It seems like there are a lot of negative comments about Meta's glasses which is surprising to me as a regular user. I bought these both in clear and sunglasses and I love them. I've recorded some of the most amazing videos of my baby with them. Listening to music is fantastic as it's different from regular headphones since you can still hear the world around you — I've even done a few longer bike rides with them and it's been great. I haven't enabled any of the AI or smart features on the glasses, although I've been meaning to give it a try. Some things I don't love about them is the proprietary charging cases, the battery life seems to degrade over time (not totally certain though), and they're sensitive to sweat. Overall I think they show a ton of promise.
Do you have the same musical taste as your wife? I have a bone conduction headset that I use for cycling. Podcasts and ebooks sound fine, and some music is acceptable (a lot of classical, some pop and folk). Anything with bass just sounds like garbage though - don't bother with any hard rock, hip hop, or anything else with bass.
I tried out hers to see if I liked them, and am not sure which make/model it is. I'll ask her when I get a chance. I do remember her saying they cost about $125 so not cheap, but probably not high end either
Get a good pair that actually does bone conduction and isn't just a shitty speaker blasting next to your ear.
It will never be as good as open ear headphones, some frequencies just don't translate well via conduction, but they're good enough for podcasts, TV and movies. They're great for music if you're exercising or need to be aware of your surroundings, but if you care about sound quality, they are not something you'd want to use to listen to music in a quiet room, for example.
They are not great for listening to music in high fidelity. The are great for spoken word, and fine for music if you're not super concerned about quality; I liken it to listening to music from the speaker on a small portable FM radio.
I think of bone conducting headphones as the most realistic foundation for augmented reality on the market. Hearing things without plugging your ears up, weighing you down or taking you out of your surroundings is underrated and underutilized. To match the weight of an Oculus Quest 3 on my head, I'd have to wear seventeen pairs of Shockz OpenMove. Compare the dread of a video ad over your eyes to the dread of an audio ad in your ears.
We really should have a broader conversation about the practical applications of this stuff.
I deeply disagree here. Bone conduction headphones sound significantly worse then the Ray-Bans. You can hate Meta but its untrue that its the same audio experience.
Watch Zuckerberg proudly showing how his hand gestures are hardly noticeable. So, so creepy.
I wouldn’t be surprised if people wearing these would get confronted, denied entry or beaten up regularly. I can even totally see them ray-banned legally. At least in the EU. Much less with external video processing.
Although I love the idea of AR and the cyberpunk flair, I don’t think these will be a thing because of privacy implications. Nothing has fundamentally changed since Google Glass failure.
We know what happens when the tech is invisible. There are thousands of cameras doing facial recognition and license plate tracking and nobody cares. Everything we do is already recorded. Your phone location history, your vehicle location history, all the things you buy and shop for, your search history... But some random wears a pair of glasses and everybody loses their mind.
There’s a difference though - currently, this kind of tech and breadth of surveillance is largely in the hands of corporations and government. In the near future, when things like these glasses are invisible _and_ mildly affordable (even iPhone-price), it becomes a lot more interesting and invasive. Couple that with LLMs that can be used to quickly catalog and index the people in videos, maybe toss in community-driven repositories of peoples’ recordings, and it will be much much harder for anyone to avoid being spotted unless you just don’t leave your house.
Reminds me to check in with the current state of cloaking tech.
for sure - it is inevitable, if you live in modern society. This is a past tense discussion, as it's already happening, even as I type this msg in reddit of course. The only way out is to leave and live in the woods pretty much, but that doesn't stop it, it only delays the engagement.
Google Glass was a loud, clunky script, whereas these are a stealthy, AI-powered rootkit hiding in plain sight. The fundamental change isn't the hardware, it's the social engineering masterstroke of weaponizing fashion to make the public willingly install a backdoor to their entire life.
> I wouldn’t be surprised if people wearing these would get confronted, denied entry or beaten up regularly. I can even totally see them ray-banned legally.
I really, really hope you're not advocating for that. That's straight up violence, not in self defence.
Depends on the jurisdiction and circumstances. In my country filming someone without their consent is also illegal. In a situation where someone feels violated in their privacy, when words didn’t work, force may be required. Advocating or not, it’s likely going to happen. Pointing a camera at someone‘s face obnoxiously tends to escalate situations. Mix alcohol, testosterone and happenstances and you got yourself broken glasses. Try that with a phone camera today and report back.
Exactly. The real danger is how they turn every wearer into a walking surveillance camera, creating a permanent, searchable record of your life without your consent, simply by being near them.
This fundamentally rewrites the rules of social interaction, creating a panopticon where you have to assume you're always being recorded, forcing self-censorship and destroying the trust essential for any authentic relationship.
And because our antiquated consent laws and pathetic safeguards like a tiny indicator light are completely unprepared for this, you have no real way to opt out of their surveillance network.
Ever since I saw that episode I've felt like it's inevitable that something like this will become commonplace. If I had a product like this that actually worked as imagined, and the full data pipeline was under my complete control, I could think of a dozen reasons why I'd want to use it. If we take it for granted that this is coming whether we want it or not (and I'm not saying we necessarily must, but it's worth pondering)... is there a way to design the technology, and cultivate new social norms, such that we end up with something that's a net positive rather than a dystopian panopticon? I haven't been able to answer this for myself, at least not yet.
(Even setting the social repercussions aside, though, Zuck/Meta being involved is a dealbreaker for me.)
There's a reason the term "glass-holes" was invented.
As a general rule, it's probably best to stay away from these kinds of people for a while. Because nowadays it doesn't even have to be you. It could be someone standing in the frame somewhere with you that does something objectionable. Thus awakening the wrath of society. Or even worse - the government.
I got some of these for a friend who has severe vision problems. They don't seem to be able to read out texts or emails from your phone? If something is in your notifications, it can get to it, beyond that it just constantly complains it doesn't have access or can't do it, despite the app having damned near root on the phone, with every permission possible granted.
Videos are limited to 3 mins, up from 1 min originally.
He says you can't hear the audio or use them for anything useful if there is much noise around you, i.e. in a busy area they become completely useless.
I still think they hold great promise, the main letdown is the awful software. Amazing miniaturization.
> Listening to music is fantastic as it's different from regular headphones since you can still hear the world around you
Many earbuds, like Airpods, have transparency mode. The end result is the same…music while hearing background noise. In fact airpods are better because of the ANC mode that tunes out noise except conversation and other “important” sounds. I can also wear airpods indoors without looking like a dork, so that’s also plus. I’m not seeing why this is novel or interesting?
> I've recorded some of the most amazing videos of my baby with them.
This seems like a compelling use case. How is the video quality?
Yea AirPods transparency is great, but Shockz is another level. It’s even better than the ray bans because other people can’t hear the audio, and way more comfortable than any in-ear ones.
Sadly (or not, depending on your bent, I don't mind it at all), their latest versions feature a back firing driver that pairs with the bone conduction, I assume because that was the only way to get better sound quality. You can, however, still throw it in bone conduction only mode.
Not everyone's ears are the same. MKBHD famously does not use Airpods because he can't get them to stay in. I have tried jogging a couple times with Airpods Pro and they pop out every time.
EarPods/AirPods designs assume that you have certain genetic feature on ears called antitragus that hugs the stem with two opposing wings. I looked mine in the mirrors and one of the wings is basically missing altogether, making it not "anti"-ing. Tim Cook visibly has a pair of bulbous ones.
I kind of have different ethnic background than MKBHD, so, it kind of makes me wonder how that design got the shape it got and how it stayed that way.
I developed a reflex that I periodically press above my nose to make sure the glasses are in place, which was super funny when I switched to lenses but kept pressing for no good reason.
I thought the same until I purchased earbuds that fit perfectly. I won’t share a brand as it’s irrelevant for anyone else’s fit. However, I do running, cycling, rowing, skipping, climbing, powerlifting, bodybuilding, calisthenics in them and I don’t even have to adjust them unless I directly hit them with my hand. There is zero risk of them falling out in regular circumstances.
That was not the case with several earbuds I’ve owned in the past.
This depends entirely on how well they fit you. My daughter regularly does flips on the trampoline while wearing non-pro Airpods and they don't fall out
A friend of mine got a pair, they get this light when theyre in use but you can't quickly tell what's happening. Are they taking a picture, a video, or just conversing with the AI?
I find it annoying, ofc, he's my friend so I could tell him not to take "candid pictures" of me (I generally just don't like people taking pictures of me).
But you would have no control whatsoever on the street and it would be very difficult to know that someone you've passed on the street has or hasn't taken a picture of you.
I don't really use them that way. I don't wear them 24/7, just specific situations. Also, there's an LED light on them that clearly indicates when the camera is recording vs. when it isn't.
No, they're able to detect that the LED light has been covered and will refuse to record. There's users who have taken them apart to try to disable the LED but that's not something most users will do, is likely to break the glasses.
Seems like things have changed since Google Glass was released. When they were first released, I remember there was a huge pushback against them because of the cameras they had. Some businesses would even ban you from entering if you were wearing them
10 years ago, I hated the idea of Google Glass, voice assistants, cloud doorbells, and their ilk. I thought the privacy zealots were reactionary but the general premise still was a bit icky - a little bit for the privacy, but mostly for the "weird nerd stuff" stigma.
5 years ago, I acquiesced started to let voice assistants into my home, thought the first edition of Meta Ray Bans were cool but not for me, and generally started to feel like these things were everywhere and nothing bad had come of it.
In the current year, I've gotten rid of all of my voice assistants, carefully blocked internet traffic for my IoT things, got rid of devices without local controllers, and would generally decline to be around someone who was wearing smart-camera glasses of any kind in the same way I'd decline to be around someone who was holding their phone up taking a video of me. The privacy zealots were right, it took some time - but we've learned that tech often isn't our benign anonymous friend. All it took was "tech" (the brand) completing its transition from benevolent cool hip industry to big business just like any other.
I use them too for similar uses. Brilliant. I also use zero AI. I don’t care. I totally understand ppl not buying them because they are meta. I get it.
Yeah, I feel similar. As an avid hiker/runner they have been a ton of fun to use. I got the transition lenses. I use them for listening to music/pods while running or wherever really as well as taking videos and pics. Only downside so far is in winter use where the battery dies VERY quickly.
The camera is worse than any phone camera and you have been able to buy headphones with active pass through forever to “hear the world around you” including adaptive ones.
And being sensitive sweat is kind of a deal breaker when you are working out.
The advantage for me is being able to snap video without holding anything in my hands. Sure, I could do that with a Go Pro but with these I just throw them on. I find the video quality to be good enough... the few moments I've captured have been so outstanding that I don't really care that it's not 4K.
Meta’s brand problem won’t be solved until Gen Alpha comes of age. They’re the first generation to accept VR and they won’t remember the Facebook debacle since they won’t be using Facebook, but they will use meta’s AR and VR
Wait… you’re praising the audio? Mine must have something wrong with them. I cannot listen to music or any audio really unless I’m in a silent environment. If I’m outside and there are cars driving by, or wind, or any other ambient noise, the glasses speakers aren’t loud and full enough for me to actually hear anything at a level that I would deem appropriate. And when you max out the volume, the audio breaks down —- any bass gets squished and the whole soundstage sounds like crap.
Do yours actually sound decent? Maybe I need a new pair. Or maybe I’m just too picky.
I've never had a problem with loudness, in fact I only use them around 50% volume even walking outside next to a busy road. But I agree the audio quality is about the same as a phone speaker.
I think the recording aspect is cool, since I assume it has that "first person perspective" thing going on that's usually difficult to replicate without a complicated setup. Especially useful for showing or demonstrating stuff with your hands, etc.
On the other hand, I can't fathom why having a permanent screen on your face is appealing... I don't know if I'm biased because I have a few mild neurological issues, and I'm simply not the target audience
> It seems like there are a lot of negative comments about Meta's glasses
The negative comments are about Meta the company. Many here don’t trust them, and with good reason, let’s not forget Zuckerberg literally called “dumb fucks” to people who trust him.
> It seems like there are a lot of negative comments about Meta's glasses which is surprising to me as a regular user.
Really? Does nobody remember the "Glasshole" debacle with another equally large FAANG corporation who tried to push a similar technology? There were incidents of people getting physically assaulted JUST for wearing the things.
Taking pictures of small kids is a different thing altogether.
Many of the shots you want are very fleeting moments that you won't get after you took your phone from the other room. Then holding a phone will often redirect attention on the phone or hide your face, and again you'll have lost the moment.
The best alternative is someone else taking the picture (that can include auto photographing devices, like the one Google made and discontinued), the second best is you taking the pictures/videos with the most intrusive and practical device you can get. Smart glasses sound pretty good for that.
On the music part, I see a niche where glasses are unbeatable: most buds need to either stick into the ear canal or hook on the external ear, or both. If you hate things in your ears and also wear glasses, having the glass act as headphones is the best of both world.
None of that is mainstream IMHO, but there will be a sizeable public clamouring for these.
As someone with a very opinionated 11 year old nephew (so he grew up in the time of ubiquitous social media and he is getting to the age where he starts to understand its upsides and downsides) - I dare say that most children don't hold any grudges against their parents for making digital images and videos of them as babies and storing those on cloud platforms.
Totally depends - both my teenage daughters are VERY gunshy of photographs in general, and social media especially. We stopped posting anything relating to them ~8-10 years ago. If we were avidly sharing, they would hate us for it.
It sounds like they don't want you taking and sharing photos of them now, which is very fair. But it's not clear from your description if they judge you or your partner for any baby pics you took of them which ended up in the cloud. That seemed to be the statement of the person I replied to - "One day your children will be your judge when they are grown up, when they realise what you did to them."
I don't have the cloud processing features enabled for photos/video on these. As far as I understand, the photos and videos aren't used for training data. I also don't publish these photos anywhere on social media.
I have the first generation of these, and as far as I know there isn't a screen. The sweat issue is sensitivity to the side controls — the glasses think I'm changing the music, volume or whatever and I'm just wearing them and doing nothing. This was an issue early on but recently I went on a ride for 90 minutes and didn't have this issue.
These things have cameras and mics in them. Am I the only one concerned about people walking into every space with surveillance systems that are capturing us and sending that data to some random set of companies who have no obligation to keep our information confidential? How can I have a conversation with a friend wearing one of these? And surely workplaces will ban these?
For all but the most security-conscious companies, that ship has probably sailed. Bringing a camera into many companies used to be an exercise involving forms, approvals, and so forth. Now everyone has camera, video, and audio recording in their pocket.
To those around you, there is a big difference between having a video recording device in your pocket compared to on your head. I would personally feel pretty uncomfortable if someone pulled up to the next stall in the workplace bathroom with these on
Hookup culture or any space (bars, clubs, festivals) where some level of shenanigans are expected will be destroyed by this even further than what smartphones has already done.
Imagine you take your kids to the beach and people are wearing these things. So even the beach won't be safe anymore.
One thing with technology is "iron sharpens iron" - I'm sure as advances in batteries (although I imagine there comes a point where that stops) occur it will have downstream effects of making all these things better
...unless part of the package for the improvements are things like "more likely to catch fire"
Honestly, as someone who is not particularly pro Apple but bought (and returned) the Vision Pro, I cannot stress enough how much you need to try it out.
The issue with the product is entirely the lack of an ecosystem - the interface is unbelievably polished. The eye tracking & finger touch to click feels absolutely perfect. It really did feel like living in the future.
I returned it because the security policy at my work didn't allow me to pair it with my macbook, otherwise I would be using it all day every day.
In every popular thread there are tons of people optimistic and pessimistic about the subject. Saying “users here” shared an opinion is always wrong. Just look at the commend thread, there are all kinds of opinions.
You can't attack another user like this on HN, and if you continue to break the site guidelines and post aggressively, we will ban you. We've already asked you twice:
