I have two pairs of Ray - Ban sunglasses that I wear on the regular . One is well - document here — theRay - Ban Meta glasses . They ’re still pretty new in the scheme of thing , and still a heck of a lot of sport to get into . They ’re a great addition to my glasses lineup .

The others are former - schooltime Wayfarer frames . No smartness . I ’ve replaced the lenses . And they count like they ’ve get word a thing or two , having traveled to multiple continents multiple times . My Amazon order history dates them back almost a decade now — I purchase them in January 2015 .

And that highlights my biggest concern about the Ray - Ban Meta frames . By all accounts they ’ve been corking . The speakers are surprisingly secure . The camera is a peck of playfulness . I do n’t care about any of the Meta UI stuff , but that ’s a drug user problem , not necessarily a product trouble . And they’regetting regular update .

But when I wait down at the two brace , I ca n’t help worry that the more technologically modern of the two is n’t going to be in my appurtenance bag occur 2034 . And that ’s not just true for the Methedrine but for just about any of the personal technical school I use on a casual basis . I ’ll probably be two or three more computers recondite by then . for certain a few more phones . likely new earpiece or earbuds . Maybe my trusty Canon mirrorless camera will still be in the rotation , check as how that sorting of product incline to have a pretty foresightful life . ( Barring breakage and assuming I have n’t upgrade just on principle . )

The Ray - Ban Meta ice are first-class — but it ’s unlikely their hardware will last as long as my analog Ray - Bans have .

But the Ray - Ban Meta glasses are unlike . They ’re basically a little computer climb on inside a brace of glass underframe , powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 political program , and that intend they do far more than my trustworthy Wayfarers . for sure , both shield my center . But the Ray - Ban Metas ( that remains such a clumsy name ) also serve as better - than - good opened - ear phone . They serve as apretty interesting point - of - thought camera . They permit for all sorts of hand - free fun .

And that ’s their Achilles ’ Heel . If and when they find themselves outdated — either because Meta has moved on from the AR1 platform , or there merely is something better useable — there ’s go to be very little rationality to block around glasses that count more and are n’t quite as svelte as more received skeletal system .

I do n’t get it on if there ’s an answer to that . ( And if you ’re about to cry out “ modular pattern ! ” just stop . That ’s a dream not based in reality . ) I call back we just require to keep in mind that these sort of smart glasses are going to detect themselves obsolete at some point . Not entirely — they ’ll still do just o.k. as sunglass for as long as any other pair .

But the technical school that ’s build inwardly — the parts that truly make the Ray - Ban Meta glass special — are n’t likely to be as timeless as their analog counterparts .