Ray‑Ban Meta Gen 3 adds an hour of battery, costs $70 more
Engadget's side-by-side puts the new glasses at nine hours a charge and $449, against eight hours and $379 for the pair they replace.
Engadget published a specification comparison on Thursday evening putting the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 at up to nine hours a charge and a starting price of $449, against eight hours and $379 for the Gen 2. With the charging case the figures are 50 hours and 48 hours.
The microphone array goes from five to six. Ian Carlos Campbell, who wrote the comparison, said adding the microphone and redesigning the layout "has allowed for better background noise reduction". The noise claim originates with Meta rather than with a test Engadget ran.
On the Wayfarer frame the Gen 3 measures 129mm hinge to hinge with 149mm temples and weighs 51.5 grams. The Gen 2 is 131mm with 150mm temples at 51 grams. The new frame is therefore a little smaller and marginally heavier, and it comes in Aviator and Zena styles as well.
The Gen 3 also gains an action button that can summon Meta's assistant, take a capture or run a shortcut, where the Gen 2 button drives the camera only. Engadget said most of the Gen 3 software features are due on the Gen 2, among them hearing enhancement, agent access and dynamic photo capture.