GoKawiilI’m currently wearing a pair of smart glasses called the Even Realities G2. Another two pairs, from Rokid, sit on my desk. A few feet away, I’ve got the Meta Ray-Ban Display charging alongside their Neural Wristband. In my closet are six pairs of $50 smart sunnies that an overzealous Walmart rep sent me. Those sit next to some Xreal, RayNeo, and Lucyd glasses, plus an old pair of Razer Anzu. Later, I’m calling my optician because I’m hoping to test a pair of the new Ray-Ban Meta Optics, which can supposedly handle my challenging prescription. I’m drowning in smart eyewear — and even more is on the horizon.
Right now, it’s difficult to tell these devices apart. Not only do they look alike, but most are similarly unsubtle in their attempts to stick AI on your face. They’re loaded with promises about how wearable AI can change your life: It’ll make you healthier by tracking what you eat, make you smarter by capturing notes on every word you utter, and make you more creative by transforming your surroundings into playlists and date ideas.
But after a year of testing, I’m yet to see anything that lives up to those promises. And if the smart glasses category is going to succeed, it’s going to need a better story for why they should stay on your face all day.
A small selection of the smart glasses I’ve been testing over the last six months.
Regardless of what model I put on in the morning, modern smart glasses make me feel like James Bond. I can walk around the neighborhood wearing a pair of chunky Ray-Bans, listen to my audiobook, and see my texts without pulling out my phone. If I feel like getting a coffee, I can put in the name of a local cafe and get directions. No one looking at me would know.
That’s doubly true when the glasses come with cameras or gesture-based accessories (see: the Even Realities G2 and Meta Ray-Ban Display). Secretly controlling an invisible display that only I can see? Incredibly cool. Capturing my cat’s antics without him knowing? Move over, David Attenborough, I’m the wildlife documentarian now.
I have never felt more hip than when I was walking down a Williamsburg street last summer, wearing a pair of Oakley Meta HSTN. The most stylish man in Brooklyn stopped me to ask about the glasses and my experience. I’ve also never felt less like a good citizen than when I unintentionally recorded a florist while testing the Meta Ray-Ban Display.
A “good” pair of smart glasses will make you feel like a spy.
“Good” modern smart glasses are defined by how much you can get away with. It’s good if no one clocks them. That makes them stylish and versatile enough for everyday wear. It’s good if you have a fancier model that doesn’t require you to speak AI voice commands aloud. You’re less conspicuous, but still get the benefits.
Even Realities’ G2 glasses can be controlled by tapping on the side of an accompanying smart ring. I could be looking at a teleprompter on the G2’s display, and someone standing in front of me would be none the wiser. When I was at my local LensCrafters getting fitted for the Nuance Audio — a pair of glasses that double as over-the-counter hearing aids — the optician asked if I was ready to “be a superspy” because I’d be “able to hear all the good gossip from across the room.” (The reality? Good gossip comes straight to your DMs, and I mostly just hear tinny garbling.)
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