My thoughts on Meta and Seleste glasses

By Louise, 1 May, 2024

Forum
Assistive Technology

Well, I guess my husband could have predicted that I'd end up deciding to keep both the Meta and the Seleste Glasses. I find that each does things I appreciate. I'll go through a few here, in case it's helpful.

Connecting:
Meta connects more quickly, and uses bluetooth. The Seleste glasses use both Bluetooth and Wifi, so connecting them is a bit clunky. You have to open the seleste app, and if you're away from home, you also have to open the hotspot on your phone. The latest update does connect the Seleste glasses a bit faster.

Audio,
The meta glasses have speakers on both sides, and are very good quality. The phone's sound goes through the glasses, so you can have open ears. The Seleste glasses have only a tiny tinny speaker on the right side, but you can route the sound through the phone and use one or both of your favorite earbuds.

AI
You get Meta's AI by saying Hey Meta, and You get Seleste's AI by saying Hey Sam. The Meta one is definitely faster, but it is limited in what it will do for us as blind people. Despite what I thought, when I posted somewhere on this site, I can't get Meta to read full text on pages. It insists on summarizing. The Seleste AI will read the text in it's entirety
The meta AI refuses to answer any questions about obstacles etc., saying that it won't answer health or safety questions. Not sure yet about the Seleste glasses, but will try soon.

Connectivity.
Meta wins Hands down. I can send texts, make calls, video call with Messenger and What'sapp, while Seleste has none of those features.

Use in a professional setting:
Seleste is the clear winner. I can press a button for text scanning, and for scene description. If I want more info, I can type a discrete request to the AI. Meta only works with voice commands.

So, for me, it's Meta for play and commuting, and Seleste for work. I sure wish I could combine the best features of both.

Hope this helps. .

Options

Comments

By Ollie on Saturday, April 27, 2024 - 07:48

Thank you very much indeed for this comparison.

Would you be so kind as to add in a comparison between the two in terms of physical appearance? I have the meta ray-bans and I'd say they are slightly chunky sunglasses that most wouldn't clock as smart. How do they compare with teh Seleste glasses?

Also, can you sit and read a book with the Seleste? That would be a sell for me.

By Brooke on Saturday, May 4, 2024 - 07:48

I will probably end up keeping both too. My original plan was to purchase the Meta, then return the Celeste. But I just can't, I want to see how the Celeste glasses evolve!

By Louise on Saturday, May 4, 2024 - 07:48

Well, how about that, my subject line rhymes. LOL

The appearence of the Seleste glasses is a little cheaper than the meta, but perfectly acceptable. The first time I wore then, my boss, who was on a video call, texted to say that she loved the glasses. I asked a few people, and all said that they look like normal glasses.

I've read molti-page documents with no problem with the Seleste glasses, and I have heard on this site that people have enjoyed sitting and reading a book with them. They do text recognition very well.

By Portia on Saturday, May 4, 2024 - 07:48

I don't have the Meta glasses yet... but my mother, who is sighted, did comment that the Seleste glasses did look really nice on me!
I don't consider myself to have a large or giant face, but she did say that she didn't see any issues of me wearing them. I didn't look strange, etc.
I got the standard size of the Meta glasses, and I think they are set to come on Tuesday.
I can't wait.

By SSWFTW on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 07:48

The Celeste glasses that is. I have received the hardware as of today but not received a link where I can download the app. I am very excited and very impatient to begin using them. Are you still enjoying them? Do you feel like improvements are being made to the platform?

By Portia on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 07:48

Hey @SSWFTW,

If you kept your shipping email, the link should be in that email. If you need the link, let us know and someone can give it to you.
I feel like improvements are being made, and I am loving them so far. I have both the Meta smart glasses, and the Seleste glasses, but I still do definitely think that the Seleste glasses do better at describing my scene/ reading text, etc. Not hallucinating, etc.

My favorite thing to use the Meta smart glasses for so farIs to listen to music and record videos! I have the wayfarer version, the shiny black/clear ones. They have proven very useful for recording videos for sure!

By SSWFTW on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 07:48

If someone would share the link to the app that would be great! I am so so excited and seeing your comment here only makes me more excited. I am really interested in the Meta glasses as well.
Unfortunately I can't find the link in with the shipping info.
Which pair do you find yourself wearing more?

By Brad on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

I don't like the one armed speaker thing.

The tts can't pronounce bluetooth correctly.

I'm not a fan of the square frames.

I don't like how there's no voice telling you to download, name of ap, from the app store/play store.

Over all, I have to give these a 0 out of 5.

Perhaps once they're working with the app they're alright but chat gpt 4o will already outpase them, as soon as they're in a pair of glasses, I think meta and glasses like it are going to have to really really step up their game.

By SSWFTW on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

does anyone have the link

By CrazyEyez on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

you don't use the speaker built into the glasses for anything except checking the battery, so I think that poor horse has been beat to death over and over again.
If you have not used any function of the glasses, you can not rate them based on the nothing experience you had.
I am going to be posting a lengthy review soon.
I have actually tried the glasses with the app, so I can give a fair and honest review based on my experiences.

By Portia on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

I'm sorry I hadn't posted my review yet, things have been chaotic as all heck LOL!
but I'll be posting my full review on my site, will post here as well.

By Portia on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

@SSWFTW,
I messaged you with the link, just in case for some reason, you can't get it.
Hope that is okay, just wanted to let you know.

By SSWFTW on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

Thank you so much I really do appreciate it. With the link I was able to download the app and begin using them.

By CrazyEyez on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

You are technically correct. A person can choose to have the AI come from the speaker in the side of the glasses.
We both know everyone has their seleste app set to root their audio through their phones which then send that to your desired headset if you wish to wear one.
Everyone wants the higher quality voice and faster processing time.
This is the reason I said you don't use the speaker for anything but checking the battery level.

By Matthew on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

Would you mind sending me the link as well? I got my shipping notification with a link to track and a link to update my billing info, but no testflight link. Hopefully apple approves the app so that part gets easier to manage.

By Brad on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

I feel insulted by the one speaker thing, you guys who use this companys product shouldn't have to rout your stuff to the phone, especially when you're paying $50 a month.

I understand there's going to be new hardware, perhaps you'll get two speakers this time, but having tried the product as much as I could without the app, well, i'd not use them in the future because of this.

Shub and Sunwhoo seam nice enough but honestly their product comes across to me as, I think tacky is the right word hear.

By Louise on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

I think Seleste would be more successful if they worked on improving the glasses themselves, and connecting with something like Be my eyes or even just the phone in general. If they could become the camera, speakers and microphone, they could sell a tons of glasses, and we could use one of the already available and more advanced products.

The speed and quality of the Meta glasses see them land on my face every morning as I leave for work. I haven't taken the Selest glasses out of their case in days. I'm going to take them on a trip to Toronto next week, and unless I find some value in them, I'm sending them back.
I want to support a startup, but I'm not seeing the things that frustrate me being improved. I'm not OK with a multi-step startup that needs wifi every time. Meta is faster with just bluetooth. I don't mind so much about the headphone thing, but that should be an option, not a necessity.

Time will tell whether Seleste makes, it, but my pacience is running short.

By Gokul on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

There's a question for you. How useful do you find meta glasses in a professional setting? I ask this specifically because of 2 reasons. 1: every time you have to use them you have to say, Hey meta, which is not discrete enough for me. and 2: you can't really read anything...

By MarkSarch on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

You can customize gestures too noisy environment
for the touchpad
1: every time you have to use them you have to say, Hey meta, which is not discrete enough for me.
There is option under settings
Touchpad, Choose which feature uses the tap and hold gesture.
Meta AI, Tap and hold to start a voice command,
And excuse my ignorance, but what does it mean? in a professional setting?
So if you are referring to read an entire book or entire sheet of paper as O C R
. and 2: you can't really read anything...
Summery
Ray Ban Meta has Bluetooth connectivity
So You can purchase the best O C R scanner for your smartphone and use it with Bluetooth connectivity to the glasses since the sound will be completely transferred to them.
If that means you use as professional setting

By Stephen on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

You can read things with it. I do it all the time.

By Brooke on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

My Meta glasses just did an update, but I have no idea what changed. They did one when I got them 2 weeks ago, so I'm assuming one was released recently...

By CrazyEyez on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

How do you get yours to read?
Mine gives summaries and that's it.
Please let me know.
Thanks.

By MarkSarch on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

Hola!
Brooke
I think your comment should move to a different trade but I will answer here about Meta software update
Ray ban Meta glasses V5.0 Some of the new featuresAre Your glasses can now read out your text messages when you say 'Hey Meta, read it' after receiving a message announcement. Share photos to your Instagram Story hands-free For English users only, your glasses can now capture and share photos completely hands-free to your Instagram Story! To get started you will need the latest Meta View and. Instagram apps. In the Meta View. app go to Settings > Communication and connect your. Instagram account. To share, say "Hey Meta, share a photo to my Instagram Story" or "Hey Meta, share my last photo to Instagram
And bugs fixes
CrazyEyez
I think Stephen is referring to Seleste glasses when answer to me about professional setting
You can read things with it. I do it all the time.

By Louise on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

Marco, You're right that it's not necessary to speak in order to summon the AI, but you do have to speak in order to tell it what to do. When I speak of a professional setting, I am talking about being in meetings etc. I'm not comfortable saing "read this document" even if I can silently summon Hey Meta. And as for using another OCR package, I can do that with a $20 earbud. The point of Meta for me is the ability to use the camera on the glasses rather than the phone.

I wear my Meta glasses to go to work, and for most things. But when it's time to be a professional, I put them away, and take out Seleste. It's just too bad that Seleste is so clunky and slow by compairison.

And I too have not had good luck getting Meta to read text verbatim It's always summarizing. I don't want to play 20 questions to read a document. .

By Stephen on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

No I meant the meta glasses 😂.
I literally just read through an entire restaurant menu with them.
All I do is say hey Meta, look and read all of the text in front of me.
And yes, I confirmed with some one sighted. It read through the entire menu.

By Gokul on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

What I meant was exactly what Louise said. Here I have a job where 1: I have to attend a lot of meetings. 2: have to deal with a lot of public situations. in both the cases, asking the question loudly might not be the best solution out there. Would have been great if the meta app had a text box wherein I could type the question in.
And as for reading, I'm talking neither of reading restorent menus; nor am I talking about going through entire books. In a professional setting, what I need is something in-between. Say, read a page or 2 of typed or handwritten content. And, I know I can use an OCR, but I was specifically asking because in my job, you get situations where you have to read stuff outside where you can carry an OCR device. And think of how cool it will be to just read a document by holding it upto your face instead of OCRing it and all.

By MarkSarch on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

Well, it only remains to say that you have to criticize and at the same time support the developers so that they can improve their products with recommendations and collaborations.
You just have to remember over and over again that Meta is a Main stream device and
Seleste was created and developed thinking about the needs of a person with visual impairment.
If for a professional environment it is affordable and works for you to pay the subscription. You have the answer by supporting the developers who have made work to cover that need in last few years.

By That Blind Canuck on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

I keep looking at Amazon for a pair of the Meta Smart Glasses but they've been out of stock for weeks now. Hoping that they'll be re-stock soon. Even with Meta AI, I can already see various situations where these could serve me well.

Now the perfect brain child would be these glasses using the new GPT 4O, now that would kick it up a notch. Probably not going to happen anytime soon but who knows.

By Holger Fiallo on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 07:48

It would benefit if they let third party apps in. This will address the issues of getting text read to us. Like someone was asking to read a message or a note instead of describing it. If it let messages, it will be fantastic but she who should not be name has a better chance of becoming president of the US. Sorry, I am not allow to say her name so I do not get in trouble.

By Portia on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

I know people have asked for comparisons/demos from me, what would people like to hear/know?

By Victor Tsaran on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

I am not comparing Meta glasses with Celeste because I do not have the latter. Thanks everyone for your comments!
I was curious if others find VO responsiveness in Meta glasses a bit too laggy considering the glasses (at least the version that I have) run Bluetooth 5.2?
I also get the "please continue after you connected your phone to the Internet" message even though the phone is clearly connected. I do not get that often, but often enough to be annoying, and usually when I need the response now. :)
The audio on Meta glasses is absolutely amazing, especially when playing music!
I think iOS does not make it easy for external devices to seamlessly integrate with the phone. While you have to connect a bunch of apps, and the process is fairly straightforward, I feel this could be a serious annoyance to people who are not tech-savvy.
Meta AI is pretty good, but I do feel it's little too terse. Wonder if they are doing this for battery reasons? For example, I can never get a full address of "where am I" even though the glasses have the "location always" access. Go Figure!
Last but not least, I wish the camera was in the center of the glasses rather than on the left side -- a bit weird!
I really want to work these glasses hard while I still can return them.

By Brooke on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

It's definitely more sluggish than I would have expected. I have the Bose Tempo frames from a few years ago, and even though there's a bit of a lag with them and VO, it's better. So I'm not sure why it's so laggy with the Metas.

By Louise on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

Well, my recent trip sealed it for me. I couldn't get the Seleste glasses to give scene descriptions, they kept saying blur, even when I was perfectly still with good lighting.
I asked Ella to read signs while walking through the airport, and it found exactly none. Not a single sign in Canada's busiest airport.
I tried to use them to read a menu. I got back that it needed more time to download the image, and then, it read one line and gave up.

I pulled out my Meta glasses, asked a few questions about the menu, ordered lunch, and got on with my day.

I don't know what Seleste is doing, but the glasses have gone from clunky and inconvenient to use to now being mostly unreliable.

I wanted to support this small start-up, but I can't keep paying for something that I am not getting any use out of.

Sorry to say, but I'm out.

By CrazyEyez on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

If it isn't working for you, you never have to say sorry. The company has to say sorry to us for thinking any of this would be worth the $50 US subscription price.
I wanted to like the Seleste glasses. I truly did.
I even wrote a mostly positive review but did not post it here because I wanted to play with them some more before I decided whether I was going to keep them or send them back.

Well.
I'm sending them back.
The more I play with them, the more frustrated I get.
I was sent clunky super cheap feeling hardware, a beta app which I had to ask the developers for, and an AI that doesn't work much.
While I am inside 1 in 9 pictures is okay, the rest are blurry or it just doesn't process all together.
If you are outside, the glasses work fairly well, if they can process images.
My metas are much better.
More comfortable to wear, 5 times processing speed, and they just work.
If you can get used to meta's summaries and are willing to dig down to get the information you are after, its worth the money.
With 1 year subscription of disaster seleste, I can buy 2 pairs of ray-bans a year and still have money left for coffee.

By That Blind Canuck on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

Well, after some time, Amazon finally restocked pairs of the Meta glasses and I snagged me up a pair before they were sold out. Should be getting them tomorrow.

After reading the various comments, I understand their limitations a little better and do feel that at their current state, I will definitely find them useful for my everyday use and look forward to playing with them..

By Tara on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

I'm seriously tempted to get these in a couple of months when I've saved up a bit. The only thing that's stopping me is that it doesn't read text in full. I like the fact it's a one-off payment and not a subscription model. The price is so tempting. However if these were £50 a month I wouldn't consider it. The Seleste glasses are so expensive and based on the comments here they have so many problems. Meta is the one I'm keeping an eye on.

By TechAgnostic on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

Hi all,
I'm looking for a pair of the Meta glasses that have tint that is completely non see through. My sighted girlfriend says she can still see my eyes through them. I want a completely polarized tint so the sun doesn't hurt my eyes. Is this even possible with any of the tints provided by the meta glasses?

By MarkSarch on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

G15 Lenses
I have the darker lenses
I recommend contact Ray Ban customer number and ask about it.
Also Ray ban has a accessibility line

By MarkSarch on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

Answer to your questions
VO responsiveness in Meta glasses
Unfortunately there Bluetooth latency always in any 3rd party manufactures
but Meta smart glasses ultimately it is something that can be used and is completely manageable. I have always had third-party Bluetooth devices like Sony LinkBugs and Plantronics, and after a while I stopped using them because I am unfortunate that the latency is very significant.
Regarding to the message that you receive about internet connection
I have had the Meta glasses for over 3 months already and only I have seen the message twice And the truth is because I have a poor Internet connection.
Possibly this is the case that is happening to you because you have a poor Internet connection in some areas. I can tell you that after having used it for the last three months, it is not a perfect device, but it offers many things positive.

By Justin Harris on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

Has anyone used these with an Android phone? Curious to see how well they do, how accessible the app is that you use with them. Still a bit out of my budget but I'm glad others have gone ahead and done testing, and figured out more of what works and what doesn't.

By MarkSarch on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

Meta view app
Is fully accessible with TalkBack and offer the same functionality as iOS
I highly recommend visit device compatibility web side from Meta.com
Android devices supported
Google Pixel
Samsung S flagship devices models

By That Blind Canuck on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

So after waiting a while for Amazon to restock on some Meta Ray Bands, they finally got more Monday and I jumped at the chance and ordered them. Spent the whole day yesterday looking forward to getting my hands on them and when the package was finally delivered, noticed the box felt awfully light. After opening it up, realized Amazon had made a rather large mistake....

They had sent me actual Ray Band sunglasses alright, the simple but dumb variety. So off back to Amazon they go and have to wait a little longer to reorder them again, hoping that the second time, they won't send me a rubber chicken! LOL

By Brooke on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

Wow, what a let-down!!! I'm sorry that happened.

By That Blind Canuck on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

It was a bummer, but since this was the first time they made this type of mistake, it's not the end of the world and I think I'll survive. Just have to wait a little longer.

By Victor Tsaran on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 07:48

Not sure if this should be a new thread but then the topic sort of fits here..
I get rather inconsistent results with the glasses when trying to scan the text. One time Meta AI would tell me that it cannot see the photo well enough to recognize any text. On the second try in the same position, I might hear that "sorry, but I cannot describe such photos" (or something to that effect). On the third try, I might get something close to the actual text but with some hallucinations mixed in.
What are your overall experiences though with Meta glasses and text OCR?

By Missy Hoppe on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 - 07:48

Doesn't envision have glasses too? I wonder how those would compare with celeste, meta, and whatever all else is out there. Until very recently, I haven't had much interest in entering the world of smart glasses. Everything just sounded too expensive, and smart glasses are definitely something I'd prefer to try before I buy, or, at the very least track down and listen to whatever in depth reviews I can find. I feel as though the envision glasses might be best for our specific needs, but I've also heard that at some point, Apple is going to have a more budget friendly set of smart glasses, so I wonder if I should wait for those.

By Holger Fiallo on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 - 07:48

Mde just for the blind are not consistent and they might be history in several years. Price and not enough people to purchase the product. Universal are made for all and if they have accessibility be perfect. Meta could be it if they just take time to think about us nuts and let the glasses use accessible apps such as color ID and scann that can read a letter from top to buttom. Apple always come last regarding inovationbut when they release a product is better than everyone else. Hope they focus on glasses. That would be perfection in motion.