Other smart glasses we tested
I’ve tested several other pairs of smart glasses, some good and some bad.
Photography: Simon Hill
RayNeo Air 3s Pro for $299: RayNeo, owned by TCL, offers many models, and I tested several of them. The latest Air 3s Pro glasses have a 201-inch virtual display (1080p, 120 Hz, 1200 nits), but the 46-degree field of view lets it down a bit. Color vibrancy and brightness offer major improvements over previous versions, like the Air 2 and older. TCL RayNeo Air 2 XR Glassesand you can see pretty much the entire screen clearly (even after adjusting, I had to slide them down a bit from my nose to avoid blurring at the bottom). You will also need the lens hood to use them in brighter environments. While they’re cheaper than our other virtual screen picks, I found them inferior in design, fit, and comfort. Rayneo added a few more options on the device, including spatial sound, but it didn’t work well for me, although the standard sound is okay. RayNeo’s software, required for 3 DoF, is still buggy and imperfect. It’s a good virtual display for the price and perfectly suited for watching movies and light gaming, but if you want more from your smart glasses I’d choose a different pair.—Simon Hill
Viture Luma Pro for $499: Every time a company releases a new pair of smart glasses, the old one instantly seems dated. The same is true here, and paying a little more for the Viture Beast is worth it. The display is better and the chip is integrated, so you don’t have to worry about the hassle of the SpaceWalker app. If you’re using the glasses for gaming, you’re probably going to spend whatever you save by opting for last year’s Luma Pro on accessories anyway. That said, if you’ve exhausted your budget buying games, the Luma Pro is indeed a cheaper way to get a small, portable display for traveling.
Photography: Adrienne So
Engo3 for $400: These sports sunglasses are intended for high-performance aerobic athletes, like runners and cyclists, who work so hard and at such high speeds that looking at your wrist could put you in danger. These glasses are a miracle of engineering, weighing just 38.5 grams (half that of the Oakley Meta Vanguard). I tested the version with the photochromic lenses, which have an ambient light sensor to increase or decrease transmission. You can connect the glasses to a compatible Garmin or Apple Watch and customize the HUD (heads-up display) to show real-time data on a color screen while you workout. It’s precise and the text is crisp. Unfortunately, the HUD is located right next to the bridge of my nose, which means I squint when I check it. We might also wonder which is more distracting in the long run: having to look at my sports watch or having a giant mirrored HUD screen in the middle of my face, which falls on my nose when I sweat.
Chamelo Musical Shield for $260: These are the simplest smart glasses on this list. If you’re too cool for auto-transition photochromic lenses, you can simply slide your finger down the right arm of these electrochromatic sunglasses to dim them between 17 and 64 percent light transmission. They also play music. These are comfortable and work well, but they feel tiny and are nowhere near as clear or loud as other options. They are also not polarized and are expensive given their limited functionality.
Photography: Simon Hill
Lucyd Reebok Octane for $199: Designed in partnership with Reebok for cyclists and runners, these lightweight Bluetooth sunglasses feature silver polarized lenses, good quality speakers and an eight-hour battery life. I enjoyed listening to music and podcasts while hiking. I also like that you can hear the world around you, but the sound leakage isn’t too bad, so you won’t disturb people you pass. They also have physical controls that are much easier to use than touch controls, even when your hands are wet or sweaty (the glasses are also water-resistant). You can take calls, get directions, and ask questions of your favorite AI assistant. Lucyd has been making Bluetooth sunglasses for several years now and offers a wide range of different styles. We also tried the Lucyd 2.0 Bluetooth Sunglasses a few years ago, giving them a rating of 7 out of 10.—Simon Hill
Rokid Max 2 Glasses for $408: Spider-Man-style lenses give these comfortable smart glasses some character, although they won’t be to everyone’s taste. They project a 215-inch screen (1080p, 120Hz, 600 nits, 50-degree FoV) and have diopter dials for focus adjustments, but I had trouble eliminating blur at the edges, and instead of using sleek electrochromic dimming, there’s a clip-on plastic blackout shield. I also tried the Rokid Station 2which adds an Android TV interface to access entertainment applications, but also a trackpad and an air mouse for easier control. The original Rokid Station was a more basic portable Android TV.—Simon Hill
EyeFly mode: House of Modo launched the Eyefly in January 2026, and I had the opportunity to try out a pair in pre-sale. These are attractive sunglasses that allow you to listen to music, answer calls and wake up your phone’s voice assistant or remotely trigger photos on your phone with just the press of a button. The sound is tinny compared to others open helmetbut if you just want a simple pair of smart sunglasses that people won’t object to on sight, they’re lightweight, the buttons are responsive, and there’s no onboard camera.
Don’t bother
Here are the glasses that didn’t measure up.
Halliday Glasses for $429: Although these could almost pass for regular big glasses, thanks to a smart ring controller and a small, discreet screen, I can confidently say that these are not the future of smart glasses. After spending several uncomfortable hours trying to adjust the display to be readable, I only had a headache. The ring seemed like a good idea, but it’s big, ugly, plastic, slow and frustrating to use. The AI that listens at the doors is slow, and squinting to try to see the screens of useless text it produces is painful. Sound quality and battery life are also disappointing.—Simon Hill
Photography: Simon Hill
Asus AirVision M1 for $699: I was excited to see Asus launch smart glasses, but the lack of fanfare was a red flag. My first impressions of the lightweight design were promising, and the M1 offers up to a 100-inch virtual screen and an impressive 1,100 nits of brightness. Designed to plug into your phone, laptop, PC or portable gaming device, like the ROG Allyvia USB-C, the M1 also has built-in speakers and a microphone. Unfortunately, the refresh rate maxes out at 72Hz and is limited to 60Hz unless you use the Airvision software, which also lets you select different modes (work, play, infinite), change the screen position, and set the interpupillary distance (IPD). I found the focus sweet spot was small and most of my virtual screen was blurry no matter how I changed the settings. This made the glasses uncomfortable to use, especially for work. There’s also a basic plastic shield to block light, rather than electrochromic dimming, and the speaker quality is decidedly average, leaving me perplexed as to why the price is so high.—Simon Hill
AirGo Vision Solos for $299: With a built-in AI assistant powered by ChatGPT, the Solos AirGo Vision adds a camera on top of Bluetooth connected speakers across the rest of its lineup. Give it unlimited access to your location and photo library, and it can describe what you see. The most obvious use cases are translation and navigation, although I’m not convinced of the correctness of its suggestions. The design is interesting, with thick temples housing the intelligence and interchangeable frames. There’s no virtual screen or HUD, but you can get prescription lenses and they look relatively normal. Unfortunately, the photo and audio quality are terrible and the touch controls are extremely finicky. The application is also energy intensive and requires too many permissions. Ray-Ban Meta glasses do the same things better.—Simon Hill
What makes smart glasses so special?
The number one question I get asked about smart glasses is “Why does anyone even want a pair?” » This question was much more difficult to answer before the popularity of Meta Ray-Ban Wayfarers clarified the answer for me. A pair of smart glasses can translate text and speech or help you navigate to a destination. They can play music or let you answer calls or send text messages hands-free. These are basically Bluetooth headsets that make you look fabulous at the same time.
Once you’ve upgraded the features (and, usually, the price), a virtual screen (or several) can make working in public or while traveling much easier. You don’t need to lug around a portable monitor or hunch over a small 13-inch laptop screen. I can watch a movie on a plane without squinting at my phone or work in my garden while my kids play house after school. Smart glasses aren’t for everyone, but if you value flexibility and portability, they might be for you.
What are the different types of smart glasses?
Smart glasses exist on a continuum from simple to complicated. Like a laptop, they can have a wide variety of prices and specifications to accommodate different types of embedded technology.
Some smart glasses can support prescriptions. But this is not the case for all models. THE Ray-Ban Meta Scriber Optics ($499) are the company’s first pair optimized for prescription lenses. Others, like the Viture Beast, require an additional prescription insert that you insert into the frames. Most are equipped nose pads or diopter dials so you can adjust the fit for the most clarity possible.
The most basic smart glasses are electrochromic (automatically darkening) sunglasses.. These are for anyone who wants to control the dimming of their glasses. They’re marketed as smart glasses, but they likely don’t contain any other technology.
Smart glasses may have speakers or a camera. The next step is smart glasses, like the Ray-Ban Metas, which act as sunglasses, headphones, or a wearable smart assistant. The built-in camera means the AI assistant can also see what you see and help you with translations or directions.
Next come smart glasses with wearable displays. These feature built-in screens or projectors that only the wearer can see. You can see this display as a floating window or illuminated text like a heads-up display (HUD) superimposed on whatever you can see through your glasses. Most include speakers for audio and simply plug into the USB-C port on your phone or laptop to mirror the screen.
At the higher end of the spectrum are AR smart glasses, sometimes described as XR glasses. XR (extended reality) is an umbrella term covering VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality) and MR (mixed reality). XR and AR glasses almost always have a screen component that can show you information like real-time translations of a person you’re talking to or arrow overlays to give you directions. There’s often an AI component, where you can ask the glasses about things you see.
What do HUD, DoF and FoV mean?
ATH stands for head-up display. This is the text or information screen superimposed on the worldview, but without obscuring it. It usually appears on the periphery of your field of vision, like in video games. Simple HUDs can show the time or mirror notifications from your phone, with more advanced versions capable of translating text on signs or identifying locations around you.
DoF represents the degrees of freedom. At least three degrees of freedom are essential for tracking that enables spatial computing. With 3 DoF, you can fix virtual screens in specific locations so that they stay put when you turn or tilt your head, instead of moving with you. This can help you avoid motion sickness. It’s also what allows you to look around in virtual environments. With 6 DoF, you can move your entire body in virtual environments and interact with virtual objects.
FoV stands for field of view, and most smart glasses today have a very limited one, around 50 degrees or less. It’s not great compared to a fully immersive VR headset like the Meta Quest 3 (8/10, WIRED review)which has a field of view of 110 degrees. Because of this limitation, virtual screens on smart glasses are often blurry or appear cut off at the edges, sometimes called fringing.
How to Troubleshoot Your Smart Glasses
You wear smart glasses on your face, so they should be comfortable. Keep in mind that the more technology your glasses contain, the larger and heavier they will be. With this in mind, you may want to opt for more or fewer features. Most glasses are adjustable; they may come with interchangeable nose pads and perhaps diopter dials for adjusting focus. You can often change things like interpupillary distance (IPD) in software. It’s worth spending some time fiddling around to find the right settings. Also remember that if you use glasses that need to be plugged in, you will have a wire or battery behind your ear.
Compatibility is another minefield with smart glasses, so before purchasing a pair, confirm that they support your favorite devices. Some devices, like your iPhone or handheld gaming console, require an additional adapter or dock. The range of features available and how everything works is also variable. For example, many streaming movies are not available in 3D mode due to DRM issues with glasses software.
The controls can be tricky with most smart glasses, including the small buttons on the stems. Connected devices, like smartphones, that mirror the screen on the glasses require a separate Bluetooth controller to play or navigate, because the phone screen is turned off when connected. Some smart glasses have apps offering trackpad and pointer controls. More advanced smart glasses with outward-facing cameras can track your hands.
Are smart glasses a privacy risk?
It’s normal to see someone raise their phone and record video outside these days, but many people really don’t like how easy it has become to record so discreetly with smart glasses. Combined with the fact that many of these smart glasses have AI capabilities that can recognize objects and facesthey represent a real surveillance risk. Much of this responsibility lies with you and how you use the glasses, so be aware of local recording and privacy laws.
It’s also worth noting that smart glasses and their associated apps often request access to a lot of your data, including messages, photos, and other sensitive information that you’d prefer to keep private. Review the privacy policies and determine if they need all the permissions they request.
When did the first smart glasses arrive? A brief history
While prototypes of face computers date back to the late 1960s, it was Google Glass that popularized the idea of smart glasses. Originally released as a development kit, Google Glass is over ten years old. They gave rise to a serious debate on privacy but they were also appreciated by the first adopters “Glass holes.” After failing to take off as a consumer product, Google Glass pivoted to factories and warehouseshighlighting the potential of augmented reality in the workplace.
The first wave of the augmented reality glasses looked in bad shape and largely failed. They were big and heavy, had lightweight features, and made those wearing them look like cyborg extras from a B-sci-fi movie. The first pair I tried on from Vuzix made me question the entire category. There was a lot of hype around augmented reality, but most of these big glasses offered relatively low-resolution screens overlaid on your field of vision. For smart glasses to truly blend the real world in front of you with the virtual world, they would need very smart cameras, processing power and software.
Many players, large and small, have tried, unsuccessfully, to make an impact in this area. The initial enthusiasm generated by companies like Magic Jump evaporated in the middle of bulky equipment at high prices. The problem with some of the more ambitious examples so far, like Microsoft HoloLens 2 Or Apple Vision Prois that they are relatively large and heavy and, more importantly, horribly expensive. The most successful smart glasses so far are much more focused, less ambitious and less expensive, although they also fall far short of the original vision.
There is currently a palpable feeling that smart glasses are on the verge of breakthrough. Google’s Android introducing new AI-powered smart glasses and a mixed reality headset developed with Samsung. Xreal is also working on new Android XR glasses dubbed Project Aura which are expected to arrive later in 2026. Many other smart glasses are in development, like Meta’s Artemis glassesnew Snap GlassesAnd Emteq’s inward-facing smart glasses.—Simon Hill
Smart glasses aren’t cheap. The category is still new and the newer models are better, by leaps and bounds, than even last year’s models. As soon as we finish testing a product, another model with better features is already available. Just invest in a pair if it has features you’ll be able to use right out of the box, and don’t worry if the technology is eclipsed in a few months. However, many smart glasses will be released in 2026, including Apple’sso it might be worth the wait to see if there’s a clear winner.
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