Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) is a modest upgrade over Gen 2, with more microphones, new frame styles and an extra hour of rated battery life. Its defining drawback is the camera: it records in a fixed vertical 4:3 view, and there’s no display to help you frame a shot. That makes the glasses better suited to quick, hands-free clips than carefully composed or landscape video.
What changes from Gen 2
The clearest upgrades are in the microphones and Meta’s battery rating. Gen 3 has six microphones, compared with five on Gen 2, and Meta rates the glasses for up to nine hours per charge, one hour more than the previous model. Meta says the microphone array reduces background noise by more than 90%; that figure is a company claim, not a result from the reviewer’s testing.
| Comparison | Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) | Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) |
| US starting price reported in the review | $449 | $379 |
| Camera | 12MP | 12MP |
| Microphones | 6 | 5 |
| Rated battery life for the glasses | Up to 9 hours | 8 hours |
The price difference is $70 at those reported US starting prices. Gen 3’s camera resolution remains 12MP, so the upgrade is more about its other changes than a higher-resolution camera. The new frame styles are Wayfarer, Aviator and Zena. Wayfarer comes in standard and large sizes; Aviator and Zena each come in one size.
The camera is for casual clips, not flexible framing
The camera captures 12MP stills at 4,000 × 3,000 pixels and 3K video at 1,824 × 1,374 pixels. Both use a fixed vertical 4:3 view. There’s no option to record horizontal video, and without a display you can’t preview the composition through the glasses. Will Greenwald found the framing difficult to control precisely in his hands-on review.
For a quick point-of-view clip, that fixed view may be convenient: the camera captures what’s in front of you without reaching for a phone. For a scene that needs landscape framing or careful composition, a phone camera offers more flexibility. Greenwald found the glasses’ casual photos useful, but less capable than midrange or high-end phone cameras.
The glasses have 32GB of storage. Greenwald reports Meta’s estimate of more than 1,000 photos or 100 videos lasting 30 seconds each. Captures transfer through the Meta AI app on Android or iOS, and automatic importing can be configured.
Audio, controls and Meta AI in everyday use
Greenwald reports clear calls indoors and on a moderately busy street, but says the audio became difficult to hear on a subway platform as a train arrived. He also notes sound leakage and limited bass, so these open-ear speakers are better suited to quieter surroundings than noisy commutes. The touch surface sometimes activated by accident when he adjusted the glasses; the controls on the right temple can be customized.
Meta AI handles voice requests such as questions, calls, messages, reminders and timers, and can analyze camera imagery. During Greenwald’s review, its search service was unavailable for about an hour, and the assistant gave him an incorrect comparison of the glasses’ weight. Those are incidents from his review, not a measure of how often the assistant fails.
Adrián Pérez’s Spanish-language video follows seven days of everyday use, covering music, calls, camera, Meta AI, battery, comfort and controls. It offers a separate personal-use perspective on those activities.
US price and who should consider it
Will Greenwald’s review listed a US street price of $449, with preconfigured options reaching $579. Custom frame and lens combinations were listed at $20 above premade options. The listed Gen 3 starting price was $70 higher than Gen 2’s $379 starting price.
The camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio is another option if you want the glasses’ audio functions without a camera. The review lists it at $349 in the US and gives it a battery rating of up to 12 hours. Gen 3 makes more sense if hands-free photos and video matter to you; if you want landscape footage or precise framing, its fixed camera view is a substantial constraint.
