Meta just released the first version of the Meta Glasses with an actual display. The glasses comprise 2 main parts: the glasses themselves and the neural wristband to control the glasses.
The glasses aren’t as heavy as they appear, though they are still much heavier than normal glasses. The battery life is around 8 hours with moderate use and 5 hours with continuous audio playback. The display is definitely easy to see even in broad daylight, without using the glasses’ full 5000 nits for that. Although shaking your head may make the display glitch. The display only takes up a small portion on your right side. Some have had issues with the display being illegible or out of focus due to it only being in the right lens. Currently, its user interface is limited to very few apps, like Instagram, Spotify, etc, and there are still some limitations within those apps. For example, the Instagram app on the glasses only lets you view your messages, no stories or posts. Also, Meta has not rolled out the live translation feature advertised at Meta Connect yet. However, live caption support is available, which seems to be receptive to most accents. It may be restricted in its functionality as of right now, but this is only the first version.
Meta does advertise these as privacy-protected glasses, as in no one can see what you’re doing or when you’re using the display, but that’s not entirely the case. There are certain angles where you could see everything on the display, only inverted. The way these
glasses work is the even cooler part. The display is basically a projector, which explains why the display glitches when shaken. There are mirrors built into the lens to reflect the image from the projector into view without it being visible at most angles. These mirrors explain the lines seen on the side of the right lens. Taking this approach requires precision. Any wrong angle or incorrectly placed mirror can make the whole display illegible. The display is definitely impressive, but it still needs work.
The more impressive part is undoubtedly the neural wristband. The neural wristband allows you to use simple hand gestures to control the display, the alternative being swiping the right side of the frame. It’s very responsive and works seamlessly with the glasses. Double-tapping your middle finger and thumb turns on and off the display. Swiping your thumb across your index finger swipes to a new view. Double-tapping your thumb and index finger enters an app. Pinching and twisting your thumb and index finger changes the volume. As of right now, these are the only gestures supported. Later this year, Meta should also be rolling out handwriting support to draft messages. The wristband comes in 3 different sizes, but when you put it on, it’s fitted to your size. Andrew Bosworth, a CTO at Meta, notes that this device has so many possibilities in the future. For example, imagine controlling your TV with this, or imagine integrating this with a smart watch.
My final notes are that this device has so much potential, but it is only in its beginning stages. The components used to make these glasses are very niche, and they are integrated in a fixed way, making the glasses completely unrepairable. Should you get the Meta glasses now? Probably not, but this device shows what’s possible with AR glasses. Plus, even if you wanted to get one now, most stores are sold out, and wait times are around the end of December.