HEY META

These Hi-Tech Glasses Are a Must-Buy for Outdoorsy Types

With the ability to text, take photos, and identify plants, these ultra-techy glasses are made for the people who live outdoors.

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My relationship theory: in every functional partnership, there’s a person who takes photos and a person who gets photographed. My husband has dozens of candid photos of me from our shared adventures. I rarely remember to pull out my phone. The Meta Ray Ban glasses changed that.

When I first wore Meta’s smart Ray Ban sunglasses on a hike, I thought I’d use it the same way I do my smartwatch while on the trails: fielding texts from my family Wordle chat, asking for the weather forecast eight times a day. After taking both the glasses and my watch on a hike, I found I much preferred getting notifications on the glasses—it’s easier to get notifications hands-free than to try keeping pace while squinting at tiny font on my wrist, using the other hand to scroll, and trying not to lose my grip on my dog’s leash.

Amazon

$380

Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer

What I found most helpful, though, was the ability to capture hands-free photos and videos—being able to snap a pic of what I was seeing without losing time fumbling for my phone. All I had to say was, “Hey Meta, take a photo” (and make sure my baseball cap’s brim wasn’t too low). After my first walk, I had taken more photos and videos than I had in a year of walks prior. The app helps by straightening and cropping shots (you can still access the raw images if you’d prefer).

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Even when the scenery isn’t stunning enough to photograph, I found outdoor time enhanced with the Meta glasses. When I was tending to yard work, I called my mom to help pass the time. The phone quality was shockingly good and surprisingly private; my husband, standing next to me, could only hear my side of the conversation even when I cranked the volume up to intense levels. They’re a gardener’s dream: use them to listen to music, identify weeds, and get plant care tips.

Meta’s smart sunglasses keep you in the moment but still connected. While they have features that make sense for indoor use (setting timers, suggesting outfits, answering knowledge-based questions), I found that the glasses really shine outside and on the go. In addition to gardening and outside exercise, I’m excited to take them traveling. You can ask the glasses to translate the text you see or ask how to say a specific phrase. Meta is even rolling out live translation where it will translate audio you’re hearing into the language of your choice. It can even act as a tour guide (“Hey Meta, tell me about this monument”) or local foodie (“Hey Meta, what’s in moussaka?”).

The best part is that Meta seems really invested in building out the functionality of these glasses. It feels like every time I pop them back into their included charging case, the glasses come back with new functionality and phrases. Hey Meta, what do you have in store next?

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Emily Levin

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