Meta Connect is a couple weeks out, and the rumor mill is doing what it always does this time of year: a display-equipped version of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, a wristband controller, the usual leaked FCC filings that tech blogs treat as confirmed fact. I've been using the current-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses on shoots for a few months now, so I want to write down what I actually want fixed before the announcements land and I forget what my real complaints were.
What already works well enough
The camera on the current glasses is genuinely useful for one thing: capturing a moment I'd otherwise miss because my main camera was pointed somewhere else. Getting a quick POV clip of a client walking a red carpet while my hands are busy adjusting a gimbal has saved more than one delivery. Nobody should buy these to replace a real camera. As a second capture device that happens to sit on your face, they've earned a permanent spot in my kit.
What I actually want from a display version
A viewfinder overlay, even a basic one, would change how I use these on set. Right now I'm shooting blind, framing by feel and checking the phone app afterward. If a display version can show even a simple grid or exposure warning in the corner of my vision, that's a real workflow upgrade, not a gimmick. What I don't need is a full AR interface cluttering my view while I'm trying to work quickly at an event.
- Useful: a basic framing overlay for quick capture
- Useful: longer battery life, current gen barely survives a full event day
- Overkill: notifications and messaging UI while I'm shooting
The battery problem nobody's fixed yet
My biggest actual complaint with the current pair has nothing to do with the camera or AI features. It's that a display, if it draws meaningfully more power, needs to not turn these into a device I'm charging at lunch on top of everything else already charging at lunch. If Connect brings a display and a battery that gets worse, I'll be disappointed regardless of how sharp the screen is.
I'll write up whatever actually gets announced once I've had hands-on time with it. For now, cautiously curious, with a specific and short list of things that would actually matter to how I work.