Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 Adds Aviators, an Action Button, and $70 to the Price

Meta's third-generation Ray-Bans are slimmer, last an hour longer, and come as Aviators. They also cost $449, which is $70 more than Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) cost when it launched a year ago, and on the same night Meta put a pair of its own glasses on sale for $249.

Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) was announced at Connect on Wednesday night and is available today. Meta calls the line the world's best-selling AI glasses, and Gen 3 changes the parts you touch and hear more than the parts you shoot with. Tom's Guide's live blog greeted it with "Does it need to be, though?" For anyone already wearing Gen 2, I think the answer is no.

What's new in Gen 3

Battery life is rated at up to nine hours, one hour more than the eight Meta quoted for Gen 2. The frames are slimmer (Engadget noted the Wayfarers in particular got thinner), and they have what Meta calls professional-adjustable temple tips for a better fit. There's also a new action button you can customize, which Meta pitches as instant access to Meta AI. If you've ever felt silly saying "Hey Meta" out loud on a quiet train, that button is probably the change you'll notice most.

The microphones got an upgrade too. Gen 3 has a six-mic array that Meta says cuts more than 90 percent of background noise, so calls and voice commands should hold up on a windy or crowded street. Open-ear glasses live and die by how well the person on the other end of a call can hear you, so this is the change I most want to test.

The camera hasn't moved much on paper. It's a 12-megapixel sensor that records 3K Ultra HD video, and Gen 2 already shot 3K. The new trick is dynamic photos, which let you pick the best frame from a capture after the fact. The LED that tells people you're recording is still there. Later this year, Meta says its AI glasses will record video with Dolby Atmos 360-degree spatial sound. Meta's announcement doesn't mention a new chip or give a weight.

Aviators, Zena, and a Wayfarer

Gen 3 comes in 27 color and lens combinations across three styles: Aviator, Wayfarer, and Zena, a new cat-eye frame. For the 90th anniversary of the Ray-Ban Aviator, there's also a limited-edition Aviator in a vintage-inspired colorway. Skyler and Headliner, two of the Gen 2 styles, aren't on Gen 3's list.

The $249 pair in the room

Meta is also selling a new Meta Adventurer, from its own Meta Glasses line built with EssilorLuxottica, with a black frame, grey lenses, and a plug-in case for $249. Meta calls it its most accessible price yet. Preorders are open now on Meta.com, and it goes on sale October 23 in every country where Meta Glasses are sold.

That's $200 less than Gen 3. Meta's announcement doesn't put the two side by side on battery, camera, or microphones, so you can't tell yet what the extra $200 buys beyond the Ray-Ban name and the new styles. Until that comparison exists, the Adventurer is the pair I'd point a curious first-timer toward. Gen 3 is for people who specifically want Ray-Ban frames (Aviator fans, this is your year) and for anyone still on first-generation Ray-Ban Metas, who get far more out of the jump than Gen 2 owners do.

LISA, Kylie, and the rest of the lineup

Meta Glasses also got a collaboration with Blackpink's LISA. The Meta Adventurer LISA Edition has a Moonlit Sky frame with Blush lenses, and the Meta Capri LISA Edition is an Eclipse cat-eye with grey lenses. Both support prescriptions and start at $399. There's a custom star on the frames and case, case charms inspired by LISA's pets, and digital photocards you unlock with the glasses. Kylie Jenner's Starfire style gets a new Ivory colorway, also from $399. Meta Glasses add two new styles, Capri and Nova, and a Mix & Match program lets you pick frame, lenses, and case color at a Meta Lab store or online. A limited-edition Meta Fury, with a clear frame and mirrored lenses, is exclusive to Connect and Meta Labs at launch.

Meta Glasses go on sale today in Singapore, South Korea, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates, with Brazil coming soon. Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta, and Ray-Ban Meta Optics arrive later this year in Turkey, Poland, Portugal, Israel, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. On stage, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta is "finally catching up with demand" for the Meta Ray-Ban Display and will sell it in more countries. Meta paused the Display's international rollout in January, and it hasn't said which countries are next or when. The camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio ($349) gets its own post.

Meta says it will offer more than 100 glasses options across Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Meta Glasses by the end of the year. Gen 3 is one of them, and at $449 it's no longer the obvious one to buy first.