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Product Reviews

Ray-Ban Meta, GoPro Max 2 and more

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If you prefer some variety in your review roundups, we cover quite the gamut this time. The headliner is the new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, but we’ve recently tested a powerful gaming laptop, two action cameras and a wireless mouse (yep, still need those). Catch up on all the reviews we’ve published over the last two weeks by scrolling down below.

Ray-Ban Meta

Engadget

Meta’s second-generation smart glasses are becoming a genuinely useful accessory.

Pros

  • Noticeably better battery life
  • YouTuber-friendly 3K video
  • Meta AI translations are a game-changer for travel

Cons

  • Framing POV photos and video is still a challenge
  • Pricey lens upgrades

$379 at Meta

While the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses may look similar to the original model, a lot has changed in terms of features. There are also two big upgrades over the last version: battery life and video quality. “The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have a lot of features that didn’t exist when I first reviewed them two years ago, largely thanks to AI,” senior editor Karissa Bell said. “And with the release of its second-generation frames, there’s still a lot to look forward to, like new camera features and AI-powered audio.”

Alienware 16 Area-51

Alienware / Engadget

While it is a bit pricey at $2,000 to start, the Alienware 16 Area-51 sports top-notch components, a bright display, a clicky mechanical keyboard and a slick re-interpretation of the company’s signature intergalactic design.

Pros

  • Unique design
  • Strong performance
  • Clicky mechanical keyboard
  • Lots of ports

Cons

  • Pricey
  • Big and heavy
  • More display options would be nice

$2,000 at Dell

If you’re in the market for a powerful gaming laptop with a unique design, the Alienware 16 Area-51 might be for you. Of course, you’ll have to live with a machine that ‘s big and heavy — and also expensive. “Even though the Alienware 16 Area-51 might not be as portable as some of its rivals, it’s got a lot to offer,” senior reviews writer Sam Rutherford wrote. “There’s a striking design, a nice screen (though more options would be nice), tons of ports and class-leading performance with plenty of configurability so you can dial in its specs exactly how you like.”

GoPro Max 2

GoPro/Engadget

GoPro’s Max 2 is a worthy competitor to DJI and Insta360 with a focus on image quality and effective editing tools to make clips you might actually want to share.

Pros

  • “True” 8K 10-bit GP-Log video
  • Replaceable lenses
  • Simple in-app editing
  • Works with Bluetooth mics

Cons

  • Stitch lines are sometimes present
  • No onboard storage

$500 at Amazon

GoPro’s new product this fall wasn’t another Hero action camera. Instead, the company opted to take the 360 route, debuting the Max 2 for spherical videos. “With a mix of pro features like Timecode, GP-Log (with LUTs) alongside mobile-focused editing, GoPro clearly hopes the Max 2 will appeal to demanding and casual users alike,” contributor James Trew observed. “The company has also focused heavily on improving the user experience rather than going for pure technological advances and after a week or so of testing, that feels like a sensible move.”

DJI Osmo Nano

DJI/Engadget

The Osmo Nano is DJI’s first mini action cam designed to take on Insta360’s Go 3S and Go Ultra. Video quality is a bit better than those rivals, but it’s still missing a few features.

Pros

  • Tiny size
  • Log and 10-bit video
  • DJI Mic compatibility
  • Generous built-in memory

Cons

  • Video editing app falls short
  • Poor stabilization in low light
  • Vlog mode is less convenient than rivals

$299 at Amazon

In case you missed it, tiny action cameras with detachable displays are a thing now. DJI’s first attempt at one of these products takes direct aim at Insta360’s duo of Go models. And despite better video quality than the competition, there’s still work to be done for the Osmo Nano. “With the Nano, DJI leaned on its camera experience and mostly matches or beats its main rival in terms of video quality,” reporter Steve Dent said. “However, the company is still lagging behind in a few areas, particularly its editing app — something that’s important for many creators.”

Logitech MX Master 4

Three years after releasing the MX Master 3S, Logitech is back with another update to its productivity mouse. Shopping for the new version isn’t exactly a straightforward endeavor though. “The MX Master 4 may not be a essential upgrade if you’re happy with an older MX Master mouse, and if those didn’t work for you before, this one probably won’t work for you now,” senior buying advice reporter Jeff Dunn wrote. “But if you’re a power user in the market for a new productivity mouse, we’d expect this newest iteration to be as popular as its predecessors.”



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The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 smart glasses have twice the battery life
Gaming Gear

The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 smart glasses have twice the battery life

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Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.

To use the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, you’ll need a Meta account and the Meta AI app downloaded onto your phone. A Meta account works across platforms like Meta, Instagram, and Quest and comes with its own Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If you want to partake in early access programs for beta AI features, that will also come with its own terms. Should you decide to integrate with services like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Spotify, you also agree to those terms and privacy policies. You may also be asked to give permissions related to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, location services, voice data, and usage data. If you choose to get a pair of prescription lenses, you may also be asked to share that information with compatible optometrists.

  • Supplemental Meta Platforms Technologies Terms of Service
  • Supplemental Meta Platforms Technologies Privacy Policy
  • AI Glasses Early Access Program Terms and Conditions
  • United States Regional Privacy Notice
  • Health and Safety Information
  • Voice Controls Privacy Notice

You can also view all the associated AI glasses legal and privacy documentation here.

Final tally: Two mandatory agreements, six supplemental agreement



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Product Reviews

Meta Ray-Ban Display hands-on: Discreet and intuitive

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I’ve been testing smart glasses for almost a decade. And in that time, one of the questions I’ve been asked the most is “oh, but can you see anything in them?” For years, I had to explain that no, glasses like that don’t really exist yet.

That’s no longer the case. And while I’ve seen a bunch of glasses over the last year that have some kind of display, the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses feel the closest to fulfilling what so many people envision when they hear the words “smart glasses.”

To be clear, they don’t offer the kind of immersive AR that’s possible with Meta’s Orion prototype. In fact Meta considers “display AI glasses” to be a totally separate category from AR. The display is only on one lens — the right — and its 20-degree field of view is much smaller than the 70 degrees on Orion. That may sound like a big compromise, but it doesn’t feel like one.

Karissa Bell for Engadget

The single display feels much more practical for a pair of glasses you’ll want to wear every day. It’s meant to be something you can glance at when you need it, not an always-on overlay. The smaller size also means that the display is much sharper, at 42 pixels per degree. This was especially noticeable when I walked outside with the glasses on; images on the display looked even sharper than in indoor light, thanks to automatic brightness features.

I also appreciated that you can’t see any light from the display when you’re looking at someone wearing the glasses. In fact the display is only barely noticeable at all when you at them up close.

Having a smaller display also means that the glasses are cheaper, at $799, and that they don’t look like the chunky AR glasses we’ve seen so many times. At 69 grams, they are a bit heavier and thicker than the second-gen Meta Ray-Bans, but not much. As someone who has tried on way too many pairs of thick black smart glasses, I’m glad Meta is offering these in a color besides black. All Wayfarer-style frames look wide on my face but the lighter “sand” color feels a lot more flattering.

The Meta Ray-Ban Display (left) and second-gen Ray-Ban Meta glasses (right.) The display glasses are a little thicker.

(Karissa Bell for Engadget)

The Meta Neural Band wristband that comes with the display glasses functions pretty much the same as the band I used on the Orion prototype. It uses sensors to detect the subtle muscle movements on your hand and wrist and can translate that into actions within the glasses’ interface.

It’s hard to describe, but the gestures for navigating the glasses interfaces work surprisingly well. I can see how it could take a little time to get used to the various gestures for navigating between apps, bringing up Meta AI, adjusting the volume and other actions, but they are all fairly intuitive. For example, you use your thumb to swipe along the the top of your index finger, sort of like a D-pad, to move up and down and side to side. And you can raise and lower the speaker volume by holding your thumb and index finger together and rotating your wrist right or left like it’s a volume knob.

It’s no secret that Meta’s ultimate goal for its smart glasses is to replace, or almost replace, your phone. That’s not possible yet, but having an actual display means you can look at your phone a whole lot less.

Karissa Bell for Engadget

The display can surface incoming texts, navigation with map previews (for walking directions), and info from your calendar. I was also able to take a video call from the glasses — unlike Mark Zuckerberg’s attempted live demo during his keynote — and it was way better than I expected. I could not only clearly see the person I was talking to and their surroundings, I could turn on my glasses’ camera and see a smaller version of the video from my side.

I also got a chance to try the Conversational Focus feature, which allows you to get live captions of the person you’re speaking with even in a loud environment that may be hard to hear. There was something very surreal about getting real-time subtitles to a conversation with a person standing directly in front of me. As someone who tries really hard to not look at screens when I’m speaking to people, it almost felt a little wrong. But I can also see how this would be incredibly helpful to people who have trouble hearing or processing conversations. It would also be great for translations, something Meta AI already does very well.

1 / 5

Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses.

You can just barely see the display from the front of the lenses.

I also appreciated that the wristband allows you to invoke Meta AI with a gesture so you don’t always have to say “Hey Meta.” It’s a small change, but I’ve always felt weird about talking to Meta AI in public. The display also addresses another one of my longtime gripes with the Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley glasses: framing a photo is really difficult. But with a display, you can see a preview of your shot, as well as the photo after the fact, so you no longer have to just snap a bunch and hope for the best.

I’ve only had about 30 minutes with the glasses, so I don’t really know how having a display could fit into my daily routine. But even after a short time with them, they really do feel like the beginning of the kind of smart glasses a lot of people have been waiting for.



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Meta Ray-Ban Display hands-on: the best smart glasses I’ve ever tried
Product Reviews

Meta Ray-Ban Display hands-on: the best smart glasses I’ve ever tried

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I want to preface this hands-on by saying that I’ve been a smart glasses skeptic for many years. In 2019, I even made a two-part mini documentary with a thesis that consumer smart glasses couldn’t happen without massive societal and technological shifts. Well, color me pink and let me find a shoe to eat. After getting a demo of the $799 Meta Ray-Ban Display, I’m convinced this is the closest we’ve ever gotten to what Google Glass promised over 10 years ago.

The glasses look just like a chunky pair of Ray-Bans. But put them on, pinch your middle finger twice, and a display will appear in front of your right eye, hovering in front of your vision. It’s not augmented reality overlaid on the real world so much as on-demand, all-purpose menu with a handful of apps. You can use it to see text messages, Instagram Reels, maps, or previews of your photos, letting you do all kinds of things without having to pull out your phone. In fact, since it pairs to your phone, it sort of functions like a pop-up extension of it.

The display shows apps in full color with a 600-by-600-pixel resolution and a 20-degree field of view. It has a whopping 5,000 nits of maximum brightness, yet only 2 percent light leakage, which means it’s nigh impossible for people around you to see that it’s there. Each pair of the Display glasses comes with transition lenses, and the brightness adjusts depending on ambient UV light. Since it’s monocular, the display only appears in the one lens, and while it can be a little distracting, it doesn’t fully obstruct your vision.

It was difficult for us to capture our own still photos of what the display looked like for me at the hands-on. This is a decent approximation. Image: Meta

My colleague Jay Peters was looking at me dead-on while I was reading a text message, and he couldn’t see a trace of it. I stepped outside into a sunny area, and while the display was hard to see at first, it came into clearer focus as the transition lenses took effect. (Though even 5,000 nits can’t compete with the sun if you stare directly at it. Side note: don’t stare directly at the sun.)

When you are looking at the screen, your conversation partner may not see what you’re looking at, and will be able to tell you’re a little distracted. Jay noticed this immediately in my demo, and after, we joked: forget phones at the dinner table — now you’ve got to worry if your spouse, date, or friend is secretly watching videos or texting while you’re telling them important news.

The glasses are bolder than the Ray-Ban Metas. The frames are thicker, the edges are more rounded, and the overall Wayfarer shape is more square. The nose bridge, I’m told, is designed to have a universal fit. As someone with a low nose bridge, I appreciated that it didn’t slip down my face. Also, good news if you have a wide face: there are now overextension hinges so the temple arms can bend slightly outward for a more comfortable fit. Battery life lasts around six hours with “mixed use,” and you get 30 hours total with the new collapsible charging case. And at 69 grams, it’s still relatively light.

I’m tracing letters into my leg to write a text message. You can hold your arm by your side to control the device with the Neural Band. Photo by Colt Bradley / The Verge

Another big new addition is the Meta Neural Band. We’ve seen this before with last year’s Orion prototype, but using it was eye-opening. The band utilizes something called electromyography to read the signals from your muscles so that you can control the display with gestures. It was a lot to take in at first, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. And the coolest part? You don’t have to hold out your arm as with a headset like the Apple Vision Pro. You can just hold your hand at your side — behind your back, under a table, anywhere really — and perform all the gestures discreetly.

Pinching once with your index finger selects an item in the menu, while the same action with the middle finger acts as a back button. Pinching your middle finger twice summons and dismisses the display. You can also make a sideways fist and swipe your thumb left, right, up, and down to scroll through options. Pinching while rotating your hand will raise or lower the volume while listening to music, as well as zoom in when you’re taking photos.

Here are some examples of how you can’t see the display, but you can tell my attention is elsewhere.

Adding a display plus this wristband suddenly unlocks a range of hands-free capabilities. On the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, you have to pull up Instagram Live on your phone if you want to see what your photos or videos look like. With the Display glasses, you have a built-in preview window. My smart glasses photos will no longer be plagued by my bangs or my infernal tendency to tilt my head. You can also take video calls directly to your eyeballs in WhatsApp. You’ll be able to see whoever’s calling, and they’ll be able to see your point of view, too. I tried a video call with Jay. While it was incredibly cool to see his face floating in my vision, I couldn’t help feeling like a spy about to steal some corporate secrets in a high-stakes heist.

Messaging is another obvious plus. You can read, view photos and Instagram Reels, and reply to messages without ever having to take out your phone. (The Reels part is a little annoying; my friends send me TikToks.) And later this year, Meta is planning on introducing a handwriting feature where you can trace letters on any surface and discreetly reply to messages without having to dictate things aloud. I got to try it, and it worked shockingly well. There’s also predictive text, so you don’t even have to “write” that much.

Meta Ray-Ban Display and Neural Band specs

  • Display: 600 x 600 pixels with 20-degree field of view, 90Hz refresh rate (30Hz for content), and 30–5,000 nits of brightness
  • Battery life: 6 hours of mixed use for glasses, 18 hours for Neural Band. The glasses case holds 4 extra charges.
  • Lenses: Transition lenses that support prescriptions from -4.00 to +4.00
  • Camera: 12MP with 3x zoom; 3024 x 4032 pixel photo resolution with 1080p at 30fps for video
  • Weight: 69g
  • Water resistance: IPX4 for glasses, IPX7 for Neural Band
  • Storage: 32GB of storage, capable of storing up to 1,000 photos and 100 30-second videos.

A live caption demo was impressive. When you’re speaking to someone, the screen can display text or translations for live speech right in your line of sight. The wildest thing, however, is that thanks to the multidirectional microphone array, the glasses can tell who you’re looking at and will only show captions for that person. I got my demo while multiple people were speaking at once, and cross-talk was never an issue. When switching who I looked at, there was nearly zero latency in the captions catching up. The original Ray-Ban Metas were a game-changer for visually impaired people, and I suspect these glasses will be the same for people who are hard of hearing.

I’m excited by turn-by-turn walking directions. While my hometown of New York City has always had a grid system, I somehow always manage to get turned around. I hate looking down at my phone, trying to figure out where I’m going. With the Display glasses, I could look up directions to the nearest Jack in the Box and then orient myself on a map as I would on a phone. While I didn’t get to go to said hamburger joint, I was told you can dismiss the screen and still get turn-by-turn directions when you need them all while staying present in your surroundings.

You can’t see that I’m video calling my colleague Jay Peters, though you can see what I see on the laptop on the table behind me. Photo by Colt Bradley / The Verge

Meta’s Live AI features also get a boost. I used it to give myself a mini self-guided museum tour by taking a picture of an Andy Warhol Campbell’s soup can painting. Meta AI offered a short description, while the display showed info cards with further examples from the rest of that series of paintings. I also asked the AI to show me a chai latte recipe. It gave me step-by-step instructions, and then I hid the display and brought it back up again. The idea is you can review the steps, get cooking, and only review the next steps when needed. This seems useful as someone with many waterlogged cookbooks.

There haven’t been many consumer smart glasses, but I’ve tried everything from the original Google Glass and the enterprise edition to the defunct Focals by North. I have pairs of Rokid Glasses, XREAL glasses, and the Even Realities G1 that I’m currently testing. I’ve even received multiple demos of Google’s new prototype XR glasses. This is the first time I’ve ever felt like consumer smart glasses might really take off. Not just because Meta’s execution is excellent, but because I can see use cases I want in my daily life.

The glasses will come in two colors: black and sand, with matching neural wristbands and collapsible charging cases. Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

Still, after the initial wonder and excitement tempered, I remembered my colleague Liz Lopatto’s recent column on how none of us truly has anonymity anymore. Surely these glasses will only exacerbate that. I thought about Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent comments that people without AI smart glasses will be at a “significant cognitive disadvantage.” I winced at how a Border Patrol agent was spotted wearing a pair of Ray-Ban Metas during an immigration raid. Then I mulled the huge advances these glasses could pioneer in accessibility tech, enabling disabled people to live more independently. Are we perhaps rushing to open Pandora’s box without first thinking through what might break in the process? That question will linger in my mind until I get a pair for myself.

The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses go on sale on September 30th for $799, and you’ll be able to try them for yourselves at Best Buy, LensCrafters, Ray-Ban Stores, and Verizon. They’re US-only to start, but Meta will expand sales to Canada, France, Italy, and the UK in early 2026.

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Product Reviews

Video of ‘Meta Ray-Ban Display’ glasses surfaces ahead of Connect

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Meta’s smart glasses plans were already one of the worst kept secrets, as there have been more than a year of leaks and reports about its work to add a heads-up display to the product. Now, just days before their unveiling at Connect, a promotional video of the new frames seems to have leaked.

The video, reported and reposted by UploadVR, shows the new “Meta Ray-Ban Display” frames as well as a new model of camera-enabled Oakley sunglasses. The clip mainly features the new Ray-Ban glasses, and shows a pair of black frames with clear lenses that look similar to the company’s previous Wayfarer frames. 

Meta is adding two new pairs of glasses to its lineup.

(Screenshot)

The glasses also include a small display that’s able to show info like a map preview, chats with friends and information related to what you’re looking at. As reported, it also shows a dedicated wristband for the device. The video briefly shows someone swiping with their fingers in order to type out a reply to a message in a chat app. 

The clip also shows a new pair of Oakley frames that don’t have a display. The sunglasses seem to be based on the company’s wraparound Sphaera frames and show a camera in the center directly over the nosepiece. That would line up with prior reporting about the glasses that suggested Meta planned to market the glasses to cyclists and other athletes.

The latest Oakley Meta glasses will have a different camera placement.

(Screenshot)

A separate promotional video of the Sphaera sunglasses also cropped up on Monday. That video more clearly shows the placement of the camera in the center of the glasses, but doesn’t reveal what, if any, new features might be arriving with the device.

UploadVR reports that both videos briefly appeared on Meta’s official YouTube channel as unlisted clips but were later removed. We’ve reached out to the company for comment.In the meantime, you can read more about the company’s new smart glasses lineup and what to expect at Connect here. Engadget will be reporting live from the event beginning September 17.

Update, September 15, 2025, 2:56PM PT: Added info about a second video showing the Oakley sunglasses.



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