All that goes away when cameras are removed. The Meta Audio glasses don’t record audio either, except for when you’re using the AI chatbot. Those requests are then saved in the Meta AI app. There is the ability to do live language translation, but it requires going into the Meta AI app first. It’s a shame it took Meta this long to remove the cameras—even with what feels like such a key feature missing, it makes the glasses all the better.

Courtesy of Meta

I’ve been wearing the Burbank style. I personally prefer the rounder Clubmaster, and when a friend saw me wearing them for the first time, he laughed and said, “Those are a little thick.”

The frames may be thick, but the Ray-Ban Meta Audio might just be the perfect running glasses. They’ve got transition lenses that adjust quickly to sunlight. The speakers deliver solid sound quality, letting you blast music while also piping in crucial ambient sounds, like that car barreling toward you. Call quality is great, too, and people I’ve spoken with over the phone haven’t noticed I’m speaking through my glasses. That said, the sound does leak out and doesn’t have the best bass response.

They’re lightweight—43 grams for the Burbank model and 47 grams for the Clubmaster, noticeably lighter than the 51.5-gram camera-equipped Gen 3 Wayfarer. A 12-hour battery life means all-day wear is truly viable. It’s nice not to worry about battery life or deal with earbuds or headphones.

I also like that I can walk around peacefully without people thinking I’m recording them. There are legitimate reasons to have cameras on smart glasses. (Anything with augmented reality features will need them.) But removing cameras entirely is the right choice for people who want to use smart glasses for anything that isn’t capturing content.

Frankly, these are probably the only smart glasses I’d willingly spend my own money on. I’ve tried a lot of smart glasses, especially this year. Just about all of them end up back in their case, tossed into a drawer at my desk. Maybe somebody (cough Google cough) will beat Meta eventually. For now, the Ray-Ban Meta Audio are the only smart glasses I actually want to keep on my face.