Instead of AirPods, I'd recommend Meta Ray-Bans as the best tech deal of Black Friday 2024

The Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses have easily been the biggest surprise hit among the most popular tech products of 2024. And now that Black Friday is here, you can grab a pair for the equivalent of $149 through a creative deal on Amazon. 

Amazon is offering the Meta Ray-Bans with the classic black frames for $239 (20% off the $299 retail price) and through Nov. 30, you also get a $90 digital credit that you can use for other Black Friday shopping on Amazon. Assuming you can use that Amazon credit toward other things you would have bought anyway, that means you can snag a pair of Meta Ray-Bans smart glasses for the equivalent of 50% off. 

Also: The best Black Friday deals live now

That's an awesome deal, especially considering the Meta Ray-Bans were often out of stock for much of the first half of 2024 and have rarely been discounted. They look just like normal Ray-Bans and you can even replace the lenses with your glasses prescription. 

The caveat to keep in mind here is that Amazon sells eight different styles of the Meta Ray-Bans, and it's the classic black frames with green tinted lenses that are on sale for the lowest price. Other styles cost $30 to $80 more. For example, if you want to wear these smart glasses both inside and outside, then you can get a pair with transition lenses. Those normally retail for $379, but Amazon is offering them 20% off, for $303, and the $90 credit brings the equivalent cost down to $213 -- still a terrific deal. 

I tried the Meta Ray-Bans earlier this year and was much more impressed than I expected. First, to be clear, they are augmented reality glasses, but they're audio-only, so there's no screen overlaid on the lenses. All the feedback comes through the speakers that down-fire into your ears and are hidden in the arms of the glasses. 

Also: Why Meta's Ray-Ban Smart Glasses are my favorite tech purchase this year

I was also pleasantly surprised by the audio quality. For phone calls and conference calls and for listening to podcasts and audiobooks, the sound is nearly as bright and clear as a pair of AirPods or other quality earbuds. For listening to music, movies, or shows with lots of bass and surround sound effects, the Meta Ray-Bans are acceptable but not nearly as robust as a pair of high-end headphones from Apple, Sony, Bose, and others. 

And because of the open concept, naturally the Meta Ray-Bans can't offer the kind of noise cancellation that you get from AirPods Pro or the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds, for example. All in all, the sound of the Meta Ray-Bans is similar to what you get from the AirPods Pro in transparency mode.

But, the Meta Ray-Bans can also do things that no headphones can do. They have a built-in 12-megapixel ultrawide camera for taking photos and capturing videos. This camera is about the same quality as an iPhone 12 or a Samsung Galaxy S20. It only takes photos and videos in portrait mode, but it's far faster to tap the button on top of the right arm of the glasses than it is to pull your camera out of your pocket. 

The Meta Ray-Bans also have a built-in AI assistant that you can trigger by saying "Hey Meta," and use the large language models that Meta has been furiously building over the past several years. For basic information searches, it works well and is another nice option for leaving your phone in your pocket. 

The battery life is about a half-day with moderate use, but you can quickly charge to about 50% with 20 minutes in the included case. The case itself charges via standard USB-C, which is nice. You can nearly double the battery by turning off the "Hey Meta" listening feature -- which I did. 

Meta also regularly rolls out software updates that bring new functionality to the Meta Ray-Bans. For example, during 2024 the Meta Ray-Bans added the capability of translating from Spanish to English in real time and the ability to do a visual search to identify landmarks or translate street signs. And Meta says it will continue to add new features such as helping you remember things you've seen, like your parking spot. 

Also: The best Apple deals for Black Friday 2024

If you're concerned about the way Meta handles privacy -- as many of us are -- the good thing about the Meta Ray-Bans is that they don't require a Facebook account. While they do require a Meta account, you can at least ostensibly keep them separate from your Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp data. That makes it easier for me to recommend the product from a privacy perspective. 

Don't get me wrong, the AirPods Pro 2 are available for a great deal at $153 ($97 off) for Black Friday. But the Meta Ray-Bans can do nearly all that the AirPods Pro can do and more and you can get them for roughly of the same price -- if you count the Amazon credit. And since smart glasses are getting more and more common and the promise of smarter AI-powered features are on the horizon, getting a pair of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses gives you a better chance of getting a taste of the future.