Ray-Ban Meta on iPhone vs Android: what works the same and what differs

Ray-Ban Meta glasses work with both iPhone and Android through the same free Meta AI app, and Meta's setup, calling and messaging articles cover both phones. The differences Meta and Ray-Ban document are few: video file formats, a pairing step, two import prompts and a handful of notes on messaging and music.

This guide is based on Meta's help center, release notes and POV guide, and on Ray-Ban's FAQs. The US FAQ is an archived copy from Nov. 14, 2025, before Gen 3 launched, and the India store FAQ was current on Oct. 25, 2026.

Setup and phone requirements

Setup is the same on both phones. Install Meta AI from the App Store or Google Play, sign in with a Meta account, turn on Bluetooth and add the glasses in the app, as Meta's setup article describes. Our setup guide has the steps. Ray-Ban's FAQ gives the phone requirement as "Android 10 and above (with location services enabled) or iOS 14.4 and above."

One step differs when you re-pair. If the glasses already appear in your phone's Bluetooth list, the FAQ tells iPhone owners to tap the info icon next to them and choose Forget This Device, and says Android owners can skip that step. Meta says location permission is needed to connect to the glasses over Wi-Fi, for media import and updates, on "certain Android versions and iOS mobile devices."

Calls and messages

Meta lists the same four options for both: WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and "your iPhone or Android phone." To connect one, tap Glasses, Device settings, Communication, then Connect next to the provider. Connecting your phone asks for access to your contacts. Meta says phone numbers and contact history stay on your devices, carrier charges may apply, a dual SIM phone uses its default SIM and emergency calls must start from the phone. Our calls and messages guide covers the commands.

Meta's article doesn't mention iMessage, SMS or Apple's Messages app by name, and neither company says whether a text sent from the glasses on an iPhone goes out as an iMessage or an SMS. Ray-Ban's FAQ has one iMessage note, about photos. When you ask the glasses to send a photo to your phone, "for iPhone's iMessage, you will still need to go to your phone to confirm sending." It gives no matching note for Android.

For video calls that share your view, Ray-Ban's FAQ has Android advice only. If the connection is poor, turn on Wi-Fi and turn off the phone's VPN and hotspot. It also lists a known issue on Pixel phones running Android 14, where sharing your view may lag or disconnect, and suggests locking the phone.

Notifications read aloud

Ray-Ban's FAQ says the glasses can announce who is calling or messaging you, and read messages out, for Messenger, WhatsApp and "your iPhone or Android phone." The toggles are Announce messages and Automatic message read out, under Communication in the Meta AI app. Meta's release notes added a "Hey Meta, read it" command in May 2024 for hearing a message after the announcement. Meta's own article on announcements wasn't available in an archived copy, so these details come from Ray-Ban's FAQ.

On iPhone, the FAQ warns that if you also use Siri's call announcements you may hear both, one from Siri and one from Meta, and that Messenger and WhatsApp calls may sometimes be announced as iPhone calls. You can turn off Siri's announcements in iPhone settings or the glasses' announcements in the app. On either phone, if you can't hear announcements, check that Bluetooth permission is on in the phone's Messenger app settings. The FAQ gives the iPhone route (Settings, Privacy, Bluetooth, Messenger) and no Android one.

Music

Anything your phone plays comes through the glasses over Bluetooth on either phone. For voice control, Apple Music is iPhone only, according to Meta's list in our music guide, which has the full list of services. Ray-Ban's FAQ adds two Android notes. Spotify Tap, the tap-and-hold shortcut for Spotify recommendations, "only works with users on Android OS 13.0 or higher and July 2023 security patch," and the FAQ gives no iOS version. For call or music trouble on Android, it says to check in Bluetooth settings that the glasses are connected for both calls and audio.

The Meta AI app and your photos

Both phones need the same four app permissions, which our Meta AI app guide covers.

Android has two documented quirks. The system shows a persistent notification while the app runs in the background, which Meta says you can swipe away without stopping the app. On older Android versions that can't dismiss it, turning off Auto-import media removes it. And if an import fails with an error that media can't be imported while the glasses update, Meta says to force stop the app in the phone's settings. iPhone owners see a "Meta AI wants to Join Wi-Fi network" prompt when they import media. Meta's June 29, 2026 release notes say Early Access members can remove it by turning on Wi-Fi Aware under Early Access in Device settings.

Meta's POV guide says videos save as MP4 on Android and HEVC on iOS, and that HEVC is more efficient, using less storage at the same quality. It also says most Android (13+) and iOS phones have auto-import on by default. Ray-Ban's older FAQ, from Nov. 2025, differs: it says only Android 13 and later default to on, and it gives steps for switching it on for other Android versions and for iOS. If your captures don't import on their own, check Auto-import media under Device settings, Media, and see our import guide.

What the sources document

In the pages we read, neither company compares the two phones feature by feature. Apart from the items above, they name nothing as exclusive to one phone, and Meta says battery saver is available in the app on both iOS and Android. Our countries guide lists the features limited by country or language.