Buy Meta Ray-Ban Display for $799? These glasses are even geekier - and they're $120 off until Oct 10

Jason Hiner/ZDNET If you're interested in buying a pair of the Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, good luck. They are only available in the US, are back-ordered for weeks or months in several places, and Meta is reportedly only planning to produce 150,000 to 200,000 units over the next two years. That's fewer sales than the Apple Vision Pro. However, throughout 2025, ZDNET has seen much stronger interest in smart glasses than XR headsets from our audience of professionals and technology enthusiasts. With that in mind, I wanted to flag an alternative to the $799 Meta Ray-Ban Displays that you can get outside the US, have unique features you won't get in Meta's futuristic glasses, and cost $200 less. I'm talking about Rokid Glasses, which I've been testing for the past few weeks. Also: I tried smart glasses with a built-in display, and they beat my Meta Ray-Bans in key ways And while they are going to retail for $599 when they are released in November, they are available for $479 in a pre-order marketing campaign on Kickstarter that ends October 10. The Kickstarter campaign has eclipsed $3M in orders and Rokid told ZDNET that it already has worldwide pre-orders for over 300,000 pairs of Rokid Glasses. Jason Hiner/ZDNET I've tried the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses -- and I'll be testing them more fully starting next week -- but I found plenty of things that the Rokid Glasses can do that I can't do with Meta's new flagship smart glasses. Conversely, there are areas where the Meta next-gen glasses have some advantages. So I thought it would be helpful to break down both lists, based on my experience with the two products. Where Rokid Glasses are better Lighter and more comfortable to wear - The Rokid Glasses weigh 49 grams while the Meta Ray-Ban Displays weigh 69 grams. The Rokids also have nosepads that make the glasses sit a little bit elevated off your nose while the Meta Ray-Ban Displays sit right on your nose. This has the effect of making the Rokids feel lighter and more comfortable to wear for longer. - The Rokid Glasses weigh 49 grams while the Meta Ray-Ban Displays weigh 69 grams. The Rokids also have nosepads that make the glasses sit a little bit elevated off your nose while the Meta Ray-Ban Displays sit right on your nose. This has the effect of making the Rokids feel lighter and more comfortable to wear for longer. Live translation - Rokid can do live translation in 89 languages, powered by Microsoft's translation software, while Meta Ray-Ban Display can do five languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German), with Portuguese and Japanese coming at a later date. In my tests, the Rokid Glasses were helpful (if not perfect) when translating from various languages. They were typically good enough to understand the main points at times when I wouldn't have understood much of anything. - Rokid can do live translation in 89 languages, powered by Microsoft's translation software, while Meta Ray-Ban Display can do five languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German), with Portuguese and Japanese coming at a later date. In my tests, the Rokid Glasses were helpful (if not perfect) when translating from various languages. They were typically good enough to understand the main points at times when I wouldn't have understood much of anything. Here's an example of a horizontal photo shot with Rokid Glasses, as well as a look at the UI of the Android app. Jason Hiner/ZDNET Horizontal photos and videos - One of the biggest complaints with the photos and videos on Meta's AI glasses has always been that they only shoot in 4x3 vertical mode; meanwhile, in addition to vertical 4x3, Rokid also offers 9x16 vertical and 3x4 horizontal photos and videos. I loved this in my tests and found myself using the horizontal mode most often. - One of the biggest complaints with the photos and videos on Meta's AI glasses has always been that they only shoot in 4x3 vertical mode; meanwhile, in addition to vertical 4x3, Rokid also offers 9x16 vertical and 3x4 horizontal photos and videos. I loved this in my tests and found myself using the horizontal mode most often. ChatGPT as its AI engine - While the Meta glasses are limited to using Meta's own Llama AI models, Rokid's AI is powered by the much more capable ChatGPT. That said, the implementation of ChatGPT still has software bugs that need to be worked out, based on my testing of an early production unit because you can't ask follow-up questions and at times there were bugs in the audio vocalizations of the text from ChatGPT responses. - While the Meta glasses are limited to using Meta's own Llama AI models, Rokid's AI is powered by the much more capable ChatGPT. That said, the implementation of ChatGPT still has software bugs that need to be worked out, based on my testing of an early production unit because you can't ask follow-up questions and at times there were bugs in the audio vocalizations of the text from ChatGPT responses. Brighter display - While the Meta glasses have a 5,000 nit color display in one eye, the Rokids have a 1,500 nit monochrome green display in both eyes. In real world use, the Rokid Glasses are actually much brighter and easier to see. The Rokid settings also allow you to move the positioning of the text and change the brightness. As a result, the screen is ultimately more functional on the Rokids, even if it's not quite as pleasant to look at as the color screen on Meta's glasses. - While the Meta glasses have a 5,000 nit color display in one eye, the Rokids have a 1,500 nit monochrome green display in both eyes. In real world use, the Rokid Glasses are actually much brighter and easier to see. The Rokid settings also allow you to move the positioning of the text and change the brightness. As a result, the screen is ultimately more functional on the Rokids, even if it's not quite as pleasant to look at as the color screen on Meta's glasses. In this example of the Rokid teleprompter feature in action, you can see the green light showing up on the glasses. Jason Hiner/ZDNET Teleprompter - The brighter display in the Rokid Glasses comes in very handy for the live translation and visual presentation of ChatGPT responses, but it also has another use. Similar to the Even Realities G1 glasses, the Rokid Glasses have a built-in teleprompter and it worked pretty well in my testing. For content creators, public speakers, and leaders of meetings, this feature has significant value, and I found that the built-in AI that automatically advances the text as you read works well enough to be functional as an everyday tool. However, the display can be pretty noticeable at times for those looking at you. - The brighter display in the Rokid Glasses comes in very handy for the live translation and visual presentation of ChatGPT responses, but it also has another use. Similar to the Even Realities G1 glasses, the Rokid Glasses have a built-in teleprompter and it worked pretty well in my testing. For content creators, public speakers, and leaders of meetings, this feature has significant value, and I found that the built-in AI that automatically advances the text as you read works well enough to be functional as an everyday tool. However, the display can be pretty noticeable at times for those looking at you. Better support for prescription lenses - The Meta glasses are limited to +4 to -4 prescriptions while Rokid can handle +16 to -16. But beyond that, one of the most innovative features of the Rokid Glasses is the way they handle prescriptions by making the corrective lenses magnetic so that they simply snap into the frames along with the main lenses where the display rests. This makes it very easy to swap out lenses if your prescription changes, or to remove the prescription lenses if you want to wear contacts and still take advantage of the usefulness of the smart glasses. Jason Hiner/ZDNET Where Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are better Captioning live conservations - One of the best features of the Meta Ray-Ban Displays is the ability to turn on live captioning of in-person conversations so that you can better understand the people you're having a live conversation with, even in a loud room. - One of the best features of the Meta Ray-Ban Displays is the ability to turn on live captioning of in-person conversations so that you can better understand the people you're having a live conversation with, even in a loud room. Previewing photos and videos - While the Rokid Glasses do a nice job of giving you a visual guide for the center of your photo or video when you first click record, having a full-color preview and viewfinder in the Meta glasses takes the photography and video capabilities of glasses to the next level. - While the Rokid Glasses do a nice job of giving you a visual guide for the center of your photo or video when you first click record, having a full-color preview and viewfinder in the Meta glasses takes the photography and video capabilities of glasses to the next level. Clearer and deeper sound - The Rokid Glasses have solid sound and mic quality, but the Meta glasses have surprisingly excellent sound and mic capabilities that offer a level of clarity and depth that's a step beyond what you get on Rokid. - The Rokid Glasses have solid sound and mic quality, but the Meta glasses have surprisingly excellent sound and mic capabilities that offer a level of clarity and depth that's a step beyond what you get on Rokid. People around you can't see the display - One of the more amazing breakthroughs on the Meta glasses is that there's only 2% light leakage, according to Meta. When I tried the Meta Ray-Ban Displays, I was astounded that you can essentially never tell when someone is using the screen on the glasses. On the Rokid Glasses, it's much more apparent that there's green light moving across the glasses when a person is using them. With the Rokids, it's obvious that these are tech glasses, even when you don't have the screen on, because of the way the prisms on the lenses reflect light. - One of the more amazing breakthroughs on the Meta glasses is that there's only 2% light leakage, according to Meta. When I tried the Meta Ray-Ban Displays, I was astounded that you can essentially never tell when someone is using the screen on the glasses. On the Rokid Glasses, it's much more apparent that there's green light moving across the glasses when a person is using them. With the Rokids, it's obvious that these are tech glasses, even when you don't have the screen on, because of the way the prisms on the lenses reflect light. Transition lenses - Meta says that all of the Meta Ray-Ban Display models will include transition lenses that switch from clear lenses inside to shades when you go outside so that you can wear them and get use out of them at any time. Rokid does not currently offer an option for sunglasses. - Meta says that all of the Meta Ray-Ban Display models will include transition lenses that switch from clear lenses inside to shades when you go outside so that you can wear them and get use out of them at any time. Rokid does not currently offer an option for sunglasses. Ray-Ban style - The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are quite simply a lot more stylish to wear than Rokid Glasses. Rokid partnered with Bolon Eyewear to create the frames for the Rokid Glasses (Bolon is owned by EssilorLuxotica, the same parent company as Ray-Ban) and the gasses themselves look fairly similar to the classic Ray-Ban Wayfarer style. Nevertheless, they have a few style disadvantages compared to the Meta Ray-Ban Displays. First, they are only offered in one style, the glossy black frames, while Meta's glasses also offer a transparent brown color that is very nice and likely to be the most popular color once it's released (the black has been the only color available at launch). Second, the Rokid Glasses sit off your nose because of the tiny metal arms and nosepads and this gives them a slightly awkward look at times, while the bridge of the Meta Ray-Ban Displays sit directly on your nose and make them look and feel like normal glasses. Lastly, the displays and the prisms on the Rokid Glasses are very noticeable to people looking at them and so they are clearly a pair of tech-infused glasses, while the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses have very low light-leakage and the only way to tell they are tech glasses is from the cameras in the corners and the tiny lines on the edge of the right lens where the waveguide sits. - The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are quite simply a lot more stylish to wear than Rokid Glasses. Rokid partnered with Bolon Eyewear to create the frames for the Rokid Glasses (Bolon is owned by EssilorLuxotica, the same parent company as Ray-Ban) and the gasses themselves look fairly similar to the classic Ray-Ban Wayfarer style. Nevertheless, they have a few style disadvantages compared to the Meta Ray-Ban Displays. First, they are only offered in one style, the glossy black frames, while Meta's glasses also offer a transparent brown color that is very nice and likely to be the most popular color once it's released (the black has been the only color available at launch). Second, the Rokid Glasses sit off your nose because of the tiny metal arms and nosepads and this gives them a slightly awkward look at times, while the bridge of the Meta Ray-Ban Displays sit directly on your nose and make them look and feel like normal glasses. Lastly, the displays and the prisms on the Rokid Glasses are very noticeable to people looking at them and so they are clearly a pair of tech-infused glasses, while the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses have very low light-leakage and the only way to tell they are tech glasses is from the cameras in the corners and the tiny lines on the edge of the right lens where the waveguide sits. Neural interface - One of the things you get with the Meta Ray-Ban Display is the Neural Band, and even Meta's CTO has stated the wristband might be the product's biggest breakthrough. Worn on your writing hand, the wristband allows you to use a series of gestures from pinches to swipes to wrist-turns so that you can control the software in the Meta glasses without having to fiddle with the glasses themselves. This opens up the product to a lot more functionality, and in my testing I was able to quickly memorize the 5-8 most common gestures within a few minutes. So it's pretty intuitive. Nevertheless, I still don't love the idea of wearing a wristband that doesn't do anything else but control my smartglasses. So I hope that the band will eventually double as a watch or fitness tracker and that it could be used to control other tech, such as smart home devices. The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses in black with the transition lenses darkened in full sunlight. Jason Hiner/ZDNET Buying advice Neither the Rokid Glasses nor the Meta Ray-Ban Displays are products that are ready to be used by everyday consumers. These are for tech enthusiasts who want to live on the bleeding edge and get an early feel for tomorrow's technology. They aren't really useful enough to be indispensable tools yet. CNET: Meta's Bosworth hints that Neural Band could eventually evolve into a watch But I will put one asterisk by that statement, and it only applies to the Rokid Glasses for one scenario -- and that's the live translation feature. If you were traveling in a foreign country where you don't speak the language or finding it difficult to communicate with someone who speaks a different language in your own community, the Rokid Glasses would be an incredible tool that could offer a better translation experience than you can get today on Android and iPhone -- especially for languages beyond the 4-5 most common ones. So while the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are more futuristic and stylish, the Rokid Glasses are more functional and more usable for more things today. And let's not forget that the Rokid Glasses cost $200 less than the $799 Meta Ray-Ban Displays. And you can get the Rokids for even less if you jump on the pre-order marketing campaign on Kickstarter -- $479 before October 10.