can climb to around $800.
Q: Can you still hear your surroundings while listening to audio through them?
A: Yes, the open-ear speakers pipe audio to your ears while leaving them open to the world, so you stay aware of what’s happening around you instead of being sealed off like earbuds.
Final Thoughts
The Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer (Gen 2) is a great pair of open-ear audio sunglasses saddled with a genuinely terrible AI. Judge them as smart glasses with a brilliant assistant and you’ll be let down, because Meta AI barely works. Judge them as an always-on Bluetooth headset that looks like real Wayfarers, lets you take calls and listen to audio while staying aware of your surroundings, and throws in a handy first-person camera, and they’re actually excellent at that job. They look like the Wayfarers people have loved for decades, and the Transitions lenses make them an all-day pair. The catch is the money: the $379.00 headline climbs to close to $800 with a progressive prescription and Transitions, so you’re paying a premium for the audio and the look, not the smarts. Go in knowing the AI is a dud and you won’t be disappointed.
Price: From $379.00 (significantly more with a progressive prescription and Transitions lenses)
Where to buy: Ray-Ban / Meta
What I like: Looks like real Ray-Bans, excellent open-ear audio for calls and music, situational awareness, handy first-person camera
What I don’t: Meta AI is close to useless, and the real price with prescription and Transitions is steep
