Can Samsung make smart glasses you’ll actually want to wear? I just got my first up-close look at the designs coming this fall in collaboration with Google, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster.

These glasses are shockingly light given all the tech stuffed inside, and Samsung promises longer battery life than the Meta Ray-Ban glasses and instant access to Google’s robust app ecosystem. Plus, Samsung seems to be taking user privacy seriously.

Light enough for ‘all-day’ wear

The first thing I noticed about this Intelligent Eyewear is how light they are. Yes, the Warby Parker model looks bulkier than my everyday reading glasses from the same brand, but I was surprised how easy they were to pick up.

The right side houses a button for firing up Gemini and capturing content, and there’s a power switch on the inside of the left arm. There’s a camera on the right, LED sensor on the left and dual stereo speakers on the arms.

The Gentle Monster glasses come in a couple of different styles, including fashionable oval specs and more traditional-looking frames that offer clear or tinted lenses.

There appears to be a touchpad on the left and right arms for controlling volume, but Samsung was not able to confirm this detail.

Durability: Dropped, stretched and sunscreened

According to James Choi, who heads Samsung's XR R&D, the company subjected these glasses to drop tests, water tests, high temperatures and sweat. In fact, the company invented 20 different tests to evaluate the durability of its glasses.

This includes using robots to force the arms outward to see how long they last under stress. Samsung even devised a sunscreen test, injecting it near the speakers. So these specs should be able to stand up to the wear and tear of your daily schedule.

Gemini AI on your face

These AI glasses are all about having Gemini always available, letting you check notifications, get answers to your questions, directions and more on the go. For Samsung, it’s not about replacing your phone, but using it less.

With Gemini Live on board, you can leverage the cameras, microphones and open ear stereo speakers to have conversations on the fly with the AI assistant. You can get real-time guidance on everything from cooking to putting together an outfit or assembling furniture.

And because the glasses instantly understand the world from your perspective, the eyewear can be more contextual and there’s much less you need to explain.

And, unlike Meta, you’ll have access to a bevy of popular Google apps from day one, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Maps, as well as Samsung apps like Notes and Interpreter.

Very good (promised) battery life

Samsung promises nine hours of battery life on a charge with mixed usage. This includes Gemini Live conversations, voice calls, notifications and more.

I got to handle the charging case for the Gentle Monster glasses, and it was quite light as well. It promises several charges on the go.

What about privacy?

We don’t know the specs of the camera yet for the Samsung glasses, but you'll be able to capture photos and videos, as well as let Gemini see what you see for Gemini Live interactions.

But how will Samsung protect privacy and prevent a horde of creeps from surveilling everyone around them? Samsung told us that they’re building AI glasses you can trust.

For starters, any blocking of the LED on the glasses also blocks recording. But Samsung knows that certain individuals will resort to trying to hack the glasses or — as in the case of Meta — perhaps seek black market options for tampering with their device.

“At Samsung, privacy is not an afterthought,” Samsung’s Choi said. “For this category to be more widely adopted, we understand that the user and the people around them need to trust both the technology and its privacy protection."

Choi told us that simple destruction of the LED can be detected but Samsung also has engineers who are focused on further protections and reverse engineering what bad actors might accomplish on the black market.

Outlook

There’s still a fair amount we don’t know about the Samsung AI glasses year, like the weight, specs and especially price. But it’s clear that Samsung is focusing on everyday wearability and durability for these first-generation glasses.

Assuming the prices are affordable enough, I’d say Samsung and its partners have some key advantages over Meta, including high-profile partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, longer battery life, a better ecosystem of apps and a smarter AI assistant in Gemini.

Display glasses will come later. Samsung is actively developing this category but is also in no rush to launch. The company doesn’t want to make any major sacrifices to wearability.

“We want better quality than what’s in the market,” Choi said. We want to make it natural with the display. We’re working on it.”

But tell me what you think. Are you leaning towards Samsung or Meta, waiting for Apple to join the smart glasses race, or are you just fully anti AI-camera glasses no matter who makes them? Sound off in the comments.

Are smart glasses too ... smart? Rather than creating a jack-of-all trades pair of specs, the new Halliday G2 smart glasses are aimed at one thing: Making your meetings more focused and productive.

To that end, these glasses don't have a camera, but instead a set of mics and an AI that can act as your assistant to look up data, create action items, and help keep people accountable.

I went hands-on with the Halliday G2 a few weeks back and here's everything they can do, as well as my initial impressions on how they compare to the best smart glasses.

Price and availability

The Halliday G2 will cost $599 (the same price as the Even Realities G2, but $200 less than the Meta Ray-Ban Display), and is expected to ship in September. Preorders begin today (July 21) at www.hallidayglobal.com; those who secure a preorder with a $10 deposit will get $100 off the regular price of the glasses.

The G2s will be available with prescription lenses.

Design and display

While the Halliday G2 has a display, it feels a lot more stripped-down than the Meta Ray-Ban Displays or the Snap Specs, but that's by design.

For one thing, there's no camera. In addition to making the glasses simpler, it was also done to put others at ease, company reps told me. (They can record audio, but still.)

While the G2 has a built-in display, it's much more basic than what you'll find on the Meta Displays, and more like that on the Even Realities G2 or Rokid Glasses: a green, monochrome readout.

Unlike the first-gen Halliday, the G2's display is brighter and clearer, and appears virtually in front of both your eyes, rather than on just the right side. The image appears to hover a few feet in front of you, which made it much more natural to look at when holding a conversation with others.

The G2's feature dual micro-LED projectors with a resolution of 600 x 300 in each eye, and a peak brightness of 1,600 nits.

I wore the G2's for a few minutes during a hands-on session, and found them to be as comfortable as the Ray-Ban Metas, as well as my regular non-smart glasses. The G2's weigh under 50 grams, which put them in the same tier as the Ray-Ban Meta (51 grams), the Rokid Glasses (48 grams), but heavier than the Even Realities G2, which weigh just 35 grams.

A touchpad on the right temple lets you navigate the G2's interface with swipes and taps; it'll take some practice to get the hang of things.

Similar to most smart glasses, the Halliday G2s can also deliver notifications, phone calls, play music, and let you use the Halliday AI Assistant.

Made for meetings

The biggest differentiator between the Halliday G2 and other smart glasses is its focus on making meetings more productive. To that end, its biggest feature is called Meeting Flow, which has several facets:

• Understanding the conversation (literally): The glasses support real-time translation in over 45 languages, and can pick up voices using its 4-mic array, which work in up to a 2-meter radius.
• Quick Summary: If you lose focus or get distracted, the glasses can catch you up on what was just said.
• Quick Research: If you need to look up a fact or information, Meeting Flow can dig up relevant information based on the conversation taking place at the time of your query.
• Thread Tracker: Often, conversations can drift off on tangents; this feature tracks how things evolved, so you can get back to the original subject.
• Decision Confirmation: This helps make sure that if something was decided, it gets remembered, and also prompts the G2 wearer if something was left open-ended.
• Commitment Check: If someone in the meeting says they're going to do something, this feature will prompt the wearer to not only confirm that, but also give the person the information they need to complete the task.
• Open-item tracker: If things are left unresolved, this feature will make note of them, and put them in a checklist.
• Summary and transcript: Like all other AI assistants, Meeting Flow will create a summary and transcript of the meeting.

Outlook

At a time when there's a lot of concern around privacy and smart glasses — just look at the issues around Meta's smart glasses — the idea of having a camera-free set of specs will no doubt be appealing to many.

The idea of having a set of smart glasses hyper-focused around a particular activity could appeal to those who spend a lot of time in meetings, and need a smart way to not only make them more productive, both during and after the fact.

However, I have no doubt that many will look to the broader appeal of the upcoming Samsung smart glasses (and other Android XR devices), which could cost around the same, but offer more functionality.

We'll reserve our final judgment until September, when the Halliday G2 glasses — and Meeting Flow — rolls out.

• I've reviewed all of Meta's smart glasses, and this is the pair I'd actually buy
• Exclusive: Inside Google’s plan to win over your face with AI glasses — and avoid Meta's privacy missteps
• I’ve traveled over 50,000 miles testing smart glasses in 2026 — here are my 3 favorites that have launched this year so far

This is very much not Google Glass 2.0. Google is entering the AI smartglasses arena this fall to go up against Meta (and whatever Apple is cooking), and it’s partnering with Samsung, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to make “Intelligent Eyewear” powered by Android XR.

As you might expect, Gemini is the headline feature. Having a smart assistant as your literal eyes has the potential to help you get a lot done on the go without having to constantly whip out your phone. But Juston Payne, who leads the product management team for XR at Google, also knows that the smart glasses category is fraught with controversy, especially over how to handle recording in public and user privacy.

“If people don't feel comfortable wearing these glasses, and privacy is part of this, they just won't wear the glasses. It’s as simple as that,” Payne said.

I had a chance to sit down with Payne to discuss these issues and a lot more ahead of the Intelligent Eyewear launch, including how to design for the masses, the roadmap to built-in displays and the totally separate Android XR spatial computing glasses coming from Xreal this year.

The lessons of Google Glass

Anyone old enough to remember the original Google Glass from 2012 probably remembers them for embarrassing reasons.

For me, my mind instantly goes to that infamous photo of Robert Scoble in the shower, which became a symbol for the device’s voyeuristic dangers. And then there’s that SNL Weekend Update bit, during which Fred Armisen lampooned how difficult the interface was to use.

I asked Payne directly about the lessons of Google Glass, and he admits that they were ahead of their time.

“The trouble was that the vision was good, but the reality was that the tech just wasn't quite there yet,” Payne said.

He cites three reasons for the Google Glasses flop that Intelligent Eyewear hopes to get right. First was the nerdy form factor. They didn’t really look like regular glasses. There was also a lack of content, which you now get with Android XR. And the third thing is versatility, which AI brings to the table.

“So there were these huge building blocks missing,” Payne said, “Hardware, platform, AI.”

And that brings us to the present…

What does Intelligent Eyewear do?

For the first round of Intelligent Eyewear, the glasses will be audio-only. Glasses with single and dual displays will be coming later, though Google will start offering a trusted tester program sometime this year.

In the meantime, the glasses coming this year from Samsung, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker will leverage Android XR to (hopefully) make your day easier by having Gemini always at the ready.

“Gemini can take your personal context — we call it personal intelligence — and then it can start feeding that into your experience,” Payne said. “These glasses are designed to give you ambient assistance throughout the day while keeping you connected to your digital world and the real world.”

For example, because Gemini has personal intelligence built in, it knows you, and you can ask about what’s on your calendar, the score of a sports game or a random fact.

“Just having a real-time conversational interface all day long is incredibly valuable for a lot of people,” Payne continued. For example, when Payne is driving with Intelligent Eyewear on he can ask about other podcasts Gemini might recommend based on the one he’s currently listening to and do it on the fly.

Payne cited a couple other major use cases for Intelligent Eyewear. The first is navigation, such as looking up a local restaurant that might be good around you.

“The audio experience for that is fantastic,” Payne said. “It uses the camera to localize you, so it knows that you're pointing in the right direction. It can give you contextual navigation to help you get to where you're going without being vague, you know, like ‘turn right there.’”

Translation is another potential killer app for Intelligent Eyewear, promising a quick “UN translator experience.” And when you’re cooking you can get step-by-step instructions even without a display.

But Payne argues that display glasses are nice to have as opposed to a must-have, such as seeing that your upcoming turn is 300 feet away.

“We think of the display more as almost an augmentation to the audio experience rather than something that is a hard dependency in many cases,” Payne said.

Design first, features second

Anyone who has been paying attention to the smart glasses market knows that there’s a sliding scale of geekiness. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses and Meta Glasses look very much like regular sunglasses or glasses. But the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are bulkier, and the even more ambitious Snap Specs look pretty geeky with their extra-wide frames.

For Google, the approach is pretty simple: they have to be great glasses first.

“We lead with design and then we ask the question ‘what can you make within the constraints of a great design?’” Payne said. “Can we make a product that is genuinely valuable for people so that if they walk out of their house and they forgot them, they'll actually go back and get them?”

The early design from Gentle Monster has chic oval-shaped lenses that wouldn’t look out of place on a runway, while the Warby Parker design is a bit chunkier and more retro. They both feature dual cameras, but they look a bit more discreet on the Gentle Monster specs.

Google doesn’t seem willing to push the limits and risk the sort of backlash the Snap Specs have been getting for their overtly techy look.

“If you make a product that provides really novel new experiences, people might be willing to tolerate a design that has some larger compromises. I think it's great that people are out there testing that theory. It's just not the approach that Google's taking. We're really leading with design,” Payne said.

Major privacy landmines — and what Google is doing about it

By now you’ve probably heard some of the horror stories coming out of the Meta glasses camp around privacy concerns, including a woman who discovered her esthetician was wearing Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses at a European Wax Center in Manhattan. And 404 Media reported on how men were wearing the glasses to covertly film massage parlor workers.

Then there’s the black market that sprung up around disabling the LEDs on Meta glasses so that others don’t know that you’re recording. Meta recently attempted to close this loophole with a software update that automatically disables the cameras if the LED has been tampered with or destroyed.

It’s safe to say that Google is walking into a minefield of privacy concerns, but the company has a plan to address them.

“If people don't feel comfortable wearing these glasses, and privacy is part of this, they just won't wear the glasses. It’s as simple as that,” Payne said.

To help combat some of the concerns people have about these issues, Google is starting by making sure that Intelligent Eyewear users are signaling to the people around them when they are recording and that the LED is accurate.

Payne told us that Google will share more details later this year around how they ensure this accuracy, but the bottom line is that the light should be on if whatever you’re recording or shooting can be reviewed later.

Google will also be employing Android permission frameworks to help protect users, as well as other security and privacy techniques already on your phone.

Lastly, Google is “investing to make it so that the hardware itself holds up,” Payne said. “So if people try to mess around with it somehow, we have ways of detecting that.”

Google vs. Meta vs. Apple

Launching in 2023 and with over 9 million units sold already, it’s fair to say that Meta has had a pretty big head start with its Ray-Ban glasses and other eyewear, but Google is pretty confident that it can make a splash in what is still a pretty nascent market.

I asked Juston directly about his largest competitor and he told me that “Meta’s doing a great job” with “very nice glasses.” But while the Meta glasses are good for things like photos, videos, calls and music, Google is taking a different approach with Gemini front and center.

“We think a lot about moments throughout the day. And these moments throughout the day are really the things that are driving our approach to the platform. ‘How does Gemini show up in glasses? What kinds of hooks are we making from Gemini into apps? How are apps making themselves available to Gemini? So so much of our thinking is about versatility.”

That thinking includes making things super easy for developers to get their apps running in Android XR, while Meta’s app ecosystem is still fairly skimpy.

“The platform will know if their app, which is running on the phone, is talking to audio glasses or glasses with a display, and it'll tailor that app experience for it,” Payne said. “So that means that developers really only build once. They just build an Android app, and then we take care of the rest.”

Payne also is acutely aware of the fact that Apple is working on its own Apple Glasses, which will likely debut in 2027. And it will be taking the same vertically oriented approach it has with all of its other products: Apple’s own design. Apple’s software. Apple’s ecosystem.

“Apple has a very strong track record,” Payne said, “and I think that one thing that Apple has always done well is that they play to their strengths. I would expect that they'll keep doing that. And I'm sure that they'll provide very real competition for everybody else playing in the space.”

The difference between what Google is doing with Android XR and Intelligent Eyewear and what Apple is doing is that Google is building a multi-partner platform, while Apple is focusing on making a product.

“So each time that these categories come along, Google makes a platform and there's a lot of value. Google's a partnership company. And as you look through when we've done best, it's when we partner.”

At the same time Payne shared that Google has a lot of “skin in the game” with its first-party apps, including Gemini, Google Maps and Google Translate.

Despite being a fierce Apple competitor, Google is working hard to make sure that Intelligent Eyewear devices work well with the iPhone, though there will be some platform-level restrictions the company may not be able to work around.

Aura farming

Google’s partnerships extend to companies like Xreal, an early pioneer in the smart glasses space, and they are collaborating on spatial computing glasses that attempt to squish pretty much all the functionality of the Samsung Galaxy XR headset into a pair of fairly sleek specs.

However, while Intelligent Eyewear works with your Android phone or iPhone, the Xreal Aura are wired glasses that connect to a computing puck. Coming this fall, the glasses promise an immersive see-through display and AI assistance from Gemini.

You can work across multiple virtual monitors, experience over 100 apps made for XR, enjoy a private cinema anywhere for watching 3D movies and more. Think Apple Vision Pro but in a design you might actually want to wear. But there’s some trade-offs versus headsets, like a narrower field of view.

For example, the Xreal Aura has a 70° Diagonal FOV, compared to 109° horizontal and 100° vertical for the Galaxy XR.

“Some people would say, ‘hey, I'm okay actually giving up some of that,’” Payne told me. “I need to keep the core value, but I'm okay with giving up some of that so that I can take it with me more easily.”

Will smart glasses replace phones?

If smart glasses like Google’s Intelligent Eyewear are designed to help you use your phone less often, will there be a tipping point where the vast majority of people leave their phone behind?

For Payne, that’s not happening anytime soon.

“The phone is here to stay,” Payne said. “Phones are incredibly powerful. They have a user interface to them that is well adopted and highly robust. I'm not so sure that there's even a great reason to get rid of the phone, even if you could.”

The true benefit of smart glasses — at least for now — is that they allow you to be less distracted. How many times have you opened your phone to respond to a notification only to find yourself knee deep in some other app?

“Glasses can fit into your experience throughout the day by adding a lot of value on top. It'll shift some of the minutes that you’re spending on the phone to the glasses, which have all these nice benefits because you can then stay more present with what you're doing.”

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Intelligent Eyewear and will bring you our full reviews once we have a chance to test out Google’s Android XR platform — and its partner’s designs.

Let's get one thing straight immediately: if you wear the Viture Luma Ultra and the Pro Neckband in public, you are going to look like an absolute melt. That’s British speak for “a dweeb.”

People will stare. Teenagers will point. Baristas will ask if you need medical assistance. But sitting in Costa Coffee with a 120-inch OLED screen floating over my gigantic black americano, playing Nvidia GeForce Now while looking like a low-budget cyberpunk extra... I quickly realized the joke was entirely on them.

It got even better when I sat in the pub with no TV, but still managed to get the big screen experience watching England play in the World Cup! The old men sipping bitters can stare all they want, but I’m watching the Jude Bellingham masterclass while they’re not.

Now, obviously this is purpose-built for home and flight use — a separate wearable paired with 6DoF-enabled glasses for a spatial experience, which is Android-armed to download and take all your content with you for offline viewing. Wearing it in public like this is a ludicrous stress test “in the name of science.”

But it proved that while this combo of devices were a bit of a mess a few months ago before the software updates, Viture’s platform is maturing nicely here. It’s not the Android XR levels of the Xreal Aura, but it’s the essentials with a little extra on the side for (probably) far cheaper.

What I’m using this combo for mostly

So my two main use cases have been light work and play. The OS is built on Android 13, so you get all the Google apps you need to get stuff done, alongside Viture’s built-in entertainment apps and the Play Store to snag things like Netflix.

Let’s start with play, because this one is pretty obvious, right? It’s got Bluetooth, so you can connect a controller, fire up cloud gaming services like GeForce Now and play to your heart’s content on a giant screen. Also, shout-out to Viture’s PSPlay and XBXPlay apps too, which can stream your console to your glasses via remote play — these work perfect for when your wife wants to watch Bake Off, but you don’t want to stop your season on FC 26.

Then there’s the work side of it. Multi-screen support means I can have my Google Drive, Google Docs and Chrome open all at the same time to refer to files, research stories and type away on my bluetooth-connected keyboard. For anything more intensive, it’s clear that spatial computing still has some ways to go. But for that casual day-to-day, this has been fun.

Then we have to talk about the entertainment side of it, which now comes with Immersive 3D. If you’re new to this, Viture’s Spacewalker app has been dabbling with real-time 2D-to-3D content conversion on other devices, and it’s finally made its way to the Pro Neckband.

Is it a gimmick? Sure, just like how I’ve found 3D cinema to always be a gimmick. But I can’t deny it’s a damn fun gimmick to have when depth is added to the intense racing action scenes of something like “The Fast & The Furious.”

Truly spatial…ish

Viture’s been quietly updating the Pro Neckband in the background since it released a while ago, and one of the more crucial ones is making it play nice with that chip in the Luma Ultra glasses and the cameras for 6DoF tracking.

99% of AR glasses give you three degrees of freedom (3DoF), which registers rotational movement. Imagine sitting still in a swivel chair — you can look all around you (up, down, left and right) and the screen will stay locked in front of you. Where the illusion of tracking ends is if you were to lean forward to the screen, or get up and try to walk around it. The screen will stay the same distance from your eyes because there isn’t the tracking tech to do so.

Enter 6DoF, which takes those first three degrees, but then adds surging (moving forward and backward), heaving (moving up and down) and swaying (strafing left and right). You can physically walk around the screens floating in the space around you. That chip in the Luma Ultra tying up nicely with the built-in cameras and the computational power of the Neckband Pro allows for this…sort of.

You see, it all starts to kind of become awkward when hand tracking is involved. First of all, shout-out to Viture for figuring out tracking my tattoo-covered hands — both they and Xreal had this issue before, so it’s great to see everybody overcome my unnecessary challenge!

But it’s not completely reliable, and there are a few times when you’ll be left waving at yourself and pinching wildly in the air to try and get the system to recognize you. In those moments, however, there’s the Neckband Pro remote app for a trackpad or pointer. These came in clutch on flights (when 6DoF tracking is basically out the window) and for fixing those frustrating moments.

Not for everyone

So what did I learn from my experiment? Well, Viture’s been quietly cooking here. When I first got the Pro Neckband about a year ago, it wasn’t ready for primetime. The rough idea was there, but the experience was all over the place with apps flying away and near-zero tracking reliability.

The Neckband Pro itself is a lot better for users now, and when testing it with 3DoF glasses like the Beast and Luma Pro (even other glasses like the Xreal One with that adaptor), you’re now getting a solid spatial computing experience on-the-go with a decent-enough battery life to take you through around 3.5 hours in my time using it.

Would I like a longer battery life? Absolutely, and hopefully we can get some silicon-carbon battery tech to make up for the shortfall. Plus with the internals packed so tightly into this, make sure you don’t obscure the fan on the left arm.

But throw the Luma Ultra into the mix, and it clicks just that little bit better with the 6DoF capabilities and improved hand tracking. However, I’m fully aware this will not be a must-buy for everyone. The combination is nearly $900, which is a lot. Will it be cheaper than Xreal Aura? I’m willing to bet it will be, but that’s beside the point because $900 is VR headset money. You could get a couple of Meta Quest 3Ses for that.

However, if ultra portability is your thing, and your use cases can find that sweet spot that really makes the most of its capabilities, then you’ll have a lot of fun with it.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the $299 X By Xreal a01+ AR glasses over 25,000 miles of travel — they’re proof that we don’t need fancy spatial tracking, we just need a cheaper screen
• These camera-less smart glasses are a great anti-Meta alternative, but the AI still wants to record your life
• I’ve traveled over 50,000 miles testing smart glasses in 2026 — here are my 3 favorites that have launched this year so far

Pick any AI smart glasses out there, and I think the core functionality every pair is targeting is pretty much the same. I've tested the Rokid AI Glasses, I've used the Meta Ray-Bans, and I've tried plenty more, but they're all doing more or less the same thing: cameras for capturing photos and recording video, speakers for audio output, and some form of AI integration.

But after learning that Meta wants to turn its Ray-Bans into a 24/7 AI wiretap, I went looking for an alternative. Enter the MemoMind One: a pair of smart glasses that completely ditches the camera and proves it isn't a necessary function.

From XGIMI — yes, the company behind some of the best projectors out there — they do protect bystanders from being secretly filmed, but there are 'Moments' where for $20 a month, AI will record and transcribe your daily environment in the background.

Less creepy, to be fair, but still a little creepy (and $20 a month for the "privilege"). Though they did prove that a camera is not needed.

I love the idea behind these smart glasses

Sure, having a camera on smart glasses is incredibly useful, but it's also a privacy nightmare. Meta just rolled out a mandatory update for its own glasses that disables the camera entirely if the privacy LED is tampered with.

The XGIMI MemoMind One takes a different route by skipping the camera altogether. Instead, the company makes its glasses smart by leaning on its projector expertise, shipping them with a built-in projected display that overlays a heads-up display directly onto the real world in front of you.

That means whenever you're wearing the XGIMI MemoMind One, you see a small monochrome green virtual display floating in front of you, showing important information in a compact dashboard, including notifications, weather, time, and more.

The display only shows up for a few seconds at a time, though you can adjust that in the companion app. The beauty of having a projected display, though, is that anyone in front of you won't be able to see what's on screen, mostly. At certain angles, however, the glasses do show a faint green hue here and there.

In terms of functionality, the XGIMI MemoMind One is fairly similar to the highly popular Even Realities G2, except it goes a step further by adding a feature the G2 was missing: audio output and built-in microphones.

That means it can play audio from any app you like, whether that's YouTube, TikTok, or Spotify. You can also use that same combination to take calls and meetings, make notes on the go, and of course, chat with the AI assistant on the device.

Over the Even Realities G2, I also appreciate that these glasses skip the touchpad entirely. Instead, they rely on a physical button under the right temple, which I'd take over a touchpad any day. And there's no additional smart ring you need to buy just to control them, either.

It's not perfect

So what's not to like about the MemoMind One? It pretty much sounds fantastic. Well, yes, but only on paper.

I'll give the XGIMI credit for not making me look as goofy as most other smart glasses do. And while the headlining feature of a virtual floating display right in front of your eyes sounds fantastic and futuristic, my eyes took a few days to properly adjust.

For the first three or four days, my eyes constantly felt tired, and I'd take the glasses off after wearing them for just a few minutes. That was until I finally figured out you can adjust the display distance from the app. Even so, I still get slight fatigue whenever I wear them.

My biggest issue with this pair of smart glasses isn't the hardware, though. It's the software. It's great that you can ask the AI general questions and both see and hear the responses at the same time.

But the software lacks basic features like setting timers, alarms, and reminders, which feels like table stakes for a device that's supposed to bring the quickness of getting things done from your phone straight to the display in front of you.

I do love that the company isn't gatekeeping the essentials. Calendar integration, notifications, and the basic Memo AI tier are all free. But there's also a Memo+ AI tier that costs around $20 a month, which brings a better AI engine and a feature called Moments that records and transcribes your daily environment, continuously in the background.

And that is where this product feels a little creepy. Having my life recorded 24/7 and paying $20 for the same? This makes the subscription a pretty hard sell.

I don't miss the cameras

Look, the XGIMI MemoMind One may not be the perfect display-based smart glasses out there, but the company's direction reassures me that this segment isn't just about slapping a camera onto a pair of normal glasses and calling it a day.

There's room for far more innovation here, and having a built-in floating display, on top of everything else I've raved about, makes this a much better value proposition than a standard pair of smart glasses.

Sure, camera-equipped glasses will still have their place, but for everyday wear, this is pretty much what I'd want to carry. Also, it helps not to look like a creep.

The XGIMI MemoMind One is currently only available through the company's Kickstarter, where it's offering nearly $200 off on pre-orders right now. The available variants start at $399, but the company tells me that once it hits shelves commercially, it'll be selling for $599.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Glasses could be the next Apple Watch and send shockwaves through the eyewear industry
• I've traveled over 50,000 miles testing smart glasses in 2026 — here are my 3 favorites that have launched this year so far
• I just tried Google's Android XR glasses — and Meta and Apple are in trouble

I really enjoy testing AR glasses — stretching the spatial computing possibilities of premium specs to their limit to see whether my display can wonder away. But I’m also aware that most of you reading this probably couldn’t care less about that. Screw the X1 chip and 3DoF tracking, because all you want is a dirt cheap external monitor strapped to your eyes on-the-go.

Previously, the answer for that has been the RayNeo Air 4 Pro. But now, a new $299 competitor has entered the ring: the X by Xreal a01+. And yes, the MacBook Neo-ification of AR glasses has arrived…but it’s a little odd sometimes.

Because yes, I’m a big fan of the ultra lightweight design, the screen quality is nice and bright and the AI SDR-to-HDR converter does work well in adding more of a flourish to the picture. Plus the swappable front gives me serious Nokia 3210 levels of fun customization opportunities.

But while this does have the design and ease-of-use advantage over the RayNeos, there are some areas where the Air 4 Pros do excel, such as the audio quality, vividness and the raw sharpness of the panel. Plus this stabilization mode of the XBX is good on paper, but leads to a picture that warps slightly with some ghosting around objects.

All in all, these are some solid AR glasses that do the essentials well. It will ultimately come down to what your priorities are — RayNeo for the better picture and sound quality, but XBX for the improved comfort while giving you most of that pretty screen.

X By Xreal a01+: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? These are budget AR glasses.
• Who is it for? They are ideal for first-time buyers of AR glasses and those who want a good value-for-money option.
• What does it cost? These cost $299.
• What do we like? The super lightweight design feels great on your face, the display is nice and bright, and I do love that customizability of just snapping off the front frame.
• What don’t we like? Keep that stabilization mode turned off, as it does weird things to the picture, colors are a little drained if you don’t use HDR, and there is some edge blurring around the sides.

X By Xreal a01+: Specs

X By Xreal a01+: The ups

It’s about time we had some competition on the lower end of AR glasses — RayNeo’s been snapping it all up! And Xreal does introduce some new ideas here that are rather great.

Super lightweight and comfortable

Beyond looking like a swanky oversized pair of wayfarers on your face (the usual affair for AR glasses), that 62g weight makes them like a feather atop your ears. Yes, that’s dramatic, but compared to more premium, heavier glasses, these were a breath of fresh air.

And whether it’s the rocket-shaped box it’s packed in (why? No idea) or the bright logo emblazoned on the inside, there’s just something fun about this design. The build quality definitely feels like cheap plastic, which makes me nervous about their longevity. But there is a chaotic upside to this budget design: you can physically rip the front lenses off. It gives me serious Nokia 3210 vibes, and people are already 3D-printing their own custom mods for it.

Just the picture quality you need

When it comes to basic budget glasses, you just need something that’s sharp and bright. The XBXs deliver on that nicely with 1080p micro OLEDs that may be a little less colorful out the box as you’d get from a RayNeo (that’s always been Xreal’s color tuning) but largely matches the sharpness in the center with slightly less edge-blurring than the Air 4 Pro, and they’re much brighter at 1,600 nits peak.

With support up to 120Hz, I had a blast with some high refresh rate gaming when connected to my MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ on several journeys, and the HDR10 support is huge for those moments when you've downloaded content from a service like Apple TV+ on your Mac.

Oh, and shout-out to the AI SDR-to-HDR converter too. The differences are subtle, but the pop of color is definitely noticeable alongside the improved contrast ratio — all while adding very little additional latency to the pipeline. Though to quickly note a couple of things in the features menu:

• HDR options turn the refresh rate down to 60Hz or 90Hz — not a world-ending problem at all, but if you notice a reduced smoothness, that’s why.
• Stabilization works at 120Hz — more on this feature later.

Don’t get me wrong. You’re not getting the cream of the crop (as you should expect in cheap AR glasses). But for the price you’re paying, it’s a solid panel for gaming and entertainment.

X By Xreal a01+: The downs

With budget products, everyone always has one question on their lips: what are the compromises? The XBXs do have a couple worth noting, and a feature that may sound good on paper, but is a little awkward in execution.

Cheap thrills?

Don’t get me wrong. The super lightweight construction does feel good on the face, and there’s a decent amount of flex in the arms to make them fit. But the plastic does feel cheap across the body, which given some of the hinge cracking problems I’ve noticed on more premium Xreal glasses, does make me a bit nervous about the longevity of them.

On top of that, there is no IPD adjustment here. This seems to be par for the course with cheaper AR glasses, so take stock of the XBX’s pupillary distance window (54.5mm to 74.5mm) and measure your own IPD to be doubly sure.

For iOS users, get the EyeMeasure app, and for Android users, OptoExpert does the trick!

Some picture woes - aggravated by Stabilization

So I’ll be upfront and say if your sole purpose is gaming and bingewatching, you’ll be mostly OK with the screen setup here. There’s some edge blurriness that’s definitely noticeable in that 50-degree field of view, but nothing that’s going to take you out of the immersion of what you’re watching or playing.

But two things can break that illusion. First is productivity — these seem to struggle a little with text legibility. If you’re on a word processor or coding, there can be a bit of fuzziness around small text, so make sure you change the magnification of the UI to break through that (something I didn’t have to do with the Air 4 Pros).

And second is that Stabilization mode. On paper, it does exactly what it promises, which is smoothing out the motion of a display if you’re in a bumpy situation (like turbulence on a flight over the Pacific Ocean like I went through). However, to get there, it’s doing some weird things to the image.

To make it do the thing, you can see the picture warp and bend a little, while ghosting a little around fast-moving artifacts like a person sprinting. If motion sickness is something you need to accommodate for, then this is the trade-off for it, but I’d recommend keeping it turned off for the best picture. Plus, I applied the firmware update that was said to fix this, and while lessened, the problem of warping and slight ghosting continued.

Maybe this is the cost of doing business this way? Hopefully something can be done about this feature because it’s a great idea.

X By Xreal a01+: Verdict

And that’s the story of the XBX a01+ — a solid pair of AR glasses that does trade blows in some areas with the kings of budget in the RayNeo Air 4 Pros.

There are some areas where Xreal takes the lead, such as in design, comfort, display brightness and ease of use. But RayNeo shows some maturity in the cheaper tiers with more color and improved sharpness for productivity.

But I must admit, there’s something charming about the design and ease of use, and for the budget-conscious crowd, scrapping the spatial features does cut to the core functionality in a way that makes them feel a lot more focused.

If your main aim is to just have a screen you can play games and watch movies on without the neck pain while traveling, XBX has got your back.

The key facts

• Meta is reportedly testing "super-sensing" AI glasses that continuously record audio and snap photos every few seconds.
• To combat "LED fatigue," executives plan to disable the recording light during always-on AI monitoring.
• This follows a recent Meta update meant to stop creeps from secretly disabling the exact same light.

Literally 24 hours ago, I wrote an article praising Meta for pushing an emergency update to its smart glasses that disables the camera if someone tampers with the recording LED. I thought Zuckerberg was finally taking the peeping tom problem seriously.

Turns out I was an idiot.

According to a new report from the Financial Times, Meta is currently testing “super sensing” AI glasses that will continuously record your life — taking photos every few seconds and constantly listening to your audio. And the grand solution for the recording LED that warns bystanders? They’re just going to turn it off.

And with this new bombshell, it seems like Meta’s lost the privacy plot. The company didn’t build a software lock to keep the creeps out, they built one so they could be the only ones in the house.

‘LED fatigue’

The FT report notes that execs plan to not activate the LED when these super-sensing features are in use. Why? Well, in a 2025 policy paper, Meta laid the groundwork for this: “If the LED blinked for extended periods at a time… people could stop noticing it.”

For all the logic I’ve heard in my many years in this job, this is simply phenomenal gymnastics. “Your honor, I realized the fire alarm was annoying everyone, so I simply turned it off while the building burned down. You’re welcome,” says the lawyer in my head

The idea is that continuous recording will allow AI to help you “query what you saw or heard, or recall your day.” But to do that, it has to wiretap every single person you interact with, which is super illegal in multiple U.S. states (and heavily regulated in the U.K.).

The software update threat

Prototype-aside, here’s the scariest line in the FT report: “The super-sensing features could also be activated on Meta’s existing glasses via a software update.”

Yesterday, I was relieved that Meta built a software pipeline to stop a cottage industry of hackers breeding a new wave of creeps. Today, I’m realizing that the same pipeline could turn my glasses on my desk into a 24/7 surveillance device. There’s a big difference between words and action, and for all their talk of privacy, Meta doesn’t seem to be fixing the loophole; they seem to be just monopolizing it.

The proposed system from Meta argues that the raw content wouldn’t be stored. Instead, the metadata from the audio and images would be extracted and uploaded to the company’s servers for the AI to query. Some argue that it has “fewer privacy implications” — I see tech-bro speak for: "we aren’t keeping your recordings, we’re just taking a highly detailed, AI-generated transcript of everything you said and did."

Something has to change

Several people told FT that “plans could still change” around whether the LED is activated or not. But the fact that this is a serious thought Meta is having after all the backlash is kind of crazy.

It also raises an interesting legal question. We already know that super-sensing would raise all kinds of legal red flags — specifically, recording audio of a third party without their consent. But in that situation, are you (the wearer) committing a crime by walking into a coffee shop with these on? Or is Meta?

Woodrow Hartzog, a professor of law at Boston University, is absolutely talking my language when he told the FT that lawmakers need to update regulations for the reality of “always-on, always-seeing devices.” He’s absolutely on the money here. “There’s no one law that addresses all the different dangerous ways these tools have been designed and built,” Hartzog commented.

Yesterday, I wrote that true privacy protection will only happen when society decides that secret recording is socially unacceptable, and that we need to treat the cottage industry of Etsy modders who disable these lights like wiretappers.

It turns out we shouldn’t just be worried about the modders. We need to be worried about the trillion-dollar company too, because exactly as I said, relying on them to police themselves “never quite works out the way you think.”

I just didn’t expect that to be proven right within the space of a single day.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve traveled over 50,000 miles testing smart glasses in 2026 — here are my 3 favorites that have launched this year so far
• I already paid $300 for Meta’s smart glasses — now it's charging $20 a month for a key feature
• Snap Specs vs Xreal Aura: The $1,000+ smart glasses that are fighting for your face this fall

Meta just released an emergency update to stop creeps from disabling the recording light on its smart glasses. That’s great. But the real problem isn’t just Meta — it’s that when I asked Google AI how to bypass this new security feature, its AI gave me a cheerful step-by-step DIY guide to becoming a creep.

All I asked was a simple theoretical question, and Google’s algorithm practically handed me a soldering iron and a ski mask.

Both its AI overview and Gemini quickly reveal that Meta’s update is going to be the first of a lot of times Zuck & Co. will be left playing an ongoing game of whack-a-mole with this problem. And given peeping tom Meta glasses mods are now a business, hackers and modders will view this as an obstacle course rather than a hard stop.

So rather than just re-report the news you’ve been seeing, I want to go into what else needs to change to truly get rid of this peeping tom behavior once and for all — starting with AI companies putting a block on guiding people how to get around it, and extending into changing the laws to stomp it out.

A bigger shift is needed

I won’t labor the point too much here, but while a software update and taking down modders' services on its own platform is a start, relying on a trillion-dollar tech company to police itself never quite works out the way you think.

Much more needs to be done on a legislative and hardware level:

• Kill the power, kill the camera: Governments need to pass laws mandating that smart glasses cannot function without a physical, hardwired, un-bypassable indicator light. If the circuit to the LED is broken, the power to the camera sensor must be physically cut. Similar to how cars must have seatbelts, this should just be a thing by law.
• Treat Etsy modders like wiretappers: Meta’s busy banning these modding businesses from Facebook Marketplace, but that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what I’ve found on the likes of Etsy and Shopify, as well as the dark web. Lawmakers should treat businesses who modify smart glasses like this in the same way they treat businesses that sell illegal wiretapping equipment.

• Update the “peeping tom” laws for the digital age: Currently in the U.S. and U.K., peeping tom and voyeurism laws are heavily tethered to the physical location of the victim, rather than the deceptive intent of the perpetrator. These laws need to be modernized to penalize covert, disguised or altered recording devices in any space.

Outlook

I can’t lie, I do rather like wearing smart glasses for the convenience of their features. But that doesn’t make me blind to this massive problem, and rightly so, people are mad after reading the same stories of secret filming that I have.

Meta’s update is essentially putting a better lock on the door of it all, but it ignores the fact that a crowd of people is still trying to kick the door down. Much like Nintendo Switch’s update that was supposed to stop piracy in 2018 or Apple’s software locks on third-party iPhone parts, hackers and modders will eventually find a new way around this.

Maybe it’s wiring a tiny internal LED that tricks the camera into thinking the external light is on? That’s what Gemini said anyway (yikes)! Put simply, tech fixes are temporary, but true privacy protection will only happen when society decides that secret recording is socially unacceptable.

And that starts with the law treating the creators and facilitators of this tech as criminals — not just innovative tinkerers or innocent content creators.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve traveled over 50,000 miles testing smart glasses in 2026 — here are my 3 favorites that have launched this year so far
• I already paid $300 for Meta’s smart glasses — now it's charging $20 a month for a key feature
• Major leak reveals Samsung Galaxy Glasses controls, pairing modes and how they might work with smart watches and rings

2026 has been a huge year for smart glasses, and I’ve reviewed every single new release that launched this year.

After clocking up the amount of flight miles equivalent to traveling around the world twice (one of those quite literally), I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to really stress test this new crop of specs — be it seeing how far I can push AI features or experiencing a first-class cinema screen while cramped back in economy with AR options.

And when it comes to my personal favorites, three consistent traits have appeared that I always look out for:

• Design and comfort: They need to pass the plane test (not get me laughed out of economy class for looking silly) and be comfortable to wear all day long. This is a challenge for AR glasses with the prism optics, but they’re figuring it out.
• Value for money: Smart glasses are exploding in sales right now, but they’re still relatively new on the scene. If you’re going to wear something for extended periods on your face, they better give you great bang for your buck.
• Features you’ll actually use: A lot of glasses come with a set of features that you’ll use once or twice, and then completely forget about. I always look out for things you’ll actually use consistently over time — features that actually matter (and aren’t just AI slop).

Out of the many, many glasses I’ve tested, three stand out specifically for ticking off all these boxes. So if you’re in the market for a pair, I’ve got your back.

But first — I’m looking for your thoughts!

This year is becoming a significant one for this category, and I want to hear what you think about it. Are you a regular smart glasses wearer? Do you feel it’s all a bit of a gimmick? Any dream features or use cases that would show you the future has arrived? If you’ve got thoughts, I want to hear them!

The ultimates: Viture Beast

They already top my best smart glasses list, and have swiftly become my daily drivers. If you’re looking for the cream of the crop in AR glasses right now, the Viture Beast are the ones to buy.

With new Sony Micro-OLED displays projecting a 174-inch screen directly into your eyes, that picture is truly gorgeous — a 1200p resolution with 120Hz refresh rate and Viture’s trademark color tuning really come to life here. And of course, this is all packed into a Wayfarer-style set of specs that look subtle enough, while also making customizability easy through those arm buttons.

Plus, shoutout to the spatial computing options built directly into the glasses themselves, alongside the company’s SpaceWalker app that gives you all kinds of multi-monitor setup options. These are great for turning any tiny space into a home office.

And I can’t deny they had a rocky start with an early launch before they were ready for prime time. But a few more months in the oven has transformed them into the best AR specs you can buy right now. $549 is a steep price (and I do have a cheaper option down below for you), but if you want the best of the best, these are worth it.

The Meta killers: Rokid AI Glasses Style

Oh Meta. Why is it that when you do something great (like launching the $299 Meta Glasses), you then shoot yourselves in the foot (putting one of its best features behind quite the paywall)?

Anyway, if you’d rather not have to deal with that, Rokid’s AI Glasses Style are a pretty stellar Ray-Ban Meta alternative that gives you those same nice looks — all while offering much more feature-wise.

For example, there’s more aspect ratios on the content you can capture with that 12MP camera, and instead of being locked to Meta’s AI, you’ve got the choice between ChatGPT and Google Gemini here (two options that work very well on glasses).

Not to say they completely beat Meta glasses — the case doesn’t charge your glasses, and the hinges feel a little flimsy. But at $30 less than Zuck’s cheapest glasses and with more features, it’s a stylish slam dunk in my books.

The cheap thrills: RayNeo Air 4 Pro

Now for the low-cost alternatives to Viture Beast. RayNeo has quickly grown to be my favorite cheap brand for AR glasses, and the Air 4 Pro continues that legacy with a $299 pair of specs that have the picture quality to challenge the more expensive competition.

Sure, there are some features cut out here — no 3DoF tracking that keeps an image locked in front of you, no electrochromic lenses to block out the light, and the design feels a little cheaper/is a little bigger on your face. But for the massive virtual display with HDR10 built in, which is both vivid and also rated well for low blue light emissions, this is a great first pair to buy.

My only real concern with them is firmware updates. Companies like Xreal and Viture give their glasses plenty of TLC with tweaks to better improve software features on the glasses, and RayNeo has a pretty bad track record of keeping on top of this. But out-the-box, there’s a lot here for $269.

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• I tested Google’s “Intelligent Eyewear,” and found the smart glasses that will defeat Ray-Ban Meta
• I wore Ray-Ban Meta Display smart glasses to watch the Super Bowl halftime show — and understood Bad Bunny in real time

The future of Apple's rumored smart glasses and the existing Vision Pro headset has become blurrier in recent weeks. Between price hikes, the alleged back-burning of projects and high-level departures, it seems from the outside that Apple's Vision division isn't working.

The most recent potential setback came last week when Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Paul Meade, the vice president in charge of the Vision Pro and glasses efforts, is leaving for OpenAI. Meade is the second Vision executive to leave in the last year after the creator of the Vision Pro, Mike Rockwell, was shifted to overseeing Siri after AI failures in that department.

Meade, meanwhile, was an integral part of Vision Pro's development and has reportedly been responsible for developing the Apple Glasses, as per Gurman's sources.

Normal attrition or an indicator of problems?

Apple is in a period of transition as Tim Cook's reign as CEO comes to an end and John Ternus starts his takeover. Soon after Ternus was announced as the heir apparent, Johny Srouji was promoted to chief hardware officer, and quickly went about making controversial changes to Apple's product design org chart.

Analyst Avi Greengart of Techsponetial told Tom's Guide that this kind of attrition is normal, especially after a leadership change: "The executive moves that Apple is making appear to be more about securing the future of Siri – which impacts nearly every product Apple makes."

As MacRumors reports, several members of Apple's leadership team have been there for decades, including marketing head Greg Joswiak and services chief Eddy Cue. In the coming years, we may see more departures as the old guard retires or moves on and younger faces rise up.

The question is whether the current attrition is a new development strategy on Ternus' part, which opened the door for people like Meade to leave. Or is it a more challenging problem?

"Sometimes that's the way companies move forward," IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo told Tom's Guide. "Potentially, [Apple] is rethinking its future product roadmap and looking for a different challenge."

Jeronimo noted that a problem that Apple may have is a Jony Ive one.

OpenAI and Jony Ive poaching

As Paul Meade leaves for OpenAI it looks like former Apple designer Jony Ive is rebuilding his Cupertino team at his new home. Meade joins Tang Tan and Evans Harkey, who used to run design, hardware, product design and industrial design at Apple with Ive. Gurman noted that Ive has also pillaged Apple's rank-and-file designers and engineers to build out his team.

That trio brings a lot of expertise and knowledge of Apple's plans to OpenAI, which is in the midst of designing its own suite of AI-forward devices.

The most recent rumors indicate that OpenAI has "fast-tracked" development of its own ChatGPT phone, which could debut as soon as the first quarter of 2027. Reportedly, OpenAI and Ive are developing at least five other AI-powered products, including earbuds, speakers, smart glasses, a smart pen, and a Humane AI-esque pin.

OpenAI promised AI devices that will replace the phone, though IDC's Jeronimo said that any other kind of device will be harder for consumers to think they need. "There are concerns that it will not going to be as popular as they [OpenAI] think."

Where does this leave Apple Glasses?

Apple has reportedly back-burned its expensive, heavy Vision Pro headset in favor of two different smart glasses. Supply chain analysts have claimed the Meta Ray-Ban-esque Apple Glasses will launch in 2027, while an XR version might debut in 2028 or 2029.

"I expect Apple to be a player in AI wearables one way or another," Greengart told Tom's Guide.

Everyone I spoke with agreed that Apple Glasses seem to be the next step; it's just unclear what direction Apple wants to take them. Though any glasses will likely be more consumer-friendly and cheaper than the Vision Pro.

If Apple gets glasses correct, it could be the next Apple Watch and actually send shockwaves through the eyewear industry. The question is whether key departures are draining Apple of talent and knowledge or just an adjustment of priorities.

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We’ve seen shrinkflation come to a lot of tech products this year, and now it’s Meta’s turn because one of its smart glasses' most important features is now being held hostage behind a paywall.

Conversation Focus helps a lot of people I know with their minor hearing problems, or in helping them to better understand conversations in loud, chaotic environments. It runs entirely locally on-device (no cloud AI needed), but that hasn’t stopped Zuck & Co. from rate-limiting it: no more usage unless you pay $20 a month for the company’s premium plan.

What are the rate limits?

As Meta states on its support page, “all AI glasses owners get free monthly usage for certain features.” However, when you reach the free usage limit, you’ll have to upgrade to the Meta One Premium plan for $19.99 per month.

In the section about rate limits, that’s when you find that “Conversation Focus is currently available for free for 3 hours per month, or for 15 hours per month for Meta One Premium Subscribers.” On top of that, unused hours “do not roll over to the next billing cycle.”

By the way, it's worth noting that Digital Trends did the math. That would mean you get six minutes of Conversation Focus a day per month on the Free tier, and premium subscribers only get 30 minutes a day. Whether you use it for free or have the money for that subscription, this is tough.

Why this rate limit makes no sense

As The Verge tested, Conversation Focus does not use Meta’s servers at all — it runs entirely on-device using those beamforming mics and “real-time spatial processing” to “amplify the voice of the person you’re talking to.”

I’ve made it clear that I’m annoyed at companies introducing rate limits on cloud AI features after you buy their product. That’s one thing, but to rate limit something that happens locally on your own hardware? That’s pretty messed up. It’s similar to when BMW attempted to charge a monthly subscription fee for turning on the heated seats.

Even more so when I think about the audience that benefits from this feature. I think back to attending AWE 2026, and how many people I spoke to who were using Conversation Focus because they were hard of hearing.

Yes, this may not be a certified OTC (over-the-counter) hearing aid, and its purpose is more for amplifying voices in crowded scenes. But I’ve got some small hearing problems, and Conversation Focus has been a real help in busy places or even in quiet scenarios with my wife.

And now I only get three hours of it per month? This is quite a silly example of shrinkflation. I’ve reached out to Meta for comment, and will update if the company responds.

Where does it end?

I know we all make the same “Ready Player One” references here — especially that moment where the corporation starts to pitch unremovable ads that block “up to 80% of the field of view without inducing seizures.”

This is, of course, a very dramatic exaggeration of deliberately harming the experience to make money…but is it? Meta is putting limits on people who simply want to hear better and putting it behind a paywall, and let’s not forget this is the company also where in many of its free products (like Facebook, Instagram, etc), you are the product via ads.

Does this mean ad reads within its Meta AI features — maybe directing you to the nearest KFC when you ask about the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona? Or a subscription fee for electrochromic transition lenses when you’re out in the sun? This is the company that did file a patent on creating an AI version of you based on your social profiles after you die.

So here’s my plea, Meta: there’s still time to reverse this decision. This feature works entirely locally on-device — a device we all paid at least $300 for. I know there will have to be some ways you need to make your money back on your cloud AI investments, but coming for Conversation Focus that uses none of that is a pretty big rug pull.

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• Snap Specs vs Xreal Aura: The $1,000+ smart glasses that are fighting for your face this fall
• '136 grams is not for all-day wearing' — Even Realities CTO sounds off on Snap Specs, and gives details on the future roadmap
• Tested: Xreal Aura DOES work with Nintendo Switch over USB-C — they won’t tell me how they did it, but I think Snapdragon Reality Elite and Android XR is the way

Someone left the door open to Samsung's wearable department today. After Samsung confirmed the Galaxy Ring 2 is in development, a major leak may have revealed more about Samsung's Galaxy Glasses.

Samsung teased its "Intelligent Eyewear" smart glasses at Google I/O in May, but declined to share much beyond a partnership with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster and a fall release window.

The leak revealed details on how the glasses work, the interface and a controller app. The Galaxy Glasses are built on the Android XR platform, and as we found in a prototype test, come with Gemini AI integration.

The leaked information comes courtesy of SammyGuru, who apparently managed to get a version of the Galaxy Glasses app. It appears to reveal functionality for a Warby Parker edition of the glasses.

The controlling app

The app is a hub for monitoring and controlling the glasses. You can manage settings, install updates and control features. SammyGuru didn't have glasses to actually pair with the app, but what they could see is interesting.

It appear to utilize One UI XR, similar to the Samsung Galaxy XR headset. Paired glasses appear at the top of the main app screen and the battery level.

It looks like it will import photos and videos to your phone once permissions have been granted. There are menu options for the Camera, Accessibility, AI assistants, Find my glasses and Notifications.

Wearable integration

According to SammyGuru, there are signs that the Galaxy Watches and the Galaxy Ring will integrate with the glasses. Samsung may be developing a dedicated Galaxy Glasses controller app that will be pre-installed on Galaxy Watches.

They also discovered some code strings hinting at Galaxy Ring gesture controls:

• com.samsung.android.ring.GESTURE_ACTION
• com.samsung.android.ringplugin.gesture.ACTION_GLASSES_START
• com.samsung.android.ringplugin.gesture.ACTION_GLASSES_STOP

I imagine the start and stop actions are related either to the camera or the glasses themselves. It's not clear what the gesture action is.

I can make some guesses based on similar products. At AWE 2026 we saw a new iteration of the Kiwear smart ring, which acts as a controller for smart glasses.

That ring utilizes intuitive gestures on your finger to navigate menus, open apps, or even control the volume. It also comes with "whisper controls" that allow you to speak to a microphone in the ring to prompt an AI assistant.

Samsung could implement a similar system for its own Galaxy Ring.

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Displays for TVs, monitors and laptops have only gotten brighter over the last few years, but one day they could reach an unprecedented 40,000 nits thanks to a technology that’s being developed by Samsung Display.

It’s called RGB OLEDoS — a.k.a. Red Green Blue Organic Light-Emitting Diodes on Silicon or micro-OLED — and Samsung Display has recently designed one that trounces even the best TVs.

The problem? The display in question is only 1.3 inches across and was designed more for mixed-reality headsets like the Apple Vision Pro rather than the next iteration of the Samsung S95H.

Micro-OLED is still a ways off, but it’s still worth caring about

OLEDoS works slightly differently than the OLED you may already own where, instead of depositing the organic materials onto glass, the material goes directly onto a silicon wafer.

RGB OLEDoS takes the already futuristic concept one step further: "Unlike white OLEDoS, RGB OLEDoS does not require a color filter, enabling higher light efficiency and longer lifespan. These advantages make it highly suitable for delivering excellent color reproduction and high brightness," said a Samsung Display representative (via FlatpanelsHD).

While we sadly won’t have a 40,000-nit 65-inch TV in our home anytime soon, RGB OLEDoS is a significant shift forward for display technology. Like TVs, mixed reality headsets need additional brightness to make content look more realistic — because the display sits so close to your face, you’ll notice discrepancies in brightness and colors more quickly.

Or, as the Samsung spokesperson more eloquently put it: “RGB OLEDoS is considered an optimal solution for XR devices, which require sharp image quality in compact and lightweight form factors."

That doesn’t mean OLEDoS won’t ever be practical for TVs — it’s just not the ideal solution right now.

Instead, we’ve got Mini-RGB, a technology that replaces white Mini-LED backlights with smaller, more vibrant RGB LEDs, and QD-OLED that places a quantum dot filter in between the front screen and the OLED substrate. The latter also enables higher brightness and color accuracy, but we’re talking around 2,500 to 3,000 nits — not 40,000.

What TVs currently use QD-OLED and RGB Mini-LED?

We've seen a few iterations of QD-OLED technology before (starting first in the Samsung S95D OLED) but RGB Mini-LED is pretty much brand-new for 2026.

You can find the latter in the new Hisense UR9 as well as the Samsung MR95F Micro-RGB TV while the former can be found in the Samsung S95F and Sony Bravia 8 II.

While it's not quite the same as RGB Mini-LED, TCL's new Super Quantum Dot TVs like the TCL X11L offer bonkers brightness and vibrant color without the help of RGB-colored LEDs.

We'll keep you posted about the future of micro-OLED technology, but in the meantime any of the aforementioned TVs will be a huge step up from the first generation OLEDs we saw from LG and Samsung a decade ago. And some of them are still on sale this week after last week's Amazon Prime Day event...

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As someone who is largely (if not always) inseparable from my iPhone's camera, the desire to test out Meta's elusive AI glasses was a natural next step. To me, in theory, using the smart wearables would take away the undeniable glue keeping my fingers around my phone, and let me capture, navigate and communicate all while using a screenless device — which is pretty rare in today's world.

Over the course of a month, I got my hands on the Meta Oakley Vanguard glasses and the Meta Ray-Ban Wayfarer Gen 2 glasses, with higher hopes than most, seeing the pairs had gotten rave reviews from my colleagues across Tom's Guide and TechRadar. But within 24 hours of receiving the pairs, my perspective on what was supposed to be a cool, fun wearable gizmo turned a little sour. Let's dive into it.

Privacy concerns were rife from the jump

Meta was sued over privacy claims in early March, with users reporting concerns about the use of human contractors to review footage taken by the glasses. These reports surfaced less than 24 hours after receiving my review units, which was definitely not perfect timing. According to the reports, ICYMI, contractors at Sama, a Kenyan subcontracting firm employed by Meta, say some of the footage they're asked to review includes:

• People using the bathroom or changing clothes
• Users' credit card details captured mid-transaction
• Sexual content, either viewed or recorded by the wearer
• Footage of people in their bedrooms, captured after a wearer set down their glasses without turning them off

You might ask, 'well how does this happen?', but it's as simple as saying Meta's magic words. When a user says, "Hey Meta, what am I looking at?", that footage can be flagged and sent for human review. This happens as a way to train the AI model on analysing scenes/scenarios. However, this content isn't being captured behind users' backs; it's footage that users themselves triggered, but often without realising it would be seen by a human being overseas.

This is also largely outlined in Meta AI's T&Cs, which state that the company can "review your interactions with AIs" via "automated or manual (human) review." But that language is hidden deep within the document, and most users have never read it. And there's even further cause for concern as some Meta employees have confirmed that anonymity doesn't always work, so faces can remain visible to Meta workers when reviewing footage.

I tried my best to avoid unintentionally recording, and followed suggested best practices — like disabling cloud processing and checking privacy settings. Privacy concerns aside, my time with the Meta AI glasses didn't shape up to be everything I hoped it would be… and it all started with the app.

App-solutely not

Much like the invisible tether I have to my phone, there's an equally intricate link between the Meta glasses and the Meta AI app. As with most smart glasses, there is often a software component that ensures regular updates and pairs with the frames to use certain features, like live translation and navigation assistance. Crucially, the glasses need to connect to Meta's always-online app to work.

That often meant having the app open in the background of my phone, which led to multiple Meta-targeted ads across my social platforms, as well as random "suggested prompts" on my lock screen based on conversations I had or searches I made. This wasn't ideal, to say the least, but considering my every move online is already being tracked, it wasn't the most alarming.

In contrast, what made the targeted ads somewhat more troubling was the fact that tied in with the privacy footage revelations — where the glasses are recording to an extent even if they're not — was the feeling that the glasses could see everything I saw. And that was a hard thing to shake.

Sure, most people on the internet are aware of search history, cookies, tracking, and personal data use being leveraged to promote products, ideas or suggested searches. But being confronted by targeted suggestions based on what you're seeing immediately in front of you is a somewhat shocking wake-up call.

On top of that, the app itself is a disappointment, largely resembling a sad version of Gemini's Nano Banana image editor mixed with ChatGPT's monotone prompt page, and a splash of Meta products thrown in. It does keep a track record of your voice prompts that you've asked of the glasses in the side panel, as well as all of the images and videos you've taken. Of course, there are some rather fun settings which I really enjoyed — like changing my glasses' AI voice to John Cena — and other great app integrations, like checking your movement levels through Garmin or syncing your health data.

I will say, I needed to constantly have the app open to make the most of my time with the glasses, which wasn't necessarily a deal breaker, but it made me very aware of everything I was asking them to do. And I still couldn't fully get over that murky gut feeling.

Storage struggles

One of the biggest gripes I had with the app was the storage space it took up. Aside from cloud saving any footage I had recorded, the app itself took up between 500MB to 1GB of phone storage during my test period, with the latter being when I had a longer 3-minute video saved. That's around the same size as most streaming or video media apps with larger offline caches. Comparatively, AI apps like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini usually cap out at around 300MB.

Sure, if you have the means to purchase a phone off the rack with over 200GB storage, then it might not even matter to you. But as I've mentioned, my phone is my lifeline, so needing it to take photos or videos of review products is the most important thing in my job. At the time of the test period, I was using my tried and true blue iPhone 14 with 128GB storage, which was plenty fine for my needs. But unfortunately, due to Meta's app size, I did find myself having to delete a few lesser-used apps and images to accommodate its fluctuating size.

Unmatched visuals and audio

For everything I disliked and was wary of during my test period, there were features that I'm now missing, now that my test period has come to an end. Notably, the ability to film high-quality video and photos hands-free was unrivalled.

I enjoyed taking long walks around my local park, and got to capture my dog playing fetch without having to finagle my phone to get the shot. I even took them along to the Australian Hi-Fi Show to capture the atmosphere of the high-end speakers and audio equipment without feeling like I was blocking anyone's shot (or earshot) of the music being played.

I even enjoyed taking them on walks around the city and asking directions or recommendations of lunch spots nearby to Tom's Guide's AU office, and spoiler alert: I ended up finding a new matcha spot that I now go to every other week. I even asked about particular plants I walk past every day but didn't know the name of, and the glasses gave me the answer right away. It was pretty neat.

I also particularly liked the audio settings, especially in the Meta Oakley Vanguards during active activities like biking or running. My colleague Nico, who also tested the Vanguards, really liked the convenience of not needing an extra pair of headphones for either music during solo rides or runs, or navigating with Google Maps. Using voice commands to start and stop recording was also nifty, although he wished the prompts were louder as he sometimes didn’t know whether the recording had started or stopped, especially on a windy day.

One thing on Nico’s wishlist for the next models would be slimmer temples to make them fit in helmet vents when the Vanguards aren’t in use (just like analogue cycling sunnies) — although he admits it’s not a major dealbreaker, as there are still other ways of stowing the device away while still on the bike.

As for the Ray-Ban Wayfarer Gen 2s, it's not to say audio calls or listening to music was drastically different, but the sound does have more bleed-through when compared to the Oakley Vanguards.

But with that comes a healthy caveat — none of these activities listed are things that I necessarily needed smart glasses for.

Final thoughts

When it comes to my final take on Meta's AI glasses, I'd issue a word of caution before committing to a pair. Yes, they're really cool, they're a fun concept, and I'm sure there are a fair few people who would get meaningful use out of them.

From posting cool adventures like skiing or gorgeous landscapes directly to your Facebook or Instagram account, and feeling "more present" when taking photos or videos of growing kids or once-in-a-lifetime experiences, to live translating conversations from select languages and getting navigational guidance when in a new city, there's a lot to like about Meta's foray into wearable technology.

Having said that, users should know and intrinsically understand what they're signing up for before signing on the dotted line. You may find, as I did, that all the online tools and services we’ve all become blasé about are still — as they’ve always been — immensely intrusive, and privacy today is a rare and fleeting experience. It’s only when it’s all right in front of you, literally in your face, that you realise just how deep we are in this construct, and are we really the ones being served here?

One of the more interesting questions I got after seeing both the Snap Specs and Xreal Aura is “which one is better for me?” Because in one way, it’s a question that misses the point — they’re both very different devices with very different missions.

But on the other hand, they’re both spatial computing platforms squashed into a pair of glasses, so it’s a very fair one to ask. I’ll try answering it a slightly different way, though, because it’s not necessarily a “which one is best” kind of thing, but rather “which one is right for you.”

So let’s get into it.

Snap Specs vs Xreal Aura: Specs

Where Snap Specs win

• A standalone pair of glasses — no compute puck required
• Software advantage — AR computing platform with over 5 million lenses to download and use
• Less VR headset in a pair of glasses, and more a full rethink of spatial computing

Standalone smart glasses are rather limited in capability at the moment — either display-free AI glasses like the Ray-Ban Metas or ambient computing options with subtle screens like Even Realities G2.

Snap Specs is on a whole different level, as the company has thrown everything and the kitchen sink at them to reinvent spatial computing in something the size of a pair of chunky Prada shades.

It’s the result of a multi-year experiment, and developers have been busy on early hardware. Rather than a small selection of XR apps alongside a bunch of phone apps blown up for the big screen, you’ve got 450k developers who’ve made over 5 million lenses.

And the experiences are a cut above the rest in terms of giving me the future I see for smart glasses — advanced tracking that is able to suspend content in free space without taking over your whole screen space. I’ve seen demos like labeling everything on a shelf, giving me a visual guide on how to to an ollie on a skateboard and more.

It’s unlike anything else you can try right now.

Where Snap Specs lose

• Design is rather bulky
• Field of view not as wide
• $2,195 is a steep price to pay

There’s a reason why out of all the photos I took of Snap Specs, this one of Evan’s ear struggling at the back went viral. Compared to previous developer hardware, you can see how hard the company’s worked to reduce the size and weight, but it’s clearly still a bulky pair of glasses.

Yes, Snap has designed around that — designed around the challenges of squishing that much tech into the stems of the specs themselves. But that makes a chunky aesthetic unavoidable. I kind of dig it, but can completely appreciate it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Then there’s the price of it all, which I get is a lower starting cost than the $10,000 to make Meta’s Project Orion (or $3,500 for Apple Vision Pro), but $2,195 in this economy is still a hefty number.

Where Xreal Aura win

• Lighter, more comfortable glasses
• Android XR brings a more VR headset-like experience to AR glasses
• Anticipating a cheaper price

The Auras answer the “future of spatial computing” question in a more traditional way — take some AR glasses, pack a puck full of compute power, and make a VR headset experience out of it.

Snapdragon Reality Elite does a lot of the driving here alongside the X1S spatial coprocessor and those world-facing cameras to track the free space around you and give you the Samsung Galaxy XR in tethered specs.

And what surprised me every time I’ve tried these is the critical difference moving from an isolating headset experience with a virtual see-through display to optical see-through can bring.

Tabletop gaming in Demeo feels more accurately merged with the world around you, Gemini Live feels like real-time advice in the real world rather than a camera-driven guide, and more. Throw in a 70-degree field of view for immersion and you’re off to a strong start.

Where Xreal Aura lose

• But will still be expensive
• Compute puck makes them awkward to use in public
• A different, more limited type of spatial computing

So like I said above, I’m anticipating these will be cheaper than the Snap Specs. However, just because something is cheaper doesn't mean it’ll be a good price.

I’d love for this to be sub-$1,000, but we’re not in that kind of universe for a while (hi, RAMageddon). I’m thinking it’ll be more like $1,300 or more.

That’s a tough pill to swallow — especially when you think about the use cases of these. Given they’re AR glasses with a puck, you won’t be wearing these out in any public situations outside of flights and public transport.

And of course there’s that difference in vision. Snap Specs wants to reinvent spatial computing, whereas Xreal Aura brings VR to a smaller device.

Outlook

Of course, this is way too early to call, as I’m basing this on the hands-on time I’ve had with both (for Snap Specs, I went eyes-on with the new glasses, and hands-on with Snap OS via the developer hardware). But it paints a clearer picture of what to expect from each.

I’d get the Xreal Auras if I was looking for a more traditional VR headset experience compressed down to something the size of AR glasses.

I can imagine this being a great experience on long haul flights or around home, but that compute puck does limit where you’re going to feel comfortable using it.

However, if you want to take a real big step into the future of spatial computing — AR infused with AI and a massive OS platform atop standalone specs, then Snap Specs is the way to go (provided you got deep pockets).

More from Tom's Guide

• '136 grams is not for all-day wearing' — Even Realities CTO sounds off on Snap Specs, and gives details on the future roadmap
• Best of AWE 2026: 7 top gadgets that show us the future of XR
• Tested: Xreal Aura DOES work with Nintendo Switch over USB-C — they won’t tell me how they did it, but I think Snapdragon Reality Elite and Android XR is the way

There are two kinds of smart glasses: AR glasses and AI frames. Of the two, AR glasses, I believe, are the most useful right now. They basically add a giant external monitor to your face and keep your neck from getting kinked.

Unfortunately, there's a glut of smart glasses that are on sale for Prime Day, and most of them aren't worth your time. They're either e-waste taking up space or they don't actually do what you need.

I've picked four smart glasses that are still on sale as Prime Day winds down and that you should check out. I've personally tried all of them, and I don't think you'll be disappointed if you pick any pair on this list. Plus, they're all discounted right now.

Prime Day smart glasses deals: Quick links

• RayNeo Air 3s: was $269 now $189 @ Amazon
• RayNeo Air 4 Pro: was $299 now $239 @ Amazon
• Viture Luma Pro: was $499 now $379 @ Amazon
• Xreal One Pro: was $649 now $549 @ Xreal

RayNeo Air 4 Pro — the everyman

Up front, the RayNeo Air 4 Pro glasses aren't the cheapest on this list, but at sub-$300 at full price, they're still pretty nice to your wallet. And Prime Day knocks $60 off the usual $299 price.

If all you want is great picture quality, the Air 4 Pros have got you covered. These glasses offer a 1080p HDR10 201-inch virtual display with 3D capabilities. As far as I know, these are the first AR glasses to breach the 200-inch size and the first to offer HDR10 quality.

The subtle design is comfortable to wear for a long session and doesn't get too hot, unlike some cheaper AR specs. At $299, these were a steal, but at $239, you need to take a look.

Xreal One Pro — the top dog

I'm taking a leap up the price tag chain, but Xreal is the top dog in the AR glasses world for a reason.

The Xreal One Pros are feature-packed and built for enthusiasts who want more than just a display. To start, they're $100 off for Prime Day, but these glasses come with a super wide 57-degree field of view, one of the largest available on the market. It does produce some edge fringing, but it's not terribly distracting.

That view can be anchored in place for focus, or it will smoothly track where you're looking around, so you can always have the screen in front of you. The powerful X1 chip is situated in the glasses, meaning you don't need a computer puck or an app. Plus, the smaller glass prisms mean these glasses are comfortable and give you a private workspace whenever your travels take you.

Viture Luma Pro — game away

What sets the Viture Luma Pros apart from the other glasses on this list is the picture quality customization options. They feature physical myopia adjustment dials so you can adjust the picture for your needs quickly and easily.

Viture combines a 1200p display with Viture's amazing color science, a 52-degree field of view, 1,000 nit brightness, and a 120Hz refresh rate. All perfect for gaming on the go.

Additionally, of the glasses I'm highlighting, these look the most like a normal pair of sunglasses, which means you can wear them anywhere without standing out in a crowd.

RayNeo Air 3s —the wallet friendly option

Look, if you just want to save money but still want a personal giant screen, then you need to take a look at the RayNeo Air 3s. It's the predecessor to the Air 4 Pro.

If you just want something that will plug into your Steam Deck, laptop, or phone on the go, then at $189 for Prime Day, these glasses are the perfect pair.

Compared to other options on this list, they do stand out more, especially with the nearly mirror finish on the cover lenses. Still, they come with 1080p picture quality, a 120Hz refresh rate, good color, and low blue light.

For AR glasses beginners who don't care about a ton of features or spatial computing and just want a massive private display for not a lot of dough, I'd go with the Air 3s. And when you're ready to upgrade, the Air 4 Pros are right there.

We're tracking all the best Prime Day deals

As you know full well, there are two kinds of smart glasses: AR glasses (a glorified external monitor in front of your face) and AI glasses (frames that you can ask questions about the world around you to). And I’ll be real, many of the Prime Day smart glasses deals are trash.

They’re either just e-waste, or they’re tricking you into looking like a cyberpunk dork. That’s why you can trust my patented pub test for AI glasses and an airplane test for AR glasses — public scenarios where I see whether I get laughed at or that double-take glance like “wtf is that guy wearing!?”

And out of the Prime Day mess, 7 smart glasses emerged as options I personally love over months of testing, which just so happen to be massively discounted too.

Prime Day smart glasses deals: Quick links

• RayNeo Air 3s: was $269 now $189 @ Amazon
• RayNeo Air 4 Pro: was $299 now $239 @ Amazon
• Rokid AI Glasses Style: was $399 now $249 @ Amazon
• Viture Luma Pro: was $499 now $379 @ Amazon
• Xreal One Pro: was $649 now $549 @ Xreal
• Rokid Glasses: was $699 now $619 @ Rokid
• Nuance Audio Square: was $1,200 now $699 @ Nuance

Prime Day AI glasses deals

Outside of seeing whether my mates laugh at me wearing them in the pub, I’ve put each of these AI glasses through ruthless tests to ensure that not only do their AI features work, but that they’re actually useful in the long term (and not just AI slop for the sake of it).

Rokid AI Glasses Style — the pick for most of you

You may have seen that Meta’s launched some new $299 smart glasses. That’s all good and all, but why even bother when a better pair that’s compatible with better AI assistants is $50 less?

The Rokid AI Glasses Style give you a lot of the similar features to the Metas — a decent 12MP camera, 3K video recording, speakers to listen to music/calls, etc. But the real killer blow here is it can be used with either Gemini or ChatGPT, which gives you faster answers than Meta AI and visual intelligence that breezes past what Zuck’s specs can do right now.

Rokid Glasses — the pick for enthusiasts

Just before I show you another company, there’s Rokid’s display smart glasses too. Basically, think of that similar AI-infused tech of the Styles, but with an added display UI that makes some of these features so much more helpful!

Instead of asking questions and getting an audio answer, you get heads-up information for you to read (much better than being told it), and no longer do you take a picture and pray you framed it correctly — there’s a framing display to get the angle just right.

And to get real-time translation you can read with a less-than 1 second latency rather than trying to listen to your glasses and the person at the same time is significant. These are great for traveling and look subtle on your face.

Nuance Audio — the pick for hearing problems

I gave a pair of Nuance Audio smart glasses to my Dad over Christmas, and the difference they made to his hearing problems has been significant. From the simplistic UI that helps him control the volume of the background noise to tracking/emphasizing voices talking to him is a huge win.

And even better? These are a fully FDA approved over-the-counter hearing aid. That means the top man doesn’t have to look like he’s tuning into Tokyo with his rather precarious-looking hearing aids — it just all fits into a nicely styled pair of glasses that he doesn’t feel insecure at all wearing out and about.

Prime Day AR glasses deals

I’ve personally tested all of these AR glasses over thousands of miles of travelling for my job. All of them provide a great picture quality at prices you should 100% snap up right now before they go back up — all while not drawing double takes or smirks on the plane.

RayNeo Air 4 Pro — the pick for most of you

I was floored after reviewing the RayNeo Air 4 Pro glasses. While the competition was chasing innovation, the world just wanted a pretty picture in front of their eyes for dirt cheap. That’s exactly what these offer with a 1080p HDR10 201-inch virtual display with 3D capability.

They wouldn't pass the AI glasses pub test, but pass the AR airplane test with a subtle design that is comfortable for hours on end, and at $299, you couldn’t go far wrong while everyone else was pushing $500. Now, you can get an additional $60 off.

Viture Luma Pro — the pick for gamers

So I take a lot of smart glasses with me on-the-road for testing, but when I’m not in tech reviewer mode, I find myself very often going back to the Luma Pros — incredible picture quality and unmatched picture customizability with those physical myopia adjustment dials.

That 1200p screen is razor sharp with Viture’s awesome color science, a 52-degree field of view, 1,000 nit brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. Plus, that Wayfarer look with electrochromic lenses ensures you’re always fading subtly into the crowded airplane with nobody looking your way.

It may be economy class, but you’ve got the screen of a first class passenger.

Xreal One Pro — the pick for the pros

We’re getting into big price territory, so we better bring big glasses with it too. At $549, the Xreal One Pros are absolutely feature-packed and ready for enthusiasts to level-up their setup. It starts with a super wide 57-degree field of view, which does produce some edge fringing in those new prism optics, but not to the point they distract you.

Throw in impressive tracking that allows the display to either smoothly follow you or anchor in place to look away from, the X1 chip that powers all of this locally on hardware (no app required) and smaller glass prisms instead of the giant bird baths, and you’ve got a comfortable set of glasses that pass the plane test and give you your workspace wherever you are.

RayNeo Air 3s — the dirt cheap pick

“All of those features are great and all, but I don’t care,” I hear a lot of you say. “I just want something to plug into my Steam Deck and play on the plane with no silly tracking stuff.”

Well, dear reader, let me introduce you to the RayNeo Air 3s. Yes, they’re a bit old, and they don’t have all the fancy features of other glasses. Plus they do stick out a little more than other subtly designed options on this list, while also having a limited viewing angle.

But they do exactly as they say on the tin (ask your British mates about Ronseal for that reference), 1080p picture, 120Hz refresh rate, decent color, and low blue light.

For the core beginners and those who don’t care about spatial and just want a screen in front of their face, this is the cheap thrills pick for you.

We're tracking all the best Prime Day deals

Snap Specs are a very ambitious pair of AR glasses. They transcend that idea of AI glasses like the Ray-Ban Metas, and actually give you an Apple Vision Pro-esque experience in something much more wearable than a bulky headset with a battery pack wired to it.

But I could only imagine how much of a challenge designing something like this actually is, given the fact it’s got 2x Snapdragon chips, a battery and a ton of sensors built in (and no compute puck to offload that).

It’s a massive undertaking, so I got to chat to Russell Patton, product manager for Specs at Snap, about the past decade that has led to this moment — the challenges faced, what the Specs are, and how he sees these as a new paradigm of computing.

Who are the Snap Specs for?

So as I watched Evan’s keynote at AWE 2026, it’s clear he’s a fan of the Steve Jobs showmanship, and aimed for this to be Snap’s own personal iPhone moment — defining a new category of product and doing so with flair. I spoke to Russell about the idea of glasses as the next category and he provided a little more detail.

“We’ve seen these different shifts in computing happen, and we see a shift is coming,” Patton stated. “Going forward, it’s going to be that shift from phones to glasses, and I think it’s not just taking the apps that are on our phones and putting them into glasses.”

Instead, he theorizes a new computing generation that works around “truly spatial content,” which I’ve been able to sample a bit of over the past year in Specs’ development — AR-infused AI that’s able to not just guide you to fix a car with text, but actually label all the key components in an AR space to better aid you.

That’s one of the huge parts of Snap OS from all my experiences testing it. Visual AI from things like Gemini on Android XR products like Xreal Aura is all well and good — looking at what you’re showing and verbalizing an answer. Instead, Snap Specs and the many lenses built for it by the over 450k developers on Snap’s platform, use this in a much more visual mode, and it’s a real difference maker in spatial computing.

On designing the glasses

I also talked to Russell about getting to this point and designing the glasses around the huge amount of tech going into them. After speaking to Snap’s former hardware VP last year, it was clear that the mission was to make them “substantially smaller,” and Snap’s done this by working the aesthetic around the size demands of the internal hardware.

“You need to look at how we can make things efficient. How can we really take optical displays, really push down the size but at the same time deliver the capability to do true spatial computing?” Russell commented.

Asking more about the design, it became clear that the display optics became one of the real challenges in making these a reality. For those uninitiated, these use Waveguide display tech — tiny projectors that refract an image through millions of grooves imprinted directly onto the lenses themselves (rather than a prism like you see on other AR glasses).

“You need it to be efficient so that you can make the battery a reasonable size, and you need it to be compact so the projector is not driving the size of the glasses to be large. A huge amount of work on the optics and the entire mechanical design happened to just do a really thoughtful integration,” Russell added.

About that $2,200 price

Snap Specs are available to pre-order now for $2,195 (£1,995 for my fellow Brits), and they’re coming out this fall. It’s fair to assume that a lot of you reading this may see a massive price here, and that’s understandable.

Of course it's worth noting that this is defining a whole new category of wearable computing in a way your standard display glasses like the Ray-Ban Display can’t come close too. But it’s still a tough pill to swallow, so I asked Russell what the big pitch is.

“It’s about unlocking multiple categories of really exciting value,” Patton said. “So utilities, whether that’s AI assistance, measurement, listening to audio, having that large virtual display, browsing the web, or streaming video from your other device.”

A lot of AR glasses already do these things, but Russell expanded: “Using this very large external manager can create a really engaging, rich spatial AR experience. I think it’s really for someone who is excited to be experiencing a new computing platform and engage with those capabilities.”

Outlook

So I’ll be real — it’s clear these are for the (very rich) early adopters. But from my time talking to Russell, trying Snap OS for myself and seeing the glasses, those early adopters are in for a treat.

It’s the first true realization of my vision for smart glasses when I tested my first pair years ago: taking the computational capabilities of a bulky VR headset and squashing them down into glasses. Not only that, but taking advantage of that compression to give you some real-world killer apps.

I’m excited to try these out more as we close in on a fall launch.

More from Tom's Guide

• '136 grams is not for all-day wearing' — Even Realities CTO sounds off on Snap Specs, and gives details on the future roadmap
• Snap won't confirm the chip but Qualcomm claims its new Specs are in the 'AR family' — will that be enough?
• I went hands-on with all of Meta’s new $299 smart glasses to see if they’re actually better without the logos

Smart glasses have come a long way in the last couple of years, but most are yet to be truly useful or feature affordable prices. To me, the smart glasses worth owning let you enjoy a giant screen for gaming or movies without having to crane your neck.

Unfortunately, most like the Xreal One ($499) or Viture Pro ($549) are expensive. That's where the RayNeo Air 4 Pro steps in with a nearly equal features and a much friendlier price.

Right now for Prime Day, the RayNeo Air 4 Pro glasses are $60 off at Amazon. We rate the Air 4 Pro as one of the best smart glasses for anyone looking to save some money but still want a quality pair of specs.

Plus, if you really want to lean into your DC Comics fandom, the Air 4 Pro is available in two Batman-themed editions: Justice and Chaos. These feature a clip-on Batman or Joker lens cover the glasses and a few extra goodies.

The Justice and Chaos editions are on sale for $255, only $15 more than the standard model. Even if you don't want to wander your house demanding, "swear to me" it's a pretty tempting deal.

Seriously, I've been wearing these glasses at night to not bother my partner and they're quite comfortable and have the picture quality of a $500 pair of smart glasses for under $300!

The Air 4 Pro comes with HDR10, which greatly improves the quality of shows like those from Apple TV Plus. You are no longer locked to SDR content, and it's massive.

Plus, at 2.7 ounces, these glasses aren't that heavy and compared to its predecessor, runs much cooler. Plus, with the sleek design (Batman-mask aside), they look pretty normal compared to bulkier external display smart glasses.

If you're looking to get a taste of what smart glasses can do without spending a mint, the Ray Air 4 Pro might be the entry-level option you're looking for — and this Prime Day sale makes them even more appealing.

SMART GLASSES

We're tracking all the best Prime Day smart glasses deals

I just went hands-on with Meta's newest lineup of smart glasses, and one thing is immediately clear: the company is ready to move beyond borrowed brand power.

While the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses started at $379, Meta’s latest collection drops the Ray-Ban (and Oakley) badges entirely. Instead, Meta collaborated directly with parent company EssilorLuxottica on a line officially called Meta Glasses and brought the starting price down to a more palatable $299.

The new collection doubles down on personalization, with highly adjustable frames, more style options, improved fit and an upgraded AI experience powered by Meta's latest LLM. It's a bold move that suggests Meta believes its smart glasses are now the product people recognize, not the logo stamped on the side.

That said, there's a hilarious twist: my favorite pair in the lineup is the very distinctly branded Kylie edition co-designed with none other than the "Rise and Shine"-singing, Knicks courtside-sitting icon herself, Kylie Jenner.

The entire collection is available now Meta.com, LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Best Buy, and Amazon. Let’s get into everything you can expect.

Meta Glasses: Styles and fit

The new main collection features three distinct styles: Adventurer (a timeless rectangular shape,) Fury (a thicker statement-making frame) and Meta Glasses by Kylie (chic oval frames, detailed more below.)

They come in a massive palette of colors including Classic Black, Classic Tortoise, Racing Green, Linen, Merlot, Mahogany, and Sandstone. Combined with sun, Transitions®, polarized, and clear lens options, there are 26 distinct styles available at launch.

But how a pair of glasses feel is equally as important to how they look. Smart glasses typically suffer from being rigid, clunky and even unforgiving. Meta is addressing this head-on with a three-prong approach to comfort:

1. Overextension Hinges: Designed to flex outward to accommodate wider head shapes without pinching.
2. Adjustable Nose Pads: A massive win for comfort, weight distribution, and keeping the lenses off your cheeks.
3. Adjustable Temple Tips: Armed with an internal core wire (which is actually visible inside the transparent colorways) that lets you mold the ear stems for a secure-but-comfortable fit.

Meta Glasses by Kylie

In addition to Fury and Adventurer, Meta revealed a new collaboration with Kylie Jenner. Offered in classic black and tortoise frames, I think these are the most "non-smart glasses looking" smart glasses ever made.

It’s a slim, trendy, oval cat-eye style complete with a distinct gem accent on the left eye. Meta and EssilorLuxottica clearly thought about the lifestyle details here. It features metal nose pads specifically chosen to protect makeup from smudging, and it ships with a sleek, fold-flat case that includes a mirror.

On the tech side, the collab gets its own custom "awake chime" and a dedicated Kylie-inspired AI voice, complete with a subtle hint of her signature vocal fry and a few custom "Kylie-isms."

Muse Spark: Smarter, More Contextual AI

Under the hood, these frames pack the exact same reliable platform of cameras, microphones, battery, and processing chip as the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Gen 2. But the software ushers in the next phase of Meta AI powered by the Muse Spark LLM.

Meta Glasses are the first to launch with Muse Spark from Day 1, though the software update is also rolling out to existing Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses. As part of my demo, I tried two interactions powered by Muse Spark:

• Live Translation: Muse Spark adds support for 14 new languages including Chinese (Mandarin,) Hindi, Korean, Japanese and Arabic. In my demos translating live speech and text, the execution was mostly seamless and effective.
• Social-Infused Insights: The AI now pulls local recommendations based on what real people are actually talking about on Threads and Facebook. In other words, social chatter will be factored into your location-based queries.

Pedestrian Navigation goes audio-only

Another major software port coming to this collection is pedestrian turn-by-turn navigation, a feature originally seen on Meta Display glasses.

Since these frames lack a screen or heads-up display, you won't get visual overlays superimposed on the world. Instead, Meta is utilizing its excellent open-ear audio platform to give you precise, ambient audio directions as you walk through the city.

Be sure to let me know if the comments if you’re interested in hearing from the Tom's Guide team when we test out this audio-only navigation experience on Meta Glasses.

A massive win for prescription wearers

In a huge move for those with a prescription, Meta announced the Rx Lens Swap program alongside Meta Glasses.

Meta Glasses are fully prescription-compatible, but now you can take your frames to your preferred local optician after the point of purchase to add your custom lenses without voiding the factory warranty.

Meta Glasses Outlook

Ditching the Ray-Ban and Oakley branding is a bold move, especially when Google is leaning heavily into high-end fashion collabs with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster for its own upcoming smart glasses.

But I believe Meta has established itself enough in this space that it doesn’t need to rely on logo leverage anymore. Mainstream users will probably still call these "the Meta Ray-Bans" out of habit, but this launch proves Meta can scale style beyond a single partner's catalog and make its smart glasses more wallet-friendly.

That said, I'm slightly worried Meta might have made these frames a little too discreet. It makes me wonder if it will actually hurt their reach. Half the reason the original Ray-Ban Metas took off was because people would stop you in the street to ask if they’re the camera glasses. With the new collection looking like a great pair of everyday frames, Meta might lose that word-of-mouth viral spark, even if my face already feels a whole lot better wearing them.

More from Tom's Guide

• I've reviewed all of Meta's smart glasses, and this is the pair I'd actually buy
• 7 settings to change first on your Ray Ban Meta glasses
• I wore Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses while shopping at Target

In a world of AI glasses and VR headsets, Snap Specs are an ambitious (and chunky) meeting point of the two technologies — aiming to bring a generational leap in spatial computing.

But as you well know, everybody has their own ideas of what this new form of wearable will be, and in the eyes of Even Realities CTO, Jian Ouyang, it’s a different, simpler, ambient computing platform that focuses on making sure the glasses look good first.

The company’s G2 glasses have been my daily driver for a few months now, so when I got the time to sit down with him and Developer Relations head, Raag Harshavat, I wanted to get their thoughts on Snap’s radical rethink of smart glasses and also ask how things are going with the team gearing up for Even Realities G3.

Editor's note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

“Forget the smart part of it, right?”

So I started by asking him about the biggest news coming out of AWE 2026: Evan’s big Snap Specs debut. “I think from the first look, people can tell we’re [Even Realities] a different category, right? So 132 and 136 grams are not for all-day wearing,” Ouyang commented.

“We did strong ergonomic R&D research from the beginning to see what’s the good form factor for normal glasses to be worn all day — that answer is below 40 grams.” And to be fair to him, you can see signs of this in one of the pictures I took that’s been going viral across different accounts.

You know this one, right? Where Evan's left ear looks like it's getting crushed a bit by the downward pressure of those stems. Snap's CEO has responded to this image circulating, saying "that's what my ear looks like."

With this looks-first mission, Even Realities took a very different route. “We killed the camera feature, the speaker, and we maintained the display and voice input with all the microphones to get us the right weight,” Ouyang added. “We’re not trying to replace a cell phone because we need to leverage the computational resources and services.”

This was getting interesting, so I dug a little deeper with them — asking about the differences in DNA that make up each of these devices and their companies. “So much of the DNA of Even Realities is what makes eyewear special first. Forget the smart part of it, right?” Harshavat commented. “I think so much about the session-based use vs the quiet tech philosophy that we use…being with someone in moments that they both expect and don’t expect.”

In this, he’s referring to what Ouyang will go on to call ambient computing. This is the idea that a device fades into the background — only to come to life in ways you expect and with features that surprise you in their usefulness (Conversate on Even Realities G2 for example).

It’s a huge, far more simplistic differentiator compared to Snap’s big idea, and Jian is aware of that. “They might think 'one day I’m going to replace it' [the smartphone]. I don’t think it's right or wrong. It’s just up to the user to decide — either I’m going to wear this [pointing to his G2s] all day, or I’m just going to wear this for like 30 minutes for fun. It’s a different application.”

The plan for Even Realities G3

Then we got to the future of Even Realities’ own glasses. I know they won’t spill all the beans on future hardware like the G3, but I can get a bit of a flavor as to where their heads are.

“I think the overall hardware road map for us is to maintain a good form factor and constantly push for new technologies to get into our platform,” Ouyang responded. “As battery and hardware technology evolves, everything gets smaller, and we may be able to squeeze more features in there.”

With that tantalizing opener, I moved in to ask about the possibility of a camera built-in for more multimodality in the AI, and it’s not seeming likely. Fun fact: Even Realities CTO used to be one of the camera engineers on the iPhone — he knows a thing or two about the power consumption of packing a snapper! And he cautioned that while a camera is something they are “chasing,” they cautioned that getting to the point of one without massive power consumption “might take years.”

Instead, he talked about the kind of experience he wants to bring with G3 and beyond: your own “personal Jarvis” in agentic AI. “What we foresee is a more open system based on AI with a hardware platform that everything routes through,” Ouyang contemplated.

“This [points to glasses] is the nearest to your eyes and they can hear you, but there won’t be any kind of app. You don’t have to click on something or type in the worlds — all you need to do is imagine like you have your personal Jarvis buying something online, booking tickets and more.”

Outlook

For years, I always thought that the first real goal to achieve for smart glasses will be taking the computing prowess of a VR headset and smashing it down to something the size of glasses. In reality, that goal has changed drastically over many different interpretations.

Some (like Even Realities) believe in the quiet tech revolution — ambient computing that truly fades into the background — and whoever is right will be up to you when that future comes.

More from Tom's Guide

• Tested: Xreal Aura DOES work with Nintendo Switch over USB-C — they won’t tell me how they did it, but I think Snapdragon Reality Elite and Android XR is the way
• You've got questions about Xreal Aura, and I've got answers — 5 things you need to know about these Android XR glasses
• Snapdragon Reality Elite is here, and I’ve already tested it without realizing in Xreal’s Project Aura — its a giant step towards the future of smart glasses

Augmented World Expo (AWE) has evolved rapidly into one of the biggest shows for seeing the future of virtual reality, smart glasses and spatial computing. This year's edition gave us some truly showstopping news with earth-shaking announcements from Snap, Qualcomm and many more.

It really feels like we're getting to the point where the lines of VR headset and smart glasses are starting to blur into one device that gives you all the performance of a big set of goggles — crammed into something the size of specs.

And while there were some key headline announcements, that key DNA of small innovations that will change the face of spatial computing in the future remained strong underneath. We were able to go hands-and face-on with several products here, and now it's time to pick the cream of the crop. Here are our picks for best of AWE 2026.

Best of show: Snap Specs

Snap's iPhone moment is here. The Snap Specs are official, and they're far beyond any other standalone glasses you've seen in terms of capability. This is what happens when you combine the tech of the best VR headsets with the portability of the best smart glasses.

The end result is more than just a technologically advanced set of frames, but rather a new paradigm in computing — moving it away from being a tool that takes you out of the world to a form that gets out of the way. They're a bit chunky, but the design around this hefty tech makes them look kinda stylish!

They've worked with developers for years with prototype hardware, and with over 5 million lenses ready to use from measuring things in free space to augmented guides on complex real-world tasks like fixing a car, and much more.

Will Specs stick the landing? That's the ultimate question of these $2,195/£1,995 glasses. That's a high price to pay — making them much more targeted towards the early adopters in this space. Time will tell what happens in the future of these glasses, but we did genuinely just witness a breakthrough moment in AR.

Jason England

Best chip: Snapdragon Reality Elite

Snapdragon Reality Elite is the high-end follow-up to the XR Gen 2 that powers the Galaxy XR headset. It comes with upgrades in performance and efficiency, powering the Xreal Aura compute puck.

In several eyes-on demos with the Xreal Aura, I've been impressed with the performance of the glasses and the processor. The glasses are responsive and quick, and I'm not saying it's the only thing that enables the Auras to connect to the Switch 2, but we played latency-free Breath of the Wild and the chip certainly helped make that happen.

This chip does what Qualcomm claims by bringing "spatial computing into the AI era." Snapdragon Reality Elite blurs the line AR glasses and VR headsets with hardware that makes spatial computing useful; now it's up to the software to catch up.

Scott Younker

Best AR glasses: Xreal Aura

The Samsung Galaxy XR is a good mixed reality headset, but for all the Android XR and Gemini features it has, they feel a little limited in the isolation of a chunky VR set you use at home.

Enter Xreal's Aura, and turns out a pair of AR glasses is the answer to a lot of this. Moving to optical see-through (OST - basically seeing the real world through lenses rather than a display) creates a real nice augmented layer with what you see in Android XR.

That compute puck packs Snapdragon Reality Elite to keep all your experiences running buttery smooth, and apps that were just fine on a VR headset become great on here, like the tabletop game Demeo for example!

Throw in a massive 70-degree field of view, and you've got another eal step towards squashing VR tech into glasses.

Jason England

Best AR Accessory: KiWear 2nd Gen smart ring

Kiwear's smart ring might just be the way we control smart glasses in the future. The ring utilizes intuitive gestures on your finger to navigate menus, open apps and even control the volume by twirling your finger in a circle.

We saw an early iteration at AWE 2025, but the version I tried this year was even better.

The second-generation version adds "whisper controls" which allow you to talk into the ring to prompt an AI assistant. This can be used for prompts or AI programs. In one example, we were able to ask about AWE using an on-device model

The ring doesn't come with health sensors like an Oura or Galaxy Ring, but maybe it doesn't need it when what you're really doing is using it as a controller for your other devices.

Scott Younker

Best VR accessory: bHaptics TactGlove

I've been impressed by the immersive bHaptics VR haptic vest and gloves in the past, and they didn't disappoint this year. The updates were minor: new motors in the palm of the glove and a redesigned VCM wrist motor, but all three proved to make demos a more interesting experience.

The two palm motors make it feel like actually holding things in your hand versus gripping with your fingers. Meanwhile, the redesigned wrist motor helps give some weight to lifting objects, especially in demos where the items were supposed to have different measurements, like a wooden block versus a metal one or a dumbbell compared to a drill.

Scott Younker

Best innovation: Lumus Waveguide display lenses

An obviously important part of smart glasses are the lenses you see through especially now that displays are being integrated into AI glasses and not just AR spectacles.

Lumus, which makes the lenses for the Meta Ray Ban Display glasses is interesting because the company builds lenses that utilize mirrors to refract the light for the images. I was told by David Goldman, Lumus's VP of marketing, that this enables the lens to be thinner, lighter and enables direct bonding of perscription layers as needed.

It makes for impressive tech when normal seeming glasses can display information and down the line even pictures and video at high resolution with decent color.

Scott Younker

Best budget AR glasses: X By Xreal a01

I've got a confession to make. While the X By Xreal a01 glasses are indeed being showcased right here at AWE, I've already had a pair for a while now — having flown around the world with them!

So this is equal parts an award pick and a small set of impressions on my time with them. And in short, they get rid of many things a lot of regular folks don't care about (3DoF tracking, electrochromic lenses), and focus on the fundamental experience most of us actually use them for: watching stuff and playing games on a private cinema display.

And the end result is a solid pair of $299 AR glasses — the picture is bright and colorful, and while there isn't any image tracking whatsoever, smooth follow does keep things far less jittery.

Jason England

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve worn smart glasses for over 5 years — here’s the best AR and AI glasses in 2026
• Tested: Xreal Aura DOES work with Nintendo Switch over USB-C — they won’t tell me how they did it, but I think Snapdragon Reality Elite and Android XR is the way
• I just tested the phone everybody thinks is a preview of the iPhone Fold — God, I hope they’re wrong

Snap finally revealed a new version of its intriguing Specs AR glasses this week during AWE 2026, but kept many things from the actual release date — "expected" this fall — and the type of chips in the device to itself.

CEO Evan Spiegel called the new glasses "the beginning of a new era in computing." But what's powering this new era?

The Snap Specs are powered by two Snapdragon processors that do all the computing. One of them powers the display and visualizations while the other is responsible for the computing power.

However, Snap refused to disclose which Snapdragon chips are in the glasses. While at AWE, I asked both a Snap engineer and one of their spokespeople. Each reiterated that the Specs use Snapdragon chips.

But which one?

More information was promised closer to the actual release of the glasses "this fall."

Qualcomm, which makes the Snapdragon chips, had a presence at AWE, and I was able to ask VP of XR Ziad Asghar which of its chips were being used in the glasses. He demurred but did say that the processors are part of the company's AR family of products.

Notably, while the just-announced Snapdragon Reality Elite chip is technically the third generation of Qualcomm's XR lineup, it won't be featured in the Specs. Asghar said that the Reality Elite is for higher-end MR products like Samsung's Galaxy XR headset and the Xreal Project Aura glasses, which do feature the new SoC. Specs, apparently, are not considered part of that lineup.

"The device that Snap has is actually super exciting," Asghar told me, "I would say it's a different category of device."

But will Specs already be behind the eight-ball when it comes to processing power when they launch?

Which chip could it be?

All previous, chunkier versions of the Snap Specs have been powered by tandem Snapdragons, and given Ziad specifically said "AR Family," I'm thinking it may be the Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 (or some modified version of it), which was announced at AWE 2025. In fact, several devices utilize the AR chip, including the Meta Quest 3S, Rokid Glasses, and RayNeo X3 Pro glasses.

Unlike Qualcomm's mobile processors, which see upgrades on an annual basis, the AR and XR lineup has been slower to update.

The Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, used in the Samsung Galaxy XR, for example, was announced in 2024. It's now being replaced by the Reality Elite, which will likely find its way into the next Galaxy XR headset.

I was told that the previous versions of Specs use an "older solution," the AR chip. Presumably that means the new Specs utilize a newer chip. However, Qualcomm hasn't announced any other XR or AR chips recently beyond the AR+ and Reality Elite.

Snap would not confirm if Specs have a customized chipset, and Qualcomm deferred to Snap regarding announcing which silicon it uses.

Right now, the assumption is that Snap is using a customized version of the AR+1 Gen 1 chipset or possibly a new generation of it, though I doubt that since Qualcomm would want to announce those chips, especially considering all of its "collaborator" companies that would use said SoC.

Still, it's possible Qualcomm could reveal a new AR chip in September or October, when it holds its annual Snapdragon Summit where we typically see the new mobile SoCs such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 announced.

For now, Snap has left us with more questions than answers, except the Vision Pro-esque pricing, that we do know.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best of AWE 2026: The top gadgets that show us the future of XR
• Here's what the Snap Specs look like, as modelled by Jack Harlow, Imogen Heap and more
• Tested: Xreal Aura DOES work with Nintendo Switch over USB-C — they won’t tell me how they did it, but I think Snapdragon Reality Elite and Android XR is the way

So, as the smart glasses guy on the Tom’s Guide team, my main beef has always been with the Nintendo Switch just making things awkward with its video out on the USB-C connector.

With literally any other gaming handheld, it’s a seamless dream — plug your AR glasses in, and see the picture in front of your eyes. The Switch (and Switch 2) requires jumping through hoops of tricking your console into thinking it's in docked mode to bypass the complicated encryption.

Well, when I tested Xreal Aura some more here at AWE 2026, the team literally mentioned in a passing conversation that they’d cracked Switch compatibility in Android XR. Before they could say another word about local AI, I stopped the talk in its tracks and asked for a demo.

And hot dang, they did the thing! Not only is there full Switch support over USB-C, but with no real noticeable latency, and you can use Gemini to ask questions about the games you’re playing!

Fixing the problem with brute force

So the problem is one of compatibility and protocols (boring, I know). 99% of the market uses DisplayPort Alt Mode through that USB-C socket, which natively supports just plugging the glasses straight in. Meanwhile, Nintendo is using Mobility DisplayPort (MyDP) — a standard that was typically used with micro-USB ports back in the day. Why? God knows.

For years now, the fix has been something like the Viture Switch Dock: trick the Switch into thinking it’s in docked mode via a big battery pack to keep it alive at higher wattages and simulate an HDMI connection.

And now, a simple USB-C connection into the Aura’s compute puck does the trick… “HOW!?” I excitedly asked Qualcomm’s team, to which they couldn’t help but chuckle and give me cheeky grins.

Truth is, they can’t tell me exactly how they did it, so all I can do is theorize. You’ve got a strong, open, and versatile development platform like Android XR, paired with a monster spatial computing chip in Snapdragon Reality Elite. I think it’s not too much of a stretch to assume that this high-performance chip is able to transcode that signal in real-time in a well-written Android XR app.

What does it feel like to play?

One common issue with this workaround for the current Switch docks for AR glasses is latency. It’s not terrible, but it can be noticeable in faster titles. None of that exists here, and in my time playing Zelda, it all felt nicely responsive.

On top of that, given it’s a floating window within Android XR, there’s the Gemini Live edge too! Fire it up, look at your screen, and ask away — Gemini was quick to let me know where to go next in the forest.

That is a real value-unlocker vs going to GameFAQs for the answer I need to get ahead in my gameplay whenever I’m stuck.

Take that, Nintendo!

Yes, I know the Switch 2 is great and everything, but this whole USB-C compatibility issue is a pet peeve I’ve been super vocal about for a long time now! Whether it’s so that Nintendo can make its own AR glasses, I don’t know. But the fact that I can’t save myself from neck pain playing the damn thing on long-haul flights seems crazy to me when it’s literally the easier (and better) standard to support.

However, with some brute force of Snapdragon Reality Elite and some coding know-how in Android XR, that’s no longer a problem, and not only that, it’s latency-free compared to the other workarounds we’ve seen.

Low key, this is the biggest winning feature I’ve seen for Xreal Aura. I know there’s so much more to talk about here in what Android XR can do in an optical see-through (OST) environment vs a VR headset, and Gemini’s capabilities in spatial computing. But to 1-UP Nintendo’s limitations? You just love to see it.

More from Tom's Guide

• I went eyes-on with Snap Specs and saw Evan Spiegel wear them — they look way better than I feared, but there's one massive comfort flaw
• I just tested the phone everybody thinks is a preview of the iPhone Fold — God, I hope they’re wrong
• 'No one has a crystal ball': Lexar execs have a plan to reduce our RAM dependency if the AI data boom lasts 'for years'

When I first saw the design of Snap Specs during CEO Evan Spiegel’s keynote, I’ll admit I was a little nervous. For all the talk of making them “substantially smaller,” as former hardware VP Scott Myers told me, they still look pretty chunky.

But the press pictures don’t quite do them justice, and after seeing them in person (and seeing them worn by Evan himself), I must say I kind of dig the aesthetic. They’re a bold statement piece for the future of spatial computing, and a look that I believe can blend well into the public day-to-day.

Designing around the constraints

Bear in mind that Snap’s had to stuff two Snapdragon processors, optical waveguide displays with a 51-degree field of view, a ton of sensors, and enough battery for four hours of general use, and you can start to see how much of a challenge this is.

Speaking with the Snap team, they acknowledged that the task of making it all smaller was quite the challenge. But compared to the developer hardware you’ve seen me wear over the past couple of years, the difference is stark — sleeker lines on that Wayfarer-esque face, contoured stems, and a real upgrade in materials used to a polymer Snap calls “plastic titanium.”

The frame around the lenses seems to have been made thinner; the stems may be large, but they fit into the general vibe up front, and that cross sign of dots on the side is a magnetic charging connector that doubles as a USB-C video-in to plug this directly into your laptop or handheld (that’s huge).

My only real concern is when Evan came through the Snap booth wearing them. Not the look of them, but the fact that they seem to be exerting a bit more downward pressure on the tops of his ears, from the side profile.

There could be many reasons for this (the way he’s put them on and ear shape, for example), but it did give me a little pause that the 132g weight might cause some discomfort. I’m hoping I’m wrong!

“Nerd alert”

That’s not to say it has its detractors. This is a divisive look, and when I shared them for general thoughts on my team’s Slack channel, the first reaction I got was a GIF of Austin Powers saying "Nerd Alert."

I’m going to have to give these my classic “pub test” with friends in my small hometown to get a real feel for how people react to them outside the tech bubble. But to be honest, the early detractors haven’t really phased my impressions here.

Snap set out on a mission to take its super ambitious idea of mashing the capabilities of a VR headset into something the size of a pair of glasses, usher in a new, more immersive type of computing, and make it look good.

After testing the OS experience on development hardware, I’m confident they’ve nailed the first; the jury’s out on the second, as real-world testing is needed, and going eyes-on has shown me they can tick off the third.

The only real obstacle now is the $2,195/£1,995 asking price (available to preorder now), which I understand is definitely on the lower end of new spatial computing hardware (think Apple Vision Pro), but is still rather astronomical. This is definitely for early adopters, and you’ll stand out in these swish specs.

More from Tom's Guide

• Snap Specs LIVE — $2,200 augmented reality smart glasses announced, along with availability and specs
• You've got questions about Xreal Aura, and I've got answers — 5 things you need to know about these Android XR glasses
• Snapdragon Reality Elite is here, and I’ve already tested it without realizing in Xreal’s Project Aura — its a giant step towards the future of smart glasses

Last year at AWE 2025, I tried out the latest haptic VR accessories from bHaptics including a vest and gloves that are meant to help you feel more immersed as you game on the best VR headsets.

At AWE 2026, bHaptics returned with a modest update to TactGlove lineup that actually helps the gloves feel more immersive.

The new DK3 gloves add new haptic motors at the bottom of your palm. I was told that gamers said previous gloves didn't feel as intense because after your fingers, there wasn't really any feedback spots until the wrist motor.

The set I tried featured two motors on the palm for both the right and left hand versions. I noticed that the right hand vibrated more than the left in the pair I played with.

The biggest difference I noticed was in the new motor that sits on top of your wrist on the DK3 gloves. The VCM motor is larger and seems as the spokesperson said, "crispier."

The spaceship demo I tried this year is the same as last year's and it did feel more immersive in my right hand with the new palm motors and the bigger wrist motor. And yes, I did try to pet the cat again.

Prices went up

Unfortunately, as with most things in the last year, prices have gone up.

The TactSuit Pro vest hasn't received any updates but its price went up $65. It now retails for $565 compared to last year's $499 starting price. The lighter TactStuit Air is now $320 up from $249.

Compared to the older version the new DK3 gloves are an expensive $385. And beyond the new motors all the other specs appear to be the same.

All of bHaptics' gear is available now.

More from Tom's Guide

• Snapdragon Reality Elite is here, and I’ve already tested it without realizing in Xreal’s Project Aura — its a giant step towards the future of smart glasses
• Here's what the Snap Specs look like, as modelled by Jack Harlow, Imogen Heap and more
• You've got questions about Xreal Aura, and I've got answers — 5 things you need to know about these Android XR glasses

Nope, it’s not called Snapdragon XR Gen 3, but Qualcomm did bring something big to the smart glasses party in its Snapdragon Reality Elite chip. And yes, this is the chip that is running inside Xreal’s Project Aura that I tested back at Google I/O.

In the company’s own words, it is set to bring “spatial computing into the AI era,” but I would say its real superpower is in unlocking my dream future of blurring those lines between the best VR headsets and smart glasses into one wearable.

Qualcomm (and I) know that ever since the end of the pandemic, the amount of people buying VR headsets has dropped and the appetite for that spatial tech in something the size of a pair of specs has grown massively. People really want to take their XR on the road without looking like a glasshole.

And with huge improvements to the performance and power efficiency, alongside a 160% boost in AI performance, this is the chip that can get us there. Let me explain.

By the numbers

The first thing I noticed during the briefing is that this is much more than a generational leap — it’s a whole reinvention with a new target in mind. Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 was solid in the likes of the Meta Quest 3 and Samsung Galaxy XR, but Qualcomm came with a new mission: turboboost everything, while making it much more efficient and cooler for different, smaller form factors.

On the performance end, you’ve got the ability to render a 4.4k resolution picture per eye with ray tracing thanks to that 60% faster GPU, and a 30% zippier CPU will keep app opens lightning quick too. There’s also a 10% improvement in latency between your hand and the screen, and new enhancements to video see-through (VST) improve the speed of tracking too.

As for the AI side of things, Snapdragon Reality Elite gives it the full beans with a 160% improvement in NPU performance — making it capable of running a full-blown large visual model (asking questions about/taking action on things you see in the world around you) with around a 1.7-second latency between asking and it starting to work.

Go puck yourself

All that’s fair and good, but if I’m being real, it’s that 20% longer battery life and the ability to run a whopping 12-degrees Celsius cooler that’s the big news for me. That’s the real key to unlocking a VR experience in a pair of glasses.

I was trying to figure out how Xreal was pulling off the impressive performance and power efficiency pairing I saw in Project Aura, and turns out the answer was right under my nose the entire time — this chip was in that puck!

But talking to Qualcomm some more, it’s clear this is a “hedging their bets” moment for the company, as the chip is versatile in how it can be used. Either it can go into all-in-one XR devices (maybe a Meta Quest 4? …provided it hasn’t been canned) or what the company is calling “disaggregated XR devices.”

This is a fancy way of saying “smart glasses” with the compute puck. Of course there’s still a fan in Project Aura’s puck, so cooling challenges remain, and this is still glasses-with-a-cable coming off of them because of it.

But we’ve now got the primo piece of silicon that can start to blend the worlds of VR headsets and AR glasses together for sure.

'That sweet-spot Goldilocks product'

When I spoke to Qualcomm on the briefing, I asked if this chip puts the company on the path towards taking that VR headset experience and stuffing into a pair of glasses. And while they’re keen to emphasize that “there’s still a place” for VR headsets, the company sees an “eventual convergence” of the two.

“If you look at the things Meta, Google and Snapchat have done, there’s very much a desire to make that sweet-spot Goldilocks product,” the rep added. And given Qualcomm has yearlong agreements with all of them, as well as investing in waveguide displays for glasses heavily, it’s all coming together nicely.

It’s what I’ve wanted for years — only to see limitations in the hardware, the software, and an execution problem when it comes to spatial computing (namely that it’s not as useful as actual computing or just using your phone).

With Reality Elite, the hardware problem goes a long way towards being fixed. With a new developer platform packed with software modules, compatibility with multiple AI systems and even white label hardware to test it on (the Snapdragon START program), that’s the software problem.

And hopefully the execution problem is fixed in due course alongside this, as more and more people flock to XR. The future’s bright, and I can’t wait to see it.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested Google’s “Intelligent Eyewear,” and found the smart glasses that will defeat Ray-Ban Meta
• Meet X By XREAL — I’m testing the MacBook Neo of AR glasses that people can actually afford
• Windows laptops are entering their MacBook Neo era, but is Windows 11 actually ready for it? 8GB of RAM has me worried

Earlier today at AWE 2026, Snap's CEO Evan Spiegel introduced the new Specs augmented reality smart glasses. Unlike most AR smart glasses, the Specs aren't tethered to a compute puck, like Xreal Auras, or have a limited feature set like the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses. These glasses are meant to have it all.

In the last couple of years, Tom's Guide writers have had a chance to actually wear and test out developer versions of the Snap Specs. The result in the run-up to the official launch was a chunky, clunky, and at times very hot device that sat on your face like a pair of poorly designed goggles.

How do the Specs look?

Part of Snap's Specs announcement included a new global campaign the company calls Specs Visionary. It involves celebrities like Jack Harlow, Imogen Heap, Kaia Gerber, Hoyeon and Jimmy Butler "exploring how Specs can unlcok new forms of creativity, expression, learning, and play." What that entails was left vague and Snap promised more information later this year.

However, it also gives us a small look at how these AR glasses look on person. Notably, compared to the developer glasses we tried, the Specs do look much slimmer, especially around the lenses.

However, I recall the arms of the glasses as thick and in some cases very squishy on the ears like this:

Notably, the arms are hidden underneath hair or by front-facing shots of the glasses. Some standalone press images reveal arms that are still quite large.

One of the sticking points with smart glasses as a whole is their lack of fashionable looks. It's quite obvious when you're wearing display glasses or AR glasses. They're not really something you want to wear day to day, though that's improving with things like Meta's Ray-Bans or the recently announced Samsung "Intelligent Eyewear" lenses that actually look like something you could snag at LensCrafters.

A "Developer reaction" video gives us a better look at how these things look on normal person, and honestly, still pretty thick.

My worry is that comfort and heat will be a problem. As mentioned, those chunky arms can squish your ears and they're definitely not as svelte as other glasses.

I found in my testing sessions that the developer specs got pretty hot especially near the temple. We won't know if that's alleviated until we get more hands-on time with the public version of Specs, but it's something I'll be keeping an eye on.

That said, we've been impressed by the Snap OS in our previews and that could be the true selling factor that makes these glasses worth a look. But eating is presentation, as they say.

Oh, there's also the astronomical $2,195 Apple Vision Pro-esque asking price.

How to snag a pair

If you're interested in Snap's Specs you can pre-order a pair now at specs.com. Be warned that they don't come for cheap. For the pre-order you need to put down a $200 refundable deposit — followed by that astronomical cost at launch.

Snap says that the Specs should start shipping "this fall" in the US, UK and France.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tried to replace my gaming monitor with Asus ROG Xreal R1 glasses — it’s not quite what I hoped for
• Kuo: Apple is scrapping Vision headsets in favor of 2 smart glasses — but there's bad news for the release dates
• Thinking of investing in A/C this summer? Here's how to keep your cool

Xreal's Project Aura is now officially called Xreal Aura! After I went hands-on with them, questions came flooding in, and I'm here to answer them all. While my initial hands-on time was brief, I headed back to see the team, to try them out some more and get more answers from Xreal.

Because let's be real — these are the next step towards AR glasses and VR headsets merging, so while I (and many other publications) have told you how they feel to use, there's plenty of curiosity around some specifics.

And now we're getting some more news on them at AWE 2026, there are a few more things I can share!

What's the resolution?

Xreal has just confirmed that these are 1920 x 1200 pixels per eye. However, from pixel peeping, they definitely seem sharper in fidelity compared to the Asus ROG Xreal R1 (1080p resolution), which I've just finished reviewing!

To my eyes, there's definitely a step-up in detail here — especially when you get close to floating app windows. So maybe this is something to do with upscaling happening in the background? I'm not sure.

Also, a quick note about the 70-degree field of view. I mentioned it in my hands-on, but it's worth talking about in more detail. This does feel like the starting point for bridging the gap between VR headsets and AR glasses, but it comes with some edge blurring.

That being said, in a field of view this wide, the edge blurring is isolated to your peripheral vision. You won't really notice it in use.

What are the specs of these...specs?

This one's going to be a mash-up of a bunch of questions I saw on Reddit:

• There's Snapdragon Reality Elite in the puck: Turns out my prediction was bang on, but the naming was a little off! Snapdragon Reality Elite is the premium sequel to the XR2 Gen 2 that you see in the Samsung Galaxy XR, and with the improved performance and (more importantly) power efficiency and cooler operation, it's ideal for a smart glasses compute puck.
• A new X1S chip powers the spatial side of things: Alongside Snapdragon in the puck, Xreal's X1 chip gets an S-tier upgrade to X1S — stabilizing some of those XR experiences beyond the display goodness it provides elsewhere.
• The compute puck is about the same size as an iPhone 15 Pro: Can't add much more to this than the beginning of the bullet point. There is a fingerprint sensor on the side for security, and a volume rocker on the other. Plus, the top side is a touchpad if you prefer to interact in this way.
• Xreal Aura glasses can work as a standard pair of AR glasses: We got shown a demo of wireless display mirroring from a Chromebook into Android XR. But for other systems, these are USB-C glasses, and they do work as a normal set of AR glasses.
• There is no microSD card slot on the compute puck. This may be just because we were shown prototype models (and I hope one gets added for all the content I'll want to add), but it looks as if you'll be relying on the internal storage.

• These feel heavier on the face than other AR glasses: A pretty even weight distribution does balance these well on your face. But they are slightly heavier than older specs at 95 grams.

What can you do on them?

Basically, anything you could do on a standard Android XR headset. The real beauty here being that their optical see-through (OST) glasses, you're not isolated in a headset viewing the world through cameras.

And developers have created over one hundred Android XR apps, and there's much more to come as Xreal has just announced.

• Project Hail Mary: Journey Among the Stars: I love the film, so I'm definitely curious to see how it plays out navigating my ship in XR.
• Fallout Factions: Turn-based strategy game with all the gesture controls you could want to get into the world of Fallout easily.
• The Nutcracker: A Spatial Awakening: What happens when you take the legendary ballet and capture it in stereoscopic 8K with a Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive three-camera array? You get a new level of immersion into this holiday performance.

And there's more too, including Fox Sports XR, Cubism (love this game), Chess Club, three games from DB Creations (of Table Towers fame), Simply Piano XR teaching you the instrument with AI-powere real-time feedback, ShapesXR to get creative, and more in healthcare and banking.

There's even a real-time AR experiential tour of Aachen's historic city center, which is claimed to bring these historical sites back to life with animations, reconstructions and more.

How much will they cost?

Project Aura is set to launch later this year, but how much will it cost? That's the big question, but it's clear they won't be cheap. Again, Xreal kept this close to its chest. As with a lot of computing products, pricing is fluid amid the shockwaves of RAMageddon.

So all I can do is apply some of my best guesswork here and see what's happened elsewhere. The Galaxy XR is a full-blown Android XR headset that costs nearly $2,000, and while these are AR glasses, it's still that tech fueling the spatial OS crammed into that puck.

Being a betting man, I'd say the target would be somewhere in the $1,299 region. The inner hoping man would've greatly preferred under a thousand bucks (and I do hope this is possible), but I'm not blind to the fact that costs are going up.

How do I order a pair?

This one's easy enough for me to answer! Xreal Aura is now available to preorder with a $99 reservation fee, and for two weeks right now, that $99 doubles to $199 credit toward your purchase when they officially launch.

Any other questions?

Of course, I've picked the five top questions I saw asked after I posted my Aura hands-on review, but I know there'll be more, which is why I'm opening the floor to you.

I'm currently in Long Beach for AWE 2026, and it's all a bit hectic with new announcements (Snap Specs for example). So here's the deal — from June 17th at 9 am PT, I will be able to answer all your follow-ups. Sound good?

And it goes without saying, because you're all lovely folks, but the community rules are in effect: please treat everyone (including yours truly) with respect and avoid any nasty language.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested Google’s “Intelligent Eyewear,” and found the smart glasses that will defeat Ray-Ban Meta
• Meet X By XREAL — I’m testing the MacBook Neo of AR glasses that people can actually afford
• Windows laptops are entering their MacBook Neo era, but is Windows 11 actually ready for it? 8GB of RAM has me worried

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has just revealed Specs — a new pair of AR glasses that are "the beginning of a new era in computing." As with many smart glasses or AI-forward devices, Specs are being pitched as a way to avoid looking at our smartphones all day, and the first thing you're probably noticing is the chunkier stylings to house all of that compute.

That's because they're able to do everything something like an Android XR headset is able to do, but with all two Snapdragon processors built into the glasses themselves (no puck needed).

Specs are meant to sit between the lightweight-but-limited AI glasses and the heavy but isolating VR headsets. That's the key differentiator that makes Specs "not designed to replace the world," but rather "to bring computing into it."

And for that, you'll be paying a pretty penny for them when they come out this fall! Are you sitting down? The starting price is $2,195 (that's why I warned you to sit down). Will these be the stylish breakthrough to shake up our best smart glasses list? Let's talk about them.

Specs "specs"

A head-turner

Last year, when I got to talk to Scott Myers, Snap's former hardware VP, he spoke about how this design is "substantially smaller."

While that is definitely the case (especially when you look at that weight), they're still definitely a bold aesthetic that will turn heads. From the thick-rimmed black frame and large temples to the integrated sensor placement on the front, there will be no hiding the fact you're wearing smart glasses when it comes to these.

Not to say they're bad-looking at all. I actually think Snap's pulled off what I thought would be the impossible in compressing all that tech into something that looks good to wear everywhere (no compute puck required). But I can also fully understand that this louder vibe won't be everyone's cup of tea.

They do also get a nice premium build too thanks to that Swiss TR90 Polymer construction, and the electrochromic lenses will ensure that they can be worn anywhere.

But, as I found out testing the Specs a while back, it's not about what they look like, it's about what you can do on them.

"Bring computing" into the real world

“For decades, computers have asked us to look down, sit still, or step out of the moment," Spiegel commented. "Specs bring computing into the world around us where we live, work, learn, create, and connect.”

On the face of it, that new paradigm of computing can seem like your usual pair of display smart glasses — hands-free navigation, asking an AI assistant for advice, etc.

But the real differentiator comes in when you start to make use of all that raw onboard horsepower. Like a VR headset, you can work in instant virtual workspaces, collaborate within them and more. You can measure objects in the space around you without a tape measure, and even learn and create in the virtual space around you. There's even specialized interactive tools like real-time graphic golf alignment or basketball shooting traning.

This is an incredibly versatile platform that's going to hit the ground running after years of development.

AI tools

AI will be a part of Snap OS that runs the glasses and Snap has promised that it will be useful in understanding visual context and providing information "where it's needed."

“With SPECS, AI is not intelligence trapped in a chat box,” Spiegel said. “It is intelligence that can see what you see, understand what you’re trying to do, and help you in the moment.”

The company is encouraging developers to create Snapchat Lenses using new agentic tools like Claude Code. There is also a benchmark for spatial computing to help AI models perform "real-world" spatial tasks like reasoning on coordinates, object relationships and more.

Privacy and price

Snap says that privacy was a "core design principle" from the beginning. The glasses are meant to be transparent in how they work.

In practice, that means requesting permission before accessing sensitive information, an LED light that indicates when the glasses are recording and a prioritization in on-device processing.

Pre-order now

If the price doesn't scare you away, you can pre-order the Snap Specs today at specs.com for $2,195 with a $200 refundable deposit.

Snap expects to ship the glasses in the US, UK and France starting this fall.

More from Tom's Guide

• Acer just unveiled new AI and AR smart glasses, putting more pressure on Meta — here's why
• Kuo: Apple is scrapping Vision headsets in favor of 2 smart glasses — but there's bad news for the release dates
• I tried to replace my gaming monitor with Asus ROG Xreal R1 glasses — it’s not quite what I hoped for

Picking out your favorite pair of the best smart glasses is about to get tougher as Snap is expected to unveil its next generation of AR smart glasses in California today. The company will be bringing the fight to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel took to the stage at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) event in Long Beach today to reveal the new Snap Specs. Snap already has a developer version out in the world, but this marked the first consumer version of Snap's answer to Meta, Xreal, Viture and all the rest.

The build-up to today's reveal has been gaining momentum over the last year or so. We've already seen some key updates made to Snap OS to make it ready for today's event, and we know the hardware will be powered by a partnership with Qualcomm.

How to watch today's keynote

The biggest announcements

• The Snap Specs will cost $2,195; they're available for preorder starting today, and are expected to ship this fall
• Battery life is about 4 hours, but the Specs can be recharged while you're wearing them, and the USB cable can be used to stream content directly to the glasses.
• The Specs are powered by two Qualcomm Snapdragon chips, one for visual processing, and one to run the rest of the glasses.
• The Specs deliver a 51-degree FOV, the equivalent of a 24-inch desktop monitor or a 115-inch TV from 10 feet away

The keynote is scheduled took place today, June 16 at 9:30am PT / 12:30pm ET / 6:30pm BST.

Evan Spiegel's keynote address was titled “Making Computing More Human" and lasted for around 30 minutes on the Main Stage at the AWE Expo in Long Beach, California.

The address was live streamed on the AWE YouTube channel

LIVE — latest updates

Hello and welcome!

Welcome to our live coverage of today's Snap Specs announcement! It's just under six hours until Evan Spiegel is due to take the stage at AWE 2026. There have been a lot of rumors about what's coming, but the only official glimpse we've had so far came last week on Snap's Instagram post teasing the forthcoming hardware at today's reveal.

The competition

Snapchat was one of the first companies to experiment with smart eyewear but now the company is far from alone. The biggest competitor to Snap is its old arch-rival Facebook. Sorry, Meta. In the form of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Meta's glasses look cool, feature a respectable camera, decent battery life and a responsive AI that lets you take full advantage of the glasses’ hardware. The second-gen Ray-Ban Meta costs $379 to start but the first-gen Ray-Ban Metas are still on sale for $299.

What exactly do we expect from Snap today?

It's not a foregone conclusion that Speigel will reveal the new Snap Specs today, but the timing would line up nicely. Last year at AWE 2025, Spiegel talked up Snap's 5th-generation standalone AR glasses and announced that the company had plans for a consumer model called "Specs" in 2026.

Spiegel promised this consumer version of the wearable would be lighter with a smaller-form-factor. He said they would have "a fraction of the weight, with a ton more capability."

If Speigel doesn't reveal any hardware today, he could spend time talking about how the company is pushing forward with what it calls "Lenses" — basically, its own take on apps for its smart glasses.

Developers have hopefully been busy

There's no point launching a new hardware product if you don't have the software to back it up. Snap currently rents its Spectacles development kit glasses out to developers for $99/month to build "Lenses" (apps) through a program called Lens Studio on Windows and macOS.

Although Snap OS is based on Android, it's restricted in the fact that you can't install APKs or use third-party engines on it. Snap is likely hoping to capture some of the benefits of Apple's visionOS approach here: a bespoke suite of consistent apps that operate without friction.

If it can have a robust set of titles ready for users at launch, it's a much easier sell. Particularly if there's a killer app it can point to.

The rumored price for the Snap Specs is *high*

One of the biggest questions around any potential Snap Specs is likely to be how much they'll cost you. And according to Alex Heath's Sources newsletter (via UploadVR) it could be a lot. Heath suggested Snap is looking at producing 100,000 Specs with a target price of $2,500 (£1,800)!

That puts that way ahead of both Meta's most expensive Ray-Ban glasses and its Quest 3 VR headset. The Viture Beast is our current pick of the best AR smart glasses you can buy, and a pair of those costs $549. Launching a gen 1 product into the smart glasses space with that high a price could be dangerous. Just ask Apple.

Expect a lot of talk about AI, too

Back in January, Evan Spiegel gave us an idea of what he may be preparing to talk about today.

"For over a decade we’ve been working to make computing more human by building a new type of eyewear called Specs that integrate your digital experience with the real world," he wrote.

If the recent keynote speeches from other tech leaders like Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella and Tim Cook are anything to go by, we can expect a lot of AI talk to accompany a hardware reveal today.

Spiegel promises a "first-of-its-kind Intelligence System" with Snap Specs that "uses its understanding of you and your world to help get things done on your behalf while protecting and respecting your privacy."

Snap will face competition from Project Aura and Android XR

The Snap Specs have an ever-increasing list of competitors to worry about, not least Xreal's Project Aura.

We got a glimpse of Aura back at Google I/O. If you didn't tune in to that particular event, let me enlighten you: These are Xreal's next serious attempt at AR glasses packed into a design hat you wouldn't be afraid to be seen in.

Xreal's glasses will run Android XR and connect to a computing “puck” that looks about the same size as a phone. That’s where most of the brains are, and it also happens to double up as a trackpad. Also, because this is Google's platform, you'll get access to all of Google's apps, like Chrome or Maps.

What's more, Project Aura is tipped to cost between $1,000 and $1,500 at launch. Which is a lot easier to swallow than the rumored $2,500 price tag of the Snap Specs.

What are some of the experiences they could offer?

At last year's AWE, Snap gave us a taste of some of the things users could do with the Specs. These included Pool Assist, which helps you make better plays on the billiards table and Super Travel which is supposed to translate signs, menus and other text while abroad.

In the months since, my colleague Darragh Murphy got to try out the glasses for himself at an event in London. During his demo, he was able to play games with virtual creatures, summon AI-created images in front of his eyes and share the virtual space with other users wearing their own pair of Spectacles.

"From creating AI-generated 3D images right on the AR glasses and drawing smiley faces in the air to dropping virtual sandwiches to Peridot creatures, everything I was doing in augmented reality could be seen in real time by others wearing Snapchat Spectacles," Darragh wrote.

How much would you pay for Snap smart glasses?

With the price of the Snap glasses rumored to be more than $2,000, we wanted to ask you how much you'd pay for the new specs.

Snap's big bet

It might be fair to say that a lot is riding on the new Snap smart glasses. The company has spent $3.5 billion on its new specs, and back in April, laid off 1,000 employees, about 16% of its staff.

Last month, Inc. magazine ran a story titled "Snap CEO Evan Spiegel Has to Go," saying that the company has never been profitable in its 15 years of existence. Its stock price has also bottomed out over the last few years; it's now trading at around $5 per share, down from a high of around $83.

Powered by Qualcomm

While we're still waiting to hear everything that Evan will reveal, we do know that the Snap glasses will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR chip, as the companies announced a partnership back in April.

Qualcomm's chips are in a lot of the best smart glasses and AR/VR glasses — including all of the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, The Xreal Project Aura, and the Rayneo X3 Pro — so it's not surprising that Snap would partner with them on its initiative.

Fused with AI

Snapchat, like all the other tech companies out there, is leaning as hard as it can into AI. Spiegel has already claimed that more than two-thirds of the new code written at Snapchat is done by AI, and the company's "Lens Studio" platform is becoming "more and more agentic", according to a report in Inc.com.

The title of Spiegel's keynote address later today is "Making Computing More Human" so I'm expecting a lot of talk about adopting AI into our fleshy human lives.

Snap's recent layoffs probably won't be mentioned

One thing that probably won't get brought up today is the recent layoffs at Snap.

Back in April, the company laid off around 1,000 employees and closed hundreds of open roles. At the time, Spiegel said in a memo (published by Business Insider) that AI meant the company could run a leaner operation.

The cuts didn't affect Specs Inc, which was spun off into a separate company back in January to focus on AR efforts.

Twenty minutes to go

We're about 20 minutes from the start of the livestream — make sure you're ready!

Our own Jason England is at the press conference, and will report back live from the event. Ori Inbar, the CEO of AWE, takes the stage ahead of Spiegel to warm up the crowd.

Evan Spiegel takes the stage, and starts off by talking about the Snap developer community, and how they kept believing and building.

"I feel so fortunate to work on what I feel is the next major leap in computing"

"Steve Jobs was my hero," Spiegel says. "He promised your life in your pocket"

"But almost 20 years later, we have to ask ourselves what happens when the device starts pulling us away from each other?"

"Augmented Reality puts computing into the world."

12 years ago we saw the opportunity for something different," Spiegel says. "Something that understands the world around you rather than pulling you out of it."

"Specs will become meaningful because of the lenses you build. We've shipped 10 OS updates with more than 40 new features and APIs. Developers have already published hundreds of lenses."

We're now seeing a few of the Lenses that developers have built, like virtual games, dinosaurs, and rockets lifting off.

Spiegel explains that it understands the room around you so that it becomes part of an interactive space. So you can use things like physical tables and incorporate that into a virtual environment. And, the Specs can talk to each other so that multiple people can play the same game together.

Next, Spiegel talks about AI. Spatial Benchmark will test how well various AIs work across the different virtual environments. In an early test, GPT 5.5 worked best overall, with Gemini 3 Flash coming in close behind.

And finally, the Specs are revealed!

Devices today force a tradeoff between capability and wearability. AI glasses are wearable but limited. Headsets are capable but shut you out of the world.

Specs - "Designed to be wearable and highly capable. No puck, no tether," Spiegel says.

A new kind of computer designed for real life and built into see-through glasses.

Made from TR90 polymer - light enough to be worn for hours.

Specs come in two sizes:

47mm frame weighs 132 grams

52mm frame is 136 grams

The Specs not only support prescription lenses, but the lenses can also be removed, so you can share them with friends.

The glass that carries light from the glasses to your eye is called a waveguide, and the Specs waveguide creates an immersive 51-degree field of view image.

That's like a 24-inch desktop display, or a 115-inch screen about 10 feet away.

It can also display 16 million colors.

Specs use the same tech as Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and can shift from clear to tinted in just 10 seconds.

The Specs have two Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, one for running the glasses themselves, and one for computer vision.

Spiegel says the Specs have a 7ms motion to photon latency, so when you move, the Specs respond virtually instantly.

Directions appear as you move throughout a city, measurements change, and translations and data appear in front of you.

Spiegel then shows some examples of Specs in the real world, like helping someone improve their golf game, or showing what drums to hit if you're sitting in front of a set.

Battery life is about 4 hours, according to Spiegel, which is less than what you get with the Ray-Ban Displays, but understandable given the more powerful processing in the Specs. Still, that's far short of a full day.

However, you can recharge them while wearing them - and you can use that same USB cable to stream video to the specs while you're recharging.

The case also gives you up to 20 hours of use.

As suspected, the Specs aren't cheap: $2,195! Somehow, people are cheering at this price.

You can preorder them starting today, and they're expected to ship this fall.

And that's a wrap! The Snap livestream has ended, and it's given us a lot to chew on.

If you want to see what the Specs look like on a supermodel, check out our story on Imogen Heap and Jack Harlow wearing the smart glasses.

We also have a complete rundown of the Snap Specs complete stats and price, so you'll want to take a look at that story for a deeper dive.

Let us know in the comments what you think!

Jason is now heading to the hands-on area to see what these specs are like up close. Stay tuned for more updates from AWE 2026. As you can see, there's a lot of people here!

Up close and personal

Seeing them on someone's face is the best way to gauge the bulkiness of the Specs. They do appear to be a little large, but not comically so. They could easily pass as a pair of chunky frames for regular glasses, which is obviously what the team at Snap is aiming for.

In case you missed it

See the embed above for the keynote if you didn't get to watch it live (or just read the posts below this, as it covers all the big news).

Are you excited?

Do you think they look good?

The Specs have now been seen up close and personal by our own Jason England. They've also been worn by celebrities to show us a bit more about the style the smart glasses offer.

Do you think they look good? Would you think anything of seeing people out in the wilderness with these?

A look at the Specs from different angles

We're still hoping to get a full hands-on later, but for now, here's what the Snap Specs look like from different angles. Their arms and frames are definitely chunkier than the Ray-Ban Displays, but then again, these glasses have to support dual displays.

Eyes-on with the Snap Specs

Our very own Jason England was able to go see the Snap Specs at AWE up close and personal, and while he's going to wait until he can wear them out in public to render a final verdict, his initial impressions were that they are "pretty chunky."

Still, he says they're a fair bit sleeker than the developer model that's been out for a while.

Snap gave the weight of the glasses as 132 grams; for those who live in the U.S., that's about 4.7 ounces, That's about twice as heavy as the Meta Ray-Ban Display, and a little more than one ounces lighter than the iPhone Air.

I've been testing all the best smart glasses and VR headsets for over five years now, and no time has been more exciting for this space than right now. I'm heading to AWE 2026 (my second year attending), and something feels different about this one — almost as if we're about to see something transformative.

As you can see in our best of AWE 2025 awards, this show isn't usually about the big hardware announcements; it's about all the smaller innovations that will come together to build that breakthrough pair of glasses that change the face of computing. This year, I think the stars are aligning, and we're going to see what happens when all of this comes together.

And after watching Nvidia "reinvent the PC" with RTX Spark, it's doubly fascinating because people are starting to offer differing views on the future of computing. Something big is going to happen in Long Beach next week, and here are my three predictions about what it will be.

We get a first real look at Snap Specs

It was confirmed at AWE last year that Snap's Spectacles developer project is finally going to become a consumer product in 2026. And now, CEO Evan Spiegel is back with another keynote named "making computing more human."

We've seen the slow build to this moment over the past 12 months, from me testing key updates made to Snap OS to make it ready for the public, to Snap and Qualcomm officially teaming up for the "future of specs." I believe everything is in place, and we may get our first true look at the hardware design.

It will be fascinating to see how Snap has addressed the key challenge of cramming so much computing power into something you're comfortable wearing all day long (without a puck attached either).

And as former VP of hardware Scott Myers told Tom's Guide, they will be "substantially smaller." Hopefully, we get to see the fruits of their labor!

Qualcomm brings new Snapdragon silicon to power the future of Android XR

And speaking of that Qualcomm x Snap love-in for the specs, Qualcomm's SVP of XR Ziad Asghar will be taking the stage again in a keynote titled "The era of personal AI and endless realities."

It's a bold title, and if you remember last year, Asghar hosted the keynote and announced the Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1 silicon for local AI on smart glasses. So Ziad has previous of attending AWE to announce new chips, Snap Specs are coming this year, and on top of that, Xreal's Project Aura is launching soon, and nobody will confirm the Snapdragon chip inside that.

So it got me thinking... If there's a new chip, what will that new chip be? And I turned my attention to the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2, which has been around for a good couple of years now. Throw in a couple leaks of a so-called "Project Matrix," and I'm getting Gen 3 vibes — both to power the Snap Specs and possibly inside that Project Aura compute puck too.

Again, this may just be a wild prediction I've had since a few months back that will get shot down. But with the new crop of devices coming this fall, it feels like the right time to speed up that performance and beef up the power efficiency.

The smart glasses war starts to heat up

On the AR glasses side of things, the battle has heated up to the point where lawyers got involved! Viture and Xreal have been trading blows at the cutting edge of innovation — widening that field of view and offering more spatial experiences built right in.

But the next challenge is going to be one that the MacBook Neo spurred: value for money. So far, RayNeo has dominated with its $299 Air 4 Pro AR glasses, and we already know Xreal is responding with its same-priced X By Xreal specs. Will this be the moment we see a first glimpse of how Viture could be responding?

And it doesn't matter who comes out on top because at the end of the day, we win. These companies duking it out and offering more bang for your buck is great for us!

Then there's the AI glasses side of it... Over on this side of things, we're heading in two clear directions, and it'll be up to us to decide which one wins with our wallets:

• All-encompassing agentic AR: Qualcomm's super strength is having a chip in pretty much every kind of device you use. This kind of data grabbing is significant in personalizing an AI and getting it to do work for you, which you can see on a heads-up waveguide display in front of you. Throw in multi-modal capabilities with a camera, and the possibilities are huge!
• Making smart glasses less cringe (and creepy): Conversely, especially with Meta silently adding facial recognition code to its smart glasses, you're seeing increased (and very genuine) worries that we're about to enter Black Mirror-levels of surveillance and privacy invasion with something like this. So other companies are aiming for something more focused, simpler, and with privacy in mind (like Vonder).

Outlook

If these three things happen (and that's a big if), then we may be on the precipice of starting to see spatial computing make sense as the new way of doing things. So far, it's been a nice-to-have — a fun way of messing about with your apps.

But things could very well change with new hardware running new silicon and innovations from smaller players with big ideas. It's one of the reasons why I love covering this exciting space.

Will it all be enough to outrun Apple to its first smart glasses (expected early 2027)? That remains to be seen.

More from Tom's Guide

• I lived in the Viture Beast for 10,000 miles, and it just ruined other AR glasses for me
• I flew over 10,000 miles with Asus ROG Xreal R1 smart glasses — here are 2 things I love about them (and 3 I don’t)
• I tested Google’s “Intelligent Eyewear,” and found the smart glasses that will defeat Ray-Ban Meta

Yes. Wearing the Asus ROG Xreal R1 glasses does make me look like I’m about to make you choose between the blue pill and the red pill. But stick with me here, because what you’re looking at are the most ambitious AR glasses to date (for better and for worse).

Tech-wise, you’re getting something similar to the Xreal One Pros — Sony Micro-OLED displays with that smaller prism optic and the X1 chip for all your display controls and 3D capabilities handled locally on the device. And a 57-degree field of view with a little fringing at the edges, but not so much that it ruins your watching (or playing) experience.

But with Asus ROG in tow, the real secret weapon here is the dock that connects directly to your gaming PC. This enables full 240Hz gameplay at 1080p (on paper), and the frame rate is unlike anything you can get from any AR glasses today.

It’s a nice little experiment between the two companies that almost pays off, until you see the compromises made to picture quality to get to that higher refresh rate, such as cutting the resolution and a whole lot of screen tearing.

Then there’s some of the awkwardness in that tie-in — whereas Xreal products were updated easily via the company’s website, it now takes a separate app to install them (which isn’t the most reliable on the first try). Plus, the menu interactions are a little weird, as all the buttons are deactivated once you use the dock.

But the most painful part is the price: $849. This limits them to gaming pros, who would want a better picture at 240Hz. And for those gaming on the go, this becomes an unnecessary expense in the face of the One Pros (if you wanted to stay Xreal) or the superior Viture Beast for plugging into your handheld.

I’ve had complicated thoughts while testing them over 15,000 miles of travel, 30 hours of play in hotels, offices, and bars, and 20 hours docked at home. So let me take you through them.

Asus ROG Xreal R1 AR Glasses: Cheat sheet

• What is it? This is a premium pair of gaming AR glasses. Beyond the standard USB-C connectivity into your phone, tablet, laptop, or gaming handheld, you get a dock with HDMI and DisplayPort to connect to consoles and PCs easily.
• Who is it for? This is for pros who are well-versed in AR glasses and gaming enthusiasts seeking only the fastest frame rates.
• What does it cost? You can pick up a pair for $849/£749.
• What do we like? They’re the most advanced AR glasses in terms of capability (240Hz), including that dock in the box, which is a nice touch for making the glasses more usable at home, and with Xreal One Pro levels of picture quality, they still look great.
• What don’t we like? Unlocking 240Hz does expose some screen tearing and a drop in fidelity, updating or controlling them is more awkward now in an Asus x Xreal tie-up, and that price is massive.

Xreal One Pro AR glasses: Specs

Asus ROG Xreal R1 AR glasses: The ups

And so, my first long-haul flight came. I was hoping I’d have enough time before leaving to test the dock, but that’s the nature of the job sometimes! I packed them, sat myself right at the back of a fully-booked economy class, and transformed my experience into First Class at the push of a button.

Still a great screen

On the face of it, this is still the same screen tech that you find on the Xreal One Pros, and while the Viture Beast does have an advantage in color, the R1 continues to take a bit of a lead in all-around crispy detail.

These glasses can simulate a 278-inch display at 5 meters away — not that you should, because the end result is crazy. I ended up going for 171 inches so I could see the edges comfortably without any of the edge blurring causing problems.

But whatever I was doing, be it typing this review on my flight over to Computex, watching “The Boys” season finale, or playing 007 First Light on my Steam Deck, these glasses kept up handily with their 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and impressive brightness.

Of course, that’s where the X1 chip comes in to make things interesting. Only this time around, the options have grown dramatically. With the Xreal 1S, I had an ultra-wide and the ability to turn my content from 2D to 3D in real time. Now, there are many other display aspect ratios to play with (even vertical if you really hate your neck), and it all comes together to make these an effective spatial extension of your portable workspace.

Oh, and shout-out to the deep electrochromic tint along the front of the lenses — making them feel like a blindfold when set to max, but also turning off if I have the picture anchored in front of me when I turn my head to talk to someone.

Also, speaking of tracking, these don’t pass the plane test (to be expected, as they don’t have the full-blown 6DoF tracking that would make it happen), so keep them on Smooth Follow mode if you’re on the go. But in static locations, that tracking is rock solid.

Bold looks, comfortable wearing

If you like The Matrix, chances are you’ll love this aesthetic. I quite enjoy it, but I can totally understand it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Much like the super shiny RayNeo Air 4 Pros with that Batman mask, they do maximize the attention being drawn to you. I did see some odd double takes on people’s faces on the plane, so entirely your call on whether you’re comfortable with that.

But ultimately, this design makes for a comfortable pair of glasses that sit on just the right part of your nose, neither too high nor too low, and give you the full picture. Adjustable stems can reorient the picture, and the weight distribution is nice across the whole range of specs, so you can comfortably wear them for hours on end.

Button placement feels logical too, with the addition of a mappable shortcut button (I use mine to activate 32:9 when working on my laptop, for example), and the speakers are nice and loud without any distortion (or bass for that matter, but that’s just AR glasses for you).

Gunning for the gaming monitor

This was the part of the puzzle that intrigued me the most about the R1 glasses. Getting back from my press trip, I immediately set up the doc, went through an awkward update process (more on that later), plugged in my RTX 5080 gaming PC via DisplayPort, and got to playing.

The end result is surprising — buttery smooth 240Hz gameplay. This is a first for AR glasses, and it’s quite the experience. Flick on Dynamic Frame Gen, and you can stretch these to the fullest. There are some issues (I’ll go into them in a second), but I have to respect the fluidity.

As for the dock itself, while there are some awkward control transitions happening here where the glasses buttons turn off, and you have to use the dock, the dock controls are logically laid around a joystick — similar to what you’d see on the back of a gaming monitor.

Throw in the multiple inputs, and this is a great way to bring your various home devices together around this one wearable screen.

Asus ROG Xreal R1 AR glasses: The downs

As I got a couple of weeks into my stress testing, I noticed a few things that were weird with the R1S. One was obvious from the get-go, but the second took me a couple of games to really see what was going on.

No more simple firmware updates

This is a quick and easy one. With Xreal glasses, the firmware updates were almost always done via the company’s website. Just open the page, plug in your glasses, and boom.

With the Asus glasses, it’s a different kettle of fish. Download the update executable, open it on your PC, then connect the glasses and dock to complete the update. Sometimes it didn’t stick, and it took me three tries to get it done.

Why can’t they use Xreal’s website? I have no idea! Hopefully, this can be resolved quickly.

240Hz at what cost

So this is where I get a little more into that silky smooth mode. 240Hz is buttery for sure, but to get there, compromises had to be made — namely, in image resolution.

As Asus said on a recent subreddit post about the glasses, while the horizontal resolution stays at 1920, the vertical resolution is halved and then upscaled, which leads to a blurrier, more pixellated picture.

I mean, I appreciate my specs not melting on my face, but also, this is very noticeable. Even if you had the faster frame rate, you’d lose the competitive edge of having that in the first place by not being able to see your enemies in the distance.

Oh, and while the update did resolve some of the screen tearing, it’s still a bit of a persistent problem that can pull you out of whatever game you're playing.

$849 is a huge amount of money

This is a new all-time high price tag for AR glasses, so you need to be committed to what these offer before you buy. That’s because you could realistically buy a 1080p 240Hz gaming monitor for significantly cheaper than these specs.

And if it's the glasses side of things you want for the portability, there are many premium options for hundreds of dollars cheaper than this. These give you a very specific best of both worlds that will tickle a particular niche, but outside of that, they aren’t going to be worth it to everyone.

Asus ROG Xreal R1 AR glasses: Verdict

So after my many flights across the globe and my hours at home, I’m left feeling a little conflicted. I’ve definitely seen the future of gaming AR glasses, but the future can do with a little more time in the oven.

Because fundamentally, the Asus ROG Xreal R1 is a good pair of AR glasses — using the DNA of the One Pros and delivering something that may have divisive looks externally, but has a great-looking screen on the inside for the user.

But while the dock does add some nice home use cases to the formula, the resolution and screen-tearing issues are a problem, especially when you remember that these cost $849.

If you’re hellbent on replacing your gaming monitor and jumping into the future come what may, these are a solid pair to buy. But if I were you, I’d wait it out a little for the kinks to get worked out (and that price to hopefully come down).

Developing story...

Apple's annual developers event, WWDC 2026, is in full swing with announcements covering all of the company's major operating systems. That includes visionOS 27, which controls the Apple Vision Pro headset.

With Apple reportedly halting work on the Vision Pro, we didn't expect much at WWDC, and Apple didn't provide much in new updates.

Last year, Apple switched to an annual naming convention for its OSes, naming them after the following year. This year's edition is no different, with visionOS 27.

Read on for the other changes coming to Apple's headset:

3D Siri

Siri is getting a major upgrade for all of Apple's operating systems, including visionOS 27. Every OS is getting most of the same new Siri features, but some are specific to each platform.

For visionOS, it now has a new 3D visualization of Siri that you can place anywhere in your virtual space. Plus, you don't need to say "Hey Siri," to interact. Instead, you can just look at the 3D visualization and start talking.

Beyond that Visual Intelligence and Apple Intelligence should work much better in visionOS 27.

Everything else

Beyond that, here are a few notable features that we found in the Apple visionOS 27 preview page.

• Control Center has been redesigned
• Open notifications using your eyes
• Windows can now have curvature like Safari web pages
• Panoramas can be turned into spatial scenes
  • Or used as your immersive environment
• Improved Flyover in Apple Maps
• Faster W-Fi

More from Tom's Guide

• Even more Android phones now support file-sharing to Apple AirDrop — here's a full list
• Apple WWDC 2026 event — 9 biggest announcements we expect
• Apple's foldable iPhone Ultra just leaked in new photos — and we have a release date update

RIP Vision Pro? It looks like Apple is ditching its mixed reality headset ambitions to focus on smart glasses.

Last year, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed a roadmap for Apple's Vision lineup that predicted the company was working on at least seven different wearables, including new smart glasses and versions of the Vision Pro. However, today, Kuo returned with an updated roadmap that majorly scales back Apple's ambitions, and apparently this slimming down was at the behest of incoming Apple CEO John Ternus.

In his latest missive, Kuo claims that Apple is only focusing on two smart glasses products now. The glasses include AI glasses like the Ray-Ban Meta and display-equipped AR glasses.

What is Apple working on?

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman dropped a major report recently that claimed Apple is seeking to disrupt the smart glasses industry.

This would be done by relying on Apple's strengths, including the brand, design, and iPhone integration. Essentially, Apple wants to its smart glasses to break into the mainstream the same way it did with Apple Watches in 2015.

The more fashionable display-less AI glasses are supposed to launch in 2027.

Kuo also claims Apple is working on a pair AR/XR glasses that would feature a display. This would be similar to the Xreal Android XR spectacles that we just tried at Google I/O in May.

We haven't seen much in the way of rumors or leaks regarding Apple's take on XR glasses. A report from February suggested Apple's version might launch in 2028 with 0.6-inch dual OLEDoS lenses. According to Kuo, they've slipped to 2029.

Deathknell of the Vision Pro?

The previous roadmap listed seven devices, including the M5 Vision Pro, which launched last year. It also included the rumored Vision Air, a lighter and cheaper version of the Vision Pro, and the second-generation Vision Pro.

Kuo's roadmap change seems to confirm previous rumors that Apple has stopped work on the Vision Pro series. However, that does seem to contradict a rumor that popped last week.

Gurman claimed that Apple is developing a slimmer and lighter Vision Pro successor. He did claim that this new headset wouldn't launch until 2028 or 2029.

“Apple needs to fix the design and pricing problems that turned the first Vision Pro into a flop, and that category will essentially be on ice until then.”

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple's foldable iPhone Ultra just leaked in new photos — and we have a release date update
• Apple and Garmin mark Global Running Day with limited edition badges — here's how to get them
• The iPhone Fold doesn’t stand a chance unless Apple includes these 3 features in iOS 27

AI has dominated the headlines this year, as it has for the last couple, but just below that the burgeoning field of smart glasses has seemingly exploded in 2026. And this is without major announcements from Meta — Connect kicks off in September — and the long-rumored Apple Glasses have yet to make their debut.

Acer is mostly known for its laptops like the Acer Swift 16 AI, but the company just announced two different smart glasses that will be available later this year. The Acer GI0 are AI glasses, while the Acer AR Vision GR0 are AR glasses that can hook up to a laptop, smartphone or gaming devices like the new Acer Predator Atlast 8, which we tested out at Computex 2026. Here's what they offer and what it means for Apple and Meta.

Acer AR Vision GR0

Acer's augmented reality glasses appear similar to display glasses like the Xreal One Pro or the Viture Beast. Though based on the press images, Acer's take looks more like a lithe version of the Samsung Galaxy XR headset.

Per Acer, the GR0 features dual micro OLED FHD displays that can show up to a 172-inch screen as if viewed from about 20 feet away. It can display both 2D and 3D content. Like other AR glasses, it is tethered and Acer says it's compatible with Android, iOS and Windows platforms.

Acer says the glasses weigh just 69 grams, a surprisingly head-friendly weight. For comparison, the Xreal One Pro glasses weigh 87 grams and the Viture Beast weigh a gram more at 88.

Acer GI0 AI glasses

When it comes to smart glasses there is a split. You either have the AR display glasses like the GR0s or you have the AI glasses which look more like normal daily spectacles.

Acer's take on the AI glasses feature integrated Google Gemini tools including voice-activated integration, real-time image analysis and "instant translation."

Like the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, Acer's features a built-in camera and microphone for photo and video capture. It can record voices for tracking meetings and conversations.

Acer says it can wirelessly sync with Android or iOS devices and operates in conjunction with the Acer AspireSync companion app.

Both glasses will launch in the US and Europe in the fourth quarter of 2026. Australians get first crack in Q3 later this year. The AR Vision GR0 will cost $499 USD/$599 EU/$999 AUD, while the GI0 starts at $299 US/$399 EU/$599 AUD.

Competition and the Apple behemoth

Smart glasses as a field is getting more crowded, which puts more pressure on Meta and its Ray-Ban lineup. No, Meta didn't have the first smart glasses but the company solidified how AI smart glasses work with the Meta Ray-Ban wearables.

But in 2026 alone, the company is facing more pressure and increased competition. At Google I/O in May, the Mountain View giant and its partners revealed new looks at three different smart glasses.

That includes new looks at the Xreal Project Aura AR glasses. We also saw Samsung's 'Intelligent Eyeware' glasses that are supposed to launch this fall. And that's before we even get to Google's own Android XR specs, which don't have a full release window yet.

Tom's Guide editor Jason England said that despite a head start, Meta could truly fall behind if it doesn't make useful AI that connects to its smart glasses. They only have five months to fix major issues like maps, photos and app support.

Meanwhile, Apple is lurking in the background with its rumored Glasses that could be a "shockwave" to the burgeoning industry. We may have to wait until 2027 to truly find out, though.

More from Tom's Guide

• I traveled 5,000 miles with Rokid Glasses — this Meta Ray-Ban Display rival impressed me
• I tested Google’s “Intelligent Eyewear,” and found the smart glasses that will defeat Ray-Ban Meta
• I just tested Xreal’s Android XR glasses, and they are an early glimpse of my dream future smart glasses

It's no secret that Apple is investing heavily in smart glasses, with rumors suggesting we'll see AI-powered spectacles in the near future and augmented-reality eyewear a little further out. But have you ever wondered what Apple hopes to accomplish with this push into a whole new segment of wearable tech?

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has a low-down on Apple's plans for smart glasses, claiming that things could follow a similar path to the Apple Watch. Back in 2015, smartwatches were still pretty niche products with minimal mainstream appeal compared to traditional wristwear — much like smart glasses are now.

Apple wants to disrupt the eyewear industry

In the same way that a huge drop in watch sales has been attributed to the Apple Watch release, Apple is apparently aiming to do something similar with the glasses industry. The idea is apparently to compete with well-known eyewear brands like RayBan and Warby Parker by leveraging everything that makes Apple products so popular in the first place.

This means relying on the strength of the Apple brand, industrial design and the fact that these glasses will support iPhone integration. It's currently unclear what they might offer that you can't get with a rival like Samsung's Intelligent Eyewear. But if the way Apple treats third-party smartwatches compared to the Apple Watch is anything to go by, I'm sure there will be plenty of ecosystem lock-in features only available for the Apple Glasses.

And while I personally can't see the appeal of smart glasses, due to the fact that I don't need regular glasses, there are many who do. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 2.2 billion people around the world currently have some kind of vision impairment. That's a big market that reportedly brings in around $200 billion each year. It makes complete sense that Apple would want a slice of that.

It all depends on whether the Apple logo will help convince people to wear mini-computers on their faces all day. More importantly, what Apple's stance on Android phones will be, considering how many more Android phones are sold globally compared to iPhones.

What to expect from Apple Glasses

According to Gurman's report, we can expect Apple's first smart glasses to arrive sometime in late 2027. However, he doesn't believe Apple's AR glasses will arrive before the end of the decade — with a slimmed-down (and cheaper) Apple Vision headset arriving in the interim. Next year's glasses will likely be a camera and AI combo, without any kind of eye-screen.

Gurman also claims that the Apple Glasses "will use design elements to stand out." That includes oval-shaped cameras, different color options and a choice of frame styles. It's also expected that the glasses will follow the same route as the Apple Watch, and morph into a health device rather than just another way to interact with your phone.

However, he notes that glasses wearers are a much broader demographic, especially in the $200-$500 segment Apple is apparently targeting. That said, Gurman believes that luxury eyewear brands, which charge thousands of dollars a pair, are unlikely to be affected.

Much like how Apple's $10k golden Apple Watches never really made an impact on the luxury watch market (Rolex is still going strong), Gurman believes that the ultra-premium eyewear market will still attract customers. But for most people used to paying out for glasses, adding some tech into the mix may seem fairly appealing.

It's just a shame we'll have to wait until next year for it to happen. But sadly, that seems to be the way with new Apple products, waits and delays are becoming the norm.

More from Tom's Guide

• I flew over 10,000 miles with Asus ROG Xreal R1 smart glasses — here are 2 things I love about them (and 3 I don’t)
• Does Google's Intelligent Eyewear have what it takes to beat Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses? Here's what we know
• Meet X By XREAL — I’m testing the MacBook Neo of AR glasses that people can actually afford

Not long after Google’s reveal of its new AI-enhanced eyewear at its I/O event, a new report has suggested that Apple’s own entry into that increasingly crowded product field is coming next year at the earliest.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in his regular Power On newsletter, has suggested that Apple’s glasses will require an additional year of development before they’re ready for primetime.

Apple’s smart glasses reportedly delayed

“There have been some bumps on the road to Apple becoming an eyewear giant,” Gurman said.

“It had initially planned to introduce its smart glasses, code-named N50, at the end of 2026 and ship them by early 2027.

“But as is often the case with major new Apple products, there have been delays. The company is now working toward launching the glasses at the end of next year, I’m told.”

One of the big pieces yet to fall into place for Apple’s renewed AI push has been Siri. The company's voice assistant/chatbot still feels woefully outdated and outgunned compared to Gemini. Siri currently taps into ChatGPT, but is expected to leverage more of Gemini in the coming months, with Gurman confirming its overhaul is still expected in 2026.

Still, Gurman also expects that the N50 glasses will move in a similar fashion to the Apple Watch by adding health tracking features in time.

“The first Apple glasses will use design elements to stand out, with oval-shaped cameras, unique colors, and multiple frame styles,” he reports.

“Over time, Apple believes the glasses could evolve into a health device and eventually incorporate augmented reality technologies capable of improving how people see.”

Vision Air is not coming soon

Of course, the other side of Apple’s eyewear business is still wholly focused on Vision Pro at present, the expensive headset that offers “spatial computing”.

The system is $3,499, and adoption has been relatively slow, with speculation rife that a ‘Vision Air’ could offer a slimmer feature set at a lower price. Gurman, however, doesn’t think it’s coming anytime soon.

“Apple has also been working on a slimmer and lighter headset to succeed the $3,499 Vision Pro, but I don’t anticipate that to launch before late 2028 or 2029,” he suggested.

“Apple needs to fix the design and pricing problems that turned the first Vision Pro into a flop, and that category will essentially be on ice until then.”

That would also suggest that the M5-toting version of the Vision Pro is essentially as good as it’ll get until then.

More from Tom's Guide

• The 6 best curved monitors of 2026, tested and rated
• I ditched my dual-monitor setup for a single 40-inch ultrawide — and two screens aren’t better than one
• I added a portable monitor next to my main display and this inexpensive upgrade is a game changer

We’ve already seen a ton of new handheld gaming PCs here at Computex 2026 but, instead of going that route, Asus has decided to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its Republic of Gamers (ROG) subbrand with a special edition of the ROG Xbox Ally X.

Dubbed the ROG Xbox Ally X20, this new device uses (mostly) the same hardware as last year’s Xbox-themed handheld. You still get the powerful performance of AMD’s Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip with 24GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. While not technically an entirely new device, Asus has made some fundamental changes under the hood and has also given the handheld a regal makeover with hints of gold throughout its design.

Asus definitely could have stopped there and called it a day. However, given the recent launch of its new ROG XREAL R1 AR glasses, the company decided to give them the same ROG 20th anniversary treatment too. They’re the same glasses more or less but since they’re intended to be used alongside the ROG Xbox Ally X20, they won’t ship with Asus’ ROG Control Dock.

After going hands-on with the new ROG Xbox Ally X20 and ROG Xreal R1 Edition 20 here in Taipei, I’m quite impressed by how all the little changes Asus made to its handheld make for an even better experience. However, are they enough to justify a bundle that will likely cost a hefty sum once it releases later this year? Find out in my full hands-on review.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 specs

Fit for an anniversary

Just like Microsoft did with its 20th anniversary Xbox Controller, Asus has also given the ROG Xbox Ally X20 a transparent front shell. It looks even better in person and when seeing it side by side with the original Xbox Ally X, this small tweak really makes the upgraded handheld stand out. If that wasn’t enough though, the View, Command Center, Menu and Library buttons now feature gold accents.

In another nod to the Xbox brand, the Xbox button to the left of ROG Xbox Ally X20’s side buttons now lights up green too. Within Asus’ Armory Crate software, you can also tweak its brightness and lighting effects as well. Seeing the Xbox button pulse green was especially cool while trying out the new handheld.

On the top edge of the ROG Xbox Ally X20, you still get two USB-C ports — one USB 4 one and one USB 3.2 one — along with a power button and a 3.5mm headphone jack. If you look closely though, you might notice an extra cooling vent between the main two on the left and right side. Asus reworked the cooling for the ROG Xbox Ally X20 to improve airflow which is why we now have four instead of three vents like on the Xbox Ally X.

Around back is where the ROG 20th Anniversary design changes are the most apparent on the Xbox Ally X20. In addition to a gold badge underneath the right fan, the diagonal line with “Republic of Gamers” written out is now gold too with the letters in a vibrant red. The top half of the back panel is transparent too which lets you see how Asus went to the extra trouble of making the ROG Xbox Ally X20’s fans and heatsink gold too.

Besides these aesthetic changes, the handheld’s grips are now wrapped in a grippy, rubber-like plastic too just like on the Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller. This is another one of those small but very noticeable differences with the Xbox Ally X20. The upgraded handheld felt even better to hold in my hands, speaking of which…..

Upgrades you can feel

As I’ve mentioned, small but noticeable improvements with a touch of gold throughout seems to be the big theme of the ROG Xbox Ally X20. This is also the case with the handheld’s bumpers and triggers.

Asus actually moved the position of the bumper buttons on the device’s motherboard to make them easier and more comfortable to press. While they used to sit on the top edge, they’re now positioned diagonally on the left and right side of the motherboard. This is a small change I know, but having tested the bumpers on both the Xbox Ally X and the ROG Xbox Ally X20 side by side, this tweak is noticeable.

The shape and feel of the ROG Xbox Ally X20’s ABXY buttons are different too and they now feature a slightly more rounded profile. As you might have guessed, this is another nod back to the Xbox controller. One area where Asus is pushing ahead of Xbox though is with the joysticks on this handheld.

Although a lot of people kept asking about Hall Effect joysticks coming to its handhelds, Asus wasn’t quite happy with the tradeoffs that would come with adopting them. So instead, the company went with TMR joysticks on the ROG Xbox Ally X20. In my testing, they were incredibly smooth and responsive which makes me hope this will become the norm with PC gaming handhelds going forward.

Now you might have realized I skipped over the microSD card slot before when discussing the ports on the back of the ROG Xbox Ally X20. Well, that was intentional. You see, this is actually a microSD Express card slot like the one found on the Nintendo Switch 2. While you can upgrade the handheld’s internal storage, if you don’t want to open it up, you can always pop in a microSD Express card to get some more storage space and thanks to its faster speeds, you shouldn’t have any trouble playing even more demanding games off of it.

Transforming with a twist

Now this next upgrade is one that both fighting game and Xbox 360 fans will instantly appreciate. While a 4-way d-pad is perfect for platformers and retro games, it isn’t ideal for 2D fighting titles like Street Fighter. With the ROG Xbox Ally X20, Asus said why not both. So just like on the wireless controller that was released quite late in the Xbox 360 era, this handheld also has a transforming d-pad.

To switch between the two modes, you just pinch both sides of the d-pad, pull up and give it a quick turn. This lets you go from a 4-way to an 8-way d-pad that feels almost identical to the one on the Xbox Series controller in the best way possible.

In case you pull up but don’t quite turn the d-pad all the way, you won’t be able to press it down at all which lets you know you did something wrong. Likewise, the d-pad spins all the way around, so you aren’t stuck going in one direction or the other.

The OLED we’ve been waiting for

Back when my colleague Jason England wrote his ROG Xbox Ally X review, one of his biggest gripes was that it didn’t have an OLED display. Well, Asus must have been listening as the ROG Xbox Ally X20 does and it’s a full-featured one at that. The handheld’s OLED features HDR 1000, comes equipped with VRR thanks to AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and can reach a max peak brightness of 1,400 Nits.

While we’ll have to get one into our testing lab to see for sure, in person, I noticed a stark difference between the brightness of the Xbox Ally X and the ROG Xbox Ally X20 with the two handhelds next to each other. When playing Control and Chronos: The New Dawn, the blacks were quite deep and the colors really popped. However, it wasn’t until I saw the driving game Assetto Corsa running on two devices side by side — one with HDR on and one with it off — that it really hit me.

Speaking of small but noticeable improvements once again, Asus actually managed to fit a larger 7.4-inch OLED screen here without increasing the overall size of the handheld. On the original Xbox Ally X, the bottom and top bezels were the same size. That isn’t the case with the ROG Xbox Ally X20 as Asus shrunk the top bezel to make room for the bigger display, making it smaller than the bezels on either side.

Personally, this was a huge improvement and quite noticeable during my hands on time with the device. For the most part when playing games on a handheld like this, you’re looking up at the top of the device and not the bottom, so the screen feels a lot larger even though the panel is still technically the same size.

Even better together

Now I know most people haven’t tried gaming while wearing a pair of the best smart glasses but if you haven’t yet, it’s an awesome experience. Instead of a 7-inch display — or 7.4-inch one here — by plugging in a single USB-C cable, you instantly get a massive, movie theater-like screen right in front of you.

Asus and I must be on the same page which is why the company plans on releasing the ROG Xbox Ally X20 in a bundle with a special edition pair of its ROG Xreal R1 smart glasses. They’re mostly the same minus the dock and like the handheld, they have some gold accents on the sides.

For those unfamiliar, using these — or any other AR glasses — with the ROG Xbox Ally X20 is about as plug and play of an experience as you can get. You just plug in the glasses on one of the top USB-C ports, put them on and you’re good to go. One cool use case a few of Asus’ staff and I discussed is wearing them while lying back in one of the best gaming chairs so you don’t run the risk of dropping a handheld on your face. I’ve played this way at home and trust me, it’s as comfortable as it is plain cool.

One neat difference here is that when you pair the ROG Xreal R1 X20 glasses with the ROG Xbox Ally X20 is that you don’t have to press the buttons on their sides to tweak picture settings. You absolutely can if you want to though. However, settings like screen size, transparency and even enabling real-time 3D conversion on the glasses are available right within Asus’ Armory Crate software.

I have to admit I stuck to making most of my adjustments on the glasses themselves as I’m quite familiar with Xreal’s AR glasses after I paired them with a portable mini PC for a truly unique setup. However, if this is your first time using them, it will probably be easier making adjustments right on the handheld itself.

This bundle won’t come cheap

Asus gave myself and the rest of the Tom’s Guide computing team a sneak peak at the ROG Xbox Ally X20 at its HQ here in Taipei, with more details likely to come at Gamescom this summer. While we don’t know the official price yet, the ROG Xbox Ally X20 and ROG Xreal R1 X20 will likely be available ahead of the holidays later this year.

The other big news we got out of Asus is that the two will come as a bundle. Given the original ROG Xbox Ally X costs $999 on its own and the ROG Xreal R1 glasses are available now for $849, I doubt this special edition bundle will cost less than $2,000. However, since you aren’t getting the ROG Control Dock with the glasses, that could bring down the price slightly.

We’ll have the full pricing and release details soon enough but after spending an afternoon with the ROG Xbox Ally X20 and the ROG Xreal R1 X20, Asus went above and beyond here for sure. Just changing the color of the handheld’s shell and some of its buttons definitely would have been enough. However, Asus’ engineers went back to the drawing board and made seemingly small but very noticeable changes to the Xbox Ally X.

Now I wouldn’t recommend rushing out to get this bundle if you already have an Xbox Ally X unless you’re a really big ROG fan. Personally though, these improvements and tweaks have me really excited for what Asus will eventually do with its followup to the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X.

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Whenever anyone asks for the best AI smart glasses to buy, the Ray-Ban Metas are always a default pick. They've been around the block for a while now and have developed into a smart, stylish pair of specs.

However, as we found out at Google’s I/O, things could be about to change with its new Intelligent Eyewear — co-made with Samsung and designed by either Gentle Monster or Warby Parker.

With established design houses like these, you already know the looks are going to be on point. Add Gemini to the mix, and as we’ve already pointed out, it’s not looking great for Zuckerberg.

But is it enough to convince owners of Meta's own specs to upgrade? Let's take a look at what's new and rifle through the rumors to help answer that question.

What will they cost?

Nothing has been confirmed yet on Google's smart glasses pricing — nor do we know the specific launch date (only that they're coming this year). So instead, let's take a look at the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2s, which are currently going for $379, and offer the full gamut of 3K 60 FPS video capture, nice daylong battery in my use and a timeless design.

Now let's forget Gentle Monster, because glasses coming from a premium design house like this will carry a premium. Warby Parker has that more timeless, accessible feel and vibe, and I'm hoping they can either match or undercut this cost.

This is for the display-free glasses by the way. Google did mention the display glasses will be spoken more about "later this year," but they will come with a hefty price uplift for the Waveguide technology.

Levels to this g(ai)me

Then we turn our attention to what the glasses can do. Because on one side, you've got a respectable Meta AI experience with models that are being upgraded on a semi-consistent basis with new use cases like Live Translation and longer memory contexts to increase usefulness.

But still, while they certainly look impressive in their wayfarer-esque style, you're limited by app compatibility and not being able to talk to other services outside of Spotify and a couple others. Navigation feels a bit unreliable in many locations because of it.

Enter Android XR with Gemini being the main character here, and the difference is night and day. Conversational AI powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash, multi-modal connectivity to all your Google services, and vastly more capabilities than Meta AI at the moment.

Even as a dyed-in-the-wool Apple user, I’m keen to hear more about what the Google “intelligent eyewear” will be like since it’ll be platform agnostic and usable with iOS. Given Apple’s gone a little quiet since Vision Pro’s divisive arrival, I feel like this will be a race to the finish like this fall between Google's eyewear and Apple's own glasses.

My colleague Jason England was able to ask for Google Maps directions, and being able to refer back to Gmail to recall an address or appointment time, or ask Google Calendar to give you a daily summary, could be really useful in just about every scenario — not just the very staid lab demos they had him checking out like a cookbook in another language.

Having generative AI right in front of your eyes won’t sit well with everyone (myself included), but there’s perhaps a spark here that could ignite a broader category in a way we’ve not seen at all.

Outlook

So in my time testing both, one is clear. Google's Intelligent Eyewear has a huge lead in actually useful AI smart glasses over the Ray-Ban Meta. Not to say that the latter aren't useful at all, but it's the ease of use, connectivity to all the Google services you're probably already using and much more that gives them the edge.

Will it be enough to encourage an upgrade from your current glasses and a "jump ship" moment? Possibly, but we'll have to wait for Meta Connect 2026 to find out what new updates may be coming to the Ray-Ban Metas (maybe some OpenClaw support if you're nasty).

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When you look at the best AR glasses you can buy, they do come with quite a hefty price tag — namely because of all the innovations in increasing picture size and quality, while also using cameras and sensors to create a spatial computing experience.

But what if you’re like most people and just want a glorified portable monitor condensed down to a pair of glasses for your laptop or Nintendo Switch? And what if you don’t want to spend many hundreds of dollars to get there?

Well, the value answer has been the RayNeo Air 4 Pro, but a new colorful competitor is coming. These are the $299 X By Xreal a01s, and I’m the only person outside of China to be showing you a pair in person right now. Let me tell you about how AR glasses are hitting their MacBook Neo era of figuring out how to give you maximum bang for your buck.

X By XREAL a01 Specs

Cost-cutting measures

So I know what the first question is — I had the same one. What has been killed off to cut the price? A few things have been cut, but nothing that compromises that core goal of being a portable monitor in a pair of glasses.

Instead of any kind of sensor-driven 3DoF tracking, there are no cameras and there’s a software-driven stabilization and anti-shake mode. That being said, you’re still getting a bright 1080p picture at 120 FPS and a 50-degree field of view.

Now, I can’t specifically tell you what they’re like (yet). There's an embargo on that. So, what I’ll do is tell you about how my flight home from Google I/O was rather packed with turbulence, which while I felt, I saw none of if it shake up my viewing experience of Spider-Man 2.

Keeping it simple (and versatile)

Three viewing modes, four audio modes, and an impressively bright, colorful display — these glasses aren’t about any specific winning feature, it's the sum of all its parts being nicely affordable for what you get.

And aesthetically, these are both some of the simplest-looking AR glasses, but also the most subtle because of it. No camera lenses on the front — just your standard Wayfarer look. There are some cutbacks in terms of materials used, but the choices of what to downgrade feels strategic, from keeping the hinge metallic to downgrading the plastic on the frame.

Oh, and for a nice added layer of fun, the front of these glasses are completely detachable. That means you can change the style in the future, and I just wish more expensive glasses would have this feature!

Outlook

Ahead of July, I think it’s fair that I can safely say if you’re looking to get your first AR glasses, going for something cheaper like these is the best option for you. Specs-wise, you’re getting something similar here to the RayNeos I mentioned earlier.

And given it’s a MacBook Neo era for AR glasses, that doesn’t mean other companies aren’t going to be jumping in too. Been hearing that Viture has plans for this price tag too, but can’t say much more than that.

All I’ll say though is I’m so glad that RayNeo has forced value for money back onto the table, and this cheaper price is going to get mightily competitive now.

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I don't mean to brag, but aside from a little photosensitivity, my eyesight is damn near perfect. In the 30-plus years I've been alive, I've often been grateful for the fact that I don't need any sort of corrective eyewear to function. Unfortunately, in a world increasingly interested in the best smart glasses, that poses a problem.

I imagine that if I did wear glasses, I might be more enthusiastic about smart glasses as a whole. It doesn't matter whether we're talking about specs with built-in displays, like Meta Ray-Ban Display, or something that relies on voice and audio like Intelligent Eyewear from Samsung and Google. But the fact that I generally don't wear accessories on my face means the entire prospect of smarter eyewear does not appeal to me in the slightest.

I say this following the reveal of Samsung and Google's Intelligent Eyewear at Google I/O earlier this week. The glasses may not have displays or gesture controls, but the addition of Gemini and its connection to Google apps and services has wowed some of my colleagues here at Tom's Guide. And yet, my lack of eyewear experience means I can't really see the appeal.

What do smart glasses do?

Different smart glasses offer different features, depending on who made them and on the hardware available. Typically, these frames come with an integrated camera, microphone, personal speakers, and a way to interact with an AI assistant. For Meta Ray-Bans, that assistant is Meta AI, while the new Intelligent Eyewear from Samsung and Google is linked in with Google's Gemini.

While the basic hardware allows these glasses to be used as cameras or headphones, the extra capabilities are wholly dependent on the AI you have access to. Like smartwatches, they are essentially a way of interacting with another device, usually your phone, using voice prompts and commands.

Google revealed that Intelligent Eyewear will have access to a whole host of Google services, including Google Maps, which should give it a slight edge over platforms that don't have such a robust software suite to fall back on.

More advanced smart glasses have pushed the envelope a little further, with new hardware and ways of interacting with the glasses themselves. The Meta Ray-Ban Displays include a wristband that enables gesture control, as well as a small screen in your line of sight that adds visual information and apps to the mix.

Fully-fledged AR glasses are also available, with more robust eye-level screens. A good example is the Viture Beast, which is our current pick for the best smart glasses. However, these devices are a lot larger and more obvious, on account of the AR display needing more hardware to operate.

AR glasses certainly feel more appealing to me, as a non-glasses wearer, especially if they can overlay TV or monitor-style screens directly in my line of sight. But AI-only glasses are a much harder sell.

I already don't like using wearables

So I don't wear glasses to correct my vision, that doesn't mean I can't wear smart glasses anyway, right? Sadly, there are two main problems to contend with here. The first is that I don't have much interest in wearing glasses as a fashion statement, as was the trend 10-15 years ago when hipster culture seemed to be everywhere.

Wearing frames with blank lenses, or no lenses at all, is going to make me feel almost as ridiculous as if I had a curly moustache tattooed onto my index finger. Not to mention the fact that they're going to need cleaning regularly. I have to clean my sunglasses at least once a day, and I can't imagine having to voluntarily do that more frequently. I feel your pain, glasses wearers, I really do.

I'm also very aware of the fact that I don't really like wearables either. I've used a few smartwatches and fitness trackers over the years, and without fail, I will eventually stop wearing them because of the inconvenience. I know there are benefits to having a smartwatch, but the benefits don't outweigh the hassle of wearing and charging them.

The idea of doing this for a pair of glasses, and wearing them in a position that's almost impossible to ignore, is an instant turn-off for me. Especially when I remind myself that I don't actually like talking to AI assistants or chatbots, and prefer to do all my phone activities manually.

I can see the appeal for some, but not me

I can see why some people may find smart glasses an appealing prospect. If you're already wearing glasses on a regular basis, then the prospect of throwing some smarts into the mix might be quite appealing. If you're going to be wearing glasses to see, then you might as well let them multitask and add a little more convenience to your life.

Likewise, if you wanted to be able to take advantage of Gemini Live or other AI modes that benefit from an active camera feed, then face-mounted cameras make that whole process a lot easier.

But that doesn't appeal to me. I'm not the biggest fan of using AI in the first place, and without AI, those glasses are mostly pointless — especially if you don't need corrective lenses.

Plus, I've lost count of the number of sunglasses I've lost in various dumb and unlikely circumstances. I once lost a pair of sunglasses cycling over an intersection too fast, only realizing it after they'd been run over and destroyed. I absolutely do not trust myself with expensive sunglasses, let alone a hi-tech pair with electronics and a battery inside.

So Intelligent Eyewear might have a bunch of cool and interesting features, but they are definitely not going to earn a place on my wish list.

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It used to be so simple: If you wanted a VR headset, you could go for something relatively affordable, or something a little pricier for higher fidelity and more processing power.

Then Apple steamrolled in with its big ideas and started charging thousands of dollars for a new computing paradigm, and while the Apple Vision Pro never really took off with mass market appeal, it has opened the door ajar for further innovation that falls somewhere between it and something like Google Glass (remember that?).

The latest model to step through that door is Xreal’s new Project Aura, and it’s doing a few things differently to its contemporaries (I’m not even sure we can describe them all as rivals). Here’s why the Android XR stands apart from some of its more traditional rivals.

Aura Farming

This year's Google I/O showed off some audio-centric smart glasses that, in fairness, looked much more useful than many (this writer) might have expected them to be. Still, it was Project Aura, the long-gestating project from Xreal that really turned heads, literally.

From the front, they’re big ol’ sunglasses that wouldn’t look out of place on a rack at just about any store, but look closer, and you’ll find there are a trio of cameras for photo and video capture, and popping them on reveals a very respectable (given the form factor) 70-degree FOV.

It’s running Google’s Android XR, and connects to a sort of computing “puck” that looks about the same size as a phone. That’s where all the magic happens, meaning you can run apps like Google Chrome in the eyewear, while it also doubles as a trackpad, which is neat.

Ahead of the pack?

This all sounds terrific, but Project Aura doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It doesn’t have a price point yet, so we don’t know how many kidneys we’ll need to sell (and after Vision Pro, we’re running low).

Android XR is also developing nicely, but you don’t have to buy the latest device for it. In fact, the Samsung Galaxy XR is pretty solid, but it eschews the more compact form factor for something more traditional (and, if we’re being honest, similar to Vision Pro).

Still, this feels like the closest we’re going to get to the smart eyewear we envisaged watching sci-fi shows as kids, something echoed by my colleague Jason England when he went hands-on.

He called it the “missing link” between using a laptop and something much more portable, and I couldn’t be happier to hear it.

I enjoy my Meta Quest 3 for its wide range of apps, experiences, and games, but you won’t see me (or anyone else) walking down the street with it. In fact, it actually feels a little antiquated now: “What do you mean it’s mostly VR with very little AR?”

Ultimately, I’d imagine that much of the Xreal Project Aura’s appeal will come down to how integrated you are into Android. I work on a Mac and an iPad, track my fitness on an Apple Watch, and have an iPhone 15 Pro Max close to my hands at all times — so it’s probably not for me.

Still, as a proof of concept, it gives its rivals much to think about, and if Xreal can somehow nail the pricing, we could be tiptoeing to a real watershed moment for AR.

For now, though, I’m going to be waiting for an Apple equivalent while looking jealously at it.

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The $849 Asus ROG Xreal R1 smart glasses (£749 in the UK) are finally here, and I’ve been testing them for a while. So why am I not scoring them? Well, life comes at you fast and I’ve been traveling over 10,000 miles to Google I/O and back.

That means while I am able to put these specs through their paces in a portable state, I’ve not been able to really test the biggest feature of them — the dock allowing for lightning fast 240Hz gameplay. That’s a world’s first for smart glasses…but it wasn’t available during the time I (and other tech journalists) have been testing them.

But there’s enough here that I can give you some in depth first impressions of using these for hours on end. Let’s get into it.

👎 Not quite ready for primetime

I’ll get this one sorted right off the bat. The hardware is finished, but the software isn’t quite done yet. This shouldn’t be something you face, but it is highly recommended that you get the firmware updated for both the glasses and dock before you properly try them out.

Out-of-the-box, the Frame Rate Boost mode that gives you 240Hz is not available, and with the update literally coming out mere days ago, I can’t in good conscience give you a scored review until I’ve put them properly through their paces.

Plus, it doesn’t help that I’m testing them while out here at Google I/O (far away from my gaming tower and the dock). The following is my experience of the portable setup — stand by for my time replacing my gaming monitors with this set of specs!

👍 Comfortable wearability

The aesthetic may be more Matrix than modern (it won’t be for everyone), but the end result is nice weight distribution across the glasses with pressure-absorbent nose pads that give you a nice wearability for hours on end.

It’s a larger pair of glasses on the face, but still comfortable enough for long flights, along with well-placed buttons for custom controls of the screen tweaks and the X1 chip-enabled feature set.

👍 Crispy picture, versatile customizability

It’s a 1080p picture, but with the prism display tech over bird bath, it’s an impressively sharp 1080p. That comes down to the clarity of the optics here, which does make plugging these into your phone for watching the finale of “The Boys” a nice experience.

On top of that, I’ve always said Xreal’s the way to go for a productivity focus, and these deliver when connected to a laptop — the 32:9 ultrawide panel activated entirely with the on-device chip (no software needed) is a nice touch.

For a better mix of a vivid color palette, something like the Viture Beast is a better pick here. However, Xreal is on the comeback with a customizable color palette. Still not as colorful, but getting closer!

👎 Some edge blurs and screen tearing at higher refresh rates

But while the Xreal One Pro image quality is well and truly here, that comes with some of the drawbacks I saw while testing these — namely the edge blurriness. These prisms are being stretched here by the micro OLEDs within them, and that means you’ll have to tweak the screen distance to be either smaller or further away from you.

Also, rather frustratingly, once connected to the dock, the buttons on the glasses themselves do nothing. While I can understand that in this deskbound situation, you’ll be more likely to use a dock to control them (and the joystick/button layout is easy enough to use), I did find myself often going for the glasses buttons to no avail.

And the big final part here is the screen tearing when using the dock. In all the games I played (particularly any with Nvidia’s DLSS turned on), it was a visible distraction of tears and artifacting that would pose a competitive disadvantage.

Of course, this is without the firmware update, so this could be swiftly resolved, but I’m only here to tell you the immediate experience I’ve had with them.

👎 $849 is a steep price

But that’s when I get to the big issue here — that is a hefty price tag. I know premium AR glasses will cost more, but $849 is a large chunk of change to say the least. You need to be either a serious PC player or a refresh rate purist to really want to spend this much.

Make no mistake about it. This is prime for a specific kind of audience, but even at that rate, you’re getting a crispy, colorful experience that’s more than enough at way cheaper prices. The Xreal 1S — for example — are a great pair of gaming glasses, and while they’re not 240Hz, you get more than enough of a silky frame rate for handheld play (honestly the place where you’d use the Xreal R1s most of the time anyway).

Outlook

Obviously, it’s too early to call on a lot of these features. Maybe the firmware update fixes the screen tearing and these could be the 240Hz wonder glasses that could replace your gaming monitor.

But in my first 10,000 miles, you can tell Asus and Xreal are onto something mightily interesting here, which is a bit of a diamond in the rough at the moment. Time will tell whether these issues are fixed (which you kind of hope they do for $849), and my full review once the full updates are applied will be coming early next week!

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So as you well know by now, the “intelligent eyewear” from Google and Samsung is launching this fall with designs by Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. While nobody was able to go actually hands (or eyes) on with these actual glasses, I did get to test the software that will be fuelling these specs and, well, the Ray-Ban Metas are kind of cooked.

Basically, everything AI-related that Meta has brought to the table in its past couple generations has been usurped by what is set to launch on Google’s glasses. We may not know what they will be called, and we don’t know the price. But if they’re competitive to Meta’s specs, Zuckerberg has a big problem on his hands.

Judging the styles

So we’ve got Warby Parker and Gentle Monster doing the designs, and I wouldn’t be surprised if most people went for the former. We only got to look at photos (ignore publications that said they got to “wear them all,” because they didn’t), so I can only give you my eyes-on perspective.

The Warby Parker frames look less daring and more subtle on your face, whereas Gentle Monster is looking to make a statement. Nothing wrong with that at all, but the aesthetic is not going to be for everyone.

As for specifics on them, Google didn’t share much. But with these prototype specs weighing less than 50 grams, I’m quietly confident that they will also be lightweight and wearable in the very long-term. Plus, they’ll definitely be prescription-friendly, as has been confirmed extensively here at I/O.

All-round smoothness

As for using them day-to-day, you’ll get your standard interface that uses your phone as the brains of your glasses, with a little bit of local AI to run the basics. It’s a method that has a proven track record so far, and they will be compatible with both Android and iOS devices.

Gemini Live is the key to making these true Ray-Ban Meta beaters, and it frankly makes Meta AI seem feeble in comparison. Rather than having to follow rudimentary vocal steps to do certain things, a press and hold on the stem turns it on and I’m having a full conversational interaction with the AI about the world around me.

As is the case with any of these demos, I had a bunch of props to work with — figuring out a Van Gogh painting, or going through a Korean cookbook and ensuring that the recipes are safe for my peanut-allergic friends to consume. In all of these, the AI voice is extra descriptive of its determination and provides a nice helping hand in a way Meta AI has never really done so.

Throw in all the Google app integration in here too and it gets even more interesting. You can receive a summary of your latest messages or turn-by-turn directions to the nearest bar (it’s been a long day, don’t judge me). It’s clear that a real-time AI like Gemini has been the missing link that’s going to bring everything together in a way that can reduce the number of times you need to pull out your phone.

Turning on the display

This is a feature that will not be coming to this first crop of smart glasses — they are all display-free. But the monocular waveguide display in this prototype does add some fantastic visual aids to some key use cases.

You’ve probably already read a lot about this when Mark went eyes-on with this same prototype last year. But to give you my thoughts, bringing Google services into a pair of smart glasses really brings a user-friendly advantage here with the likes of Google Maps and photo taking.

Seeing a little HUD give directions or a GTA-style radar when you look down for a nice street layout is a nice touch. Then the image generation efforts with Nano Banana were frankly hilarious. I took a picture of my camera guy and asked it to turn him into a superhero…what does GL mean? Also his name is Paul Antill as clearly stated on the badge, but now he’s Paul Arnold!?

Regardless, it’s clear that you’ll have plenty of fun with the generative AI experiences of these specs.

Watch out, Meta!

And all of this exposes that while the Ray-Ban Metas may have a couple of years headstart, the usefulness updates over time have been rather minor and slow in the progress of things.

I mean, sure, there are reminders of things, but do they actually mean something when they’re not integrated into your services that matter? Or do turn-by-turn directions really help when the mapping technology doesn’t hold a candle to Google Maps?

So, I say this to Zuck. You have about five months-ish to figure out how to compete with this. I’m not sure what the answer is, but Google is about to bring actually useful AI to smart glasses, and Meta AI needs to catch up fast in both a simple Q&A fashion and in agentic use, too.

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I've been using the Ray-Ban Metas, the Meta Ray-Ban Display and the Oakley Meta Vanguard for the better part of a year, and they've proven to be some of the most capable and best smart glasses around. I've found them exceptionally handy for taking pictures and video on the go, listening to music, keeping tabs on conversations, and finding out general info about things that are in front of me.

However, at Google I/O 2026, Google finally revealed Google Glass 2.0 its Intelligent Eyewear, which are due out this fall. Although the introduction was brief, what I saw impressed me in a few ways — most notably, the things they offer that Meta's smart glasses do not.

Fortunately for Meta, it has a few months to improve its own products — which no doubt we'll see at Meta Connect 26 in September. Here are the three big things that Meta will need to add to keep up with Google.

Maps and directions

Apart from search, one of Google's biggest assets is Google Maps, so it's no surprise that turn-by-turn directions are one of the features included in its eyewear. Not only that, but Gemini will also be able to add stops to your route as you go.

Currently, only the Meta Ray-Ban Displays provide native navigation, and it's only recently been updated to include the entire U.S., and a few cities abroad, such as London, Paris, and Rome. And, they're only walking directions.

This is something that's going to have to get a lot more comprehensive, and also become available on all of its smart glasses.

Taking (and editing) photos

More than anything, I use Meta's smart glasses to take photos and videos, as it's so much more convenient and faster than pulling my phone out of my pocket. However, smart glasses' cameras are much less capable than those on smart phones, so I know I'm making a bit of a tradeoff.

Google's smart glasses will let you use Nano Banana to instantly edit the photos you take, to remove background objects or even do something sillier, like putting mustaches on everyone in the picture. Hilarity aside, the Nano Banana integration could help remove, or at least mitigate, one of the key disadvantages of a smart glasses' camera.

A recent update to all of Meta's cameras lets you automatically crop photos where a portion is covered by a hat or hair — a very welcome feature — but it's going to have to go a bit further. Meta does allow you to use AI tools to edit photos you take from within the app, but you can't make these changes proactively.

Greater app support

Thanks to its history of acquisitions, Meta has some pretty useful apps in its portfolio, most notably Whatsapp and Instagram. And, its smart glasses also work well with major music apps (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music) as well as Garmin and Strava. But that's not nearly enough.

At the keynote, Google announced that its glasses would work with a host of apps, such as Uber, Doordash, and more. It's not clear if the apps need to be integrated with the glasses themselves, or if you merely need to connect them via Gemini — which would save a lot of app development time.

Regardless of how it's accomplished — and this is something I noted in my Meta Ray-Ban Display review — there needs to be far greater integration with third-party apps and services.

To its credit, Meta did announce it was launching developer access, so you can start building Web apps for the glasses. But, this will need to be extended to all of its devices, not just the premium Displays, and it will need to get some major companies on board.

Outlook

There's a lot of time between now and when the Google Intelligent Eyewear makes its debut this fall, and Meta does have a strong early lead in actually producing smart glasses.

Still, Google has some real strengths where it can leverage its massive portfolio of businesses, services, and AI to its advantage. Before Thanksgiving rolls around, Zuckerberg and Co. could be playing catch-up — and by then, it may be too late.

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Alongside AI glasses made with Samsung, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, Google is also tying up with Xreal on Project Aura. We’ve been seeing small glimpses of them for the past year and finally, I was able to go fully hands-on (and eyes-on) at Google I/O. And in three words: it’s the future.

For those uninitiated, Project Aura is Xreal’s best pair of AR glasses connected to a compute puck with Qualcomm silicon inside — taking on Meta’s Project Orion from a while back and figuring out how to stuff the experience of a full-blown VR headset like the Samsung Galaxy XR or Apple Vision Pro into something the size of a slightly oversized pair of specs.

As the smart glasses guy on the team, it’s been my dream to watch the worlds of the best smart glasses and best VR headsets come together. And while they’re definitely not all the way there (you won’t be taking these outside in public without getting second looks), it’s a damn good starting point.

A new window

The field-of-view battle has been ongoing between the likes of Xreal and Viture, and so far that ceiling has been 58 degrees in the Viture Beast. When Xreal’s CEO came out and announced a 70-degree field of view for Project Aura, I was very much in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” camp…

Well, I saw it and yes, it’s a true generational leap for immersion. The prisms are massive and while you can definitely see some edge blurring, the fact that said blurring is kind of moving off to your peripheral vision masks it nicely.

It’s that missing link between just being a nice big screen for your phone or laptop on your face and becoming that stepping stone into being a VR experience to boot. On the sides, you’ve got two cameras along with a centrally-placed lens for full 6 DoF tracking, and the whole thing is tethered to a compute puck (with a strap to shoulder it) that’s roughly the same size as my iPhone 15 Pro.

We don’t know anything about what’s inside the puck except for a 4455mAh battery (probably good for 2-3 hours of heavy use), and some unnamed Snapdragon chip inside.

My guess is an XR2 Gen 2 or something maybe newer (Gen 3? Couldn’t be sure). But the end result is mostly accurate hand tracking and impressively fixed windows in place — to the point that you can walk around them a la VR headsets.

Getting to use them

So what can you do on them? Well, spatial computing stuff of course — this is Android XR after all! If you’ve used the Galaxy XR, you’ll feel right at home with the pinches and drags. But the transparency of glasses adds a new dimension of layering to the whole thing. This is not you seeing the world through cameras, it’s seeing the real world with your content laid over it.

I got to multitask without any noticeable hitches, messed around with a music creation app that merges drawing in the air with Gemini’s music creation, and even played Demeo — a D&D-style tabletop game that almost feels purpose-built for a device like this.

Ultimately, it does hit those same barriers that any spatial computing interface faces: namely that it’s slower to do things than on an actual computer. But I can’t deny that these are so much fun to use! And Gemini brings it all together nicely with voice prompts to make your way around.

Also shout-out to the auto electrochromic dimming of the lenses, which means that if someone is getting my attention, I can look away and the lenses immediately become fully transparent so I can maintain eye contact.

Outlook

OK, so how much are they going to cost and when will they come out? On the latter, they’re set for later this year but everyone’s staying super tight lipped on price. So all I can do is guess, and while I’d love for these to be sub-$1,000, I don’t see a world where this happens. I mean the Galaxy XR headset is nearly two grand, and this is a lot of compute that has been ruthlessly shrunk down into a pair of glasses.

However, doesn’t take away from one simple truth: these are a glimpse into the exciting future of AR glasses — specs that are no longer just a display on your face, but a whole platform to do things on. It’ll take time to get that compute puck outta there, to make them a true must-buy. But as they are now, these are the next generation to look forward to.

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Considering Google I/O is a developer event that mainly focuses on software, it's rare to see any big hardware announcements. But that's exactly what's happened at this year's conference, with Samsung and Google offering a sneak peek at their new smart glasses — or "intelligent eyewear," as they've both put it.

The duo has unveiled two different designs, created with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. These aren't AR Glasses that are designed to run on Android XR, though. They're more like the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, and are designed as a way to interact with your phone and AI with your voice.

Samsung describes the glasses as being "built to understand the world alongside users in real time," with the goal being to keep users connected while staying "hands-free and heads-up." In other words, it's a way of interacting with your phone without actually having to have it out of your pocket or bag — aided by Gemini.

Features mentioned by Samsung include notification summaries, the ability to add events to your calendar, navigation assistance, personalized recommendations about locations on your walking route, and even real-time translation. The translation sounds particularly interesting, because Samsung says it will be able to match the translated audio to the speaker's own voice, while also translating text on any signs or menus that you're looking at.

And yes, these glasses do have a pair of camera lenses on the front. That helps power various AI features and will offer the ability to take photos without your phone.

Samsung has made it clear that the Intelligent Eyewear isn't just about being able to sport technology on your face. It's about expanding the Galaxy device lineup in a way that merges fashion and technology. This is no doubt why Samsung is releasing multiple designs, in collaboration with other eyewear brands.

The first collections will launch this fall in "select markets," though Samsung doesn't offer any additional details beyond that. Presumably, we'll be hearing more at Galaxy Unpacked in July, ahead of a fall release date.

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The best AI smart glasses do a lot of things right, but the biggest win for me has been finding out about new places around me. My wife and I’s tour guide in Costa Rica was terrible, but being able to ask my Ray-Ban Metas about what I was looking at gave us all the landmark details I needed in the moment.

It’s this moment that the L’Atitude 52°Ns are purpose-built for, and on paper, you’re getting a solidly stylish pair of specs from the Berlin-based outfit started by former OnePlus engineers.

Don’t get me wrong, the giant statement piece aesthetic won’t be for everyone’s face (definitely not suited to mine), but I can appreciate they look good — standing out from the crowd of Wayfarer wannabes.

On top of that, the cameras are decent, the speakers are loud and detailed, the live translation is rapid and the AI tour guide does give you a nice extra dimension to the places you go (at the right locations).

But in this economy, paying more money for worse specs with a divisive look is a tough sell, and that’s the problem here. At $399 with a Pro subscription “expected to be under $20,” and a feature set that falls shy of Meta, these already start with quite the disadvantage.

Throw in some ropey touch controls and connectivity issues, and you’re left with glasses that are strong for one very particular person, but don’t hold a candle to the biggest player in the game.

L’Atitude 52°N smart glasses: Cheat sheet

• What is it? This is a pair of display-free smart glasses with built-in camera, speakers and microphone.
• Who is it for? It's aimed towards regular travelers — well timed for vacation season.
• How much does it cost? You can pick up a pair for $399/£349. Keep in mind that all the AI features are free for first 12 months, then you’ll have to unlock them with a monthly subscription that is “expected to be under $20.”
• What is it like to use them? The look may be divisive, but I quite like the statement piece aesthetic going on here. Throw in a decent camera, nice speakers/mic and some of the fastest live translation I’ve seen in smart glasses (alongside a nifty AI tour guide), and you’ve got a solid starting point.
• Any problems? But at a higher price than the Ray-Ban Metas (and a monthly subscription on top of that), an aesthetic that’s definitely not for everyone, some ropey touch control issues and a gigantic cumbersome case, it becomes harder to recommend to anyone outside of those with millions of frequent flyer miles.

L’Atitude 52°N smart glasses: Specs

L’Atitude 52°N smart glasses: The ups

And so, I headed to Heathrow — ready for my travels. Once I was over there, the L’Atitude’s purpose-built form and function really started to make sense.

Eye-catching looks

My Dad calls them the Marmite glasses — either you love ‘em or your hate ‘em (ask your British mates), and I can see his point 100%. On a slimmer, taller face like mine, they just look a bit weirdly oversized. But that doesn’t stop me from being a fan of the look. A good rule of thumb here is if you can rock a pair of aviators, then you’ll be just fine in these too.

The build quality feels nice and premium in the hand and on the face, with strong hinges and a nice upmarket quality to it all. And regardless of this larger size and slightly heavier weight than competition like the Rokid AI Glasses Style, the components are evenly distributed so it doesn’t weigh down on your nose on ears for a nice comfortable wear.

It’s just nice to see different looks being used rather than going the safe Wayfarer direction. Not to say this will be for everyone (it absolutely won’t), and I would’ve preferred a more portable case than the gigantic container you get here (though it does protect them nicely and pack a ton of battery). But for the traveling fashionistas with a penchant for the big statement pieces, these certainly hit that marker.

Hitting the basic fundamentals

For display-free AI glasses, the simplified interface elements have to be strong. That means they need to be able to see well (have a good camera), hear well (strong microphone) and speak well (loud, clear speakers).

The 12MP Sony sensor packed into them produces some decent shots on par with the Ray-Ban Metas, alongside decent low light performance thanks to that image processing chip packed inside too. Meta has an upper hand in video fidelity with up to 3K while these can only go to 1080p — but you can choose your aspect ratio here (not locked to 9:16).

Throw in some impressive audio clarity from the built-in speakers and microphones that are impressively effective at picking up your voice even in moments of loud background noise, and its senses are working well.

Then it’s about ensuring you’ve got a good interface to see what you’re doing with the glasses, and that’s where the L’Atitude app comes in — giving you a nice clean UI for viewing your AI interaction history, import photos/footage, or get into the real unique selling point of these specs.

Your personal AI tour guide

Yes, Goya AI is general purpose and can be helpful for Q&A (though limited compared to Meta AI in its current form, but more on that later). However, outside of the rapid live translation of several languages, the real standout feature here for travelers is the the AI tour guide.

Opening up the guide in the app, you can see the many nearby landmarks it will take you on a tour of. The depth of content will vary based on the place — I got a lot of detail at the National Science Museum, whereas the mosque near Heathrow Airport gave me what amounted to “yes, it is a mosque.”

That being said, though, while it is going to be a limited feature to use on the day-to-day (unless you’re traveling a lot), I have to admit it’s helped me find out new facts about landmarks that I wouldn’t have found out usually.

L’Atitude 52°N smart glasses: The downs

Sounds good, right? Well here’s where it gets a little weird — almost as if the L’Atitudes’ shoot themselves in the foot in a few ways.

Quite a bit of awkwardness

I’m gonna call these the first-time jitters. I saw plenty of them in the first-gen Ray-Ban Meta glasses — things like unreliable touch surfaces on the stems of the glasses, Goya AI prompting being a little weird when it comes to asking for more than one thing, and Bluetooth connectivity issues.

There was a recent firmware update that did clear some of this up, but not all the way, so it’s still a bugbear that happens roughly once every 2-3 times I’ll use them. These are definitely things that can be fixed with updates, but I’ve got to review what I have in front of me.

Priced out of competition

But the real killing blow here of any chances to compete with the Ray-Ban Metas is the way these are priced. If they started at $299, we may have something of a fight on our hands (especially with this company’s attitude towards keeping data private), but offering worse tech specs in a divisive design and a limited AI for $100 more is a rough deal.

Then comes the subscription pricing — stay with me here as it’s a bit convoluted. If you buy the glasses, you get 12 months of the Goya AI Pro plan for free. Afterwards, you’re limited to the vague “100-200 minutes” of AI interactions, a simplified AI Tour Guide and some other restrictions unless you pay the premium fee. This hasn’t been fully confirmed but the company did say it will be “under $20” per month.

It’s a sticky situation financially and a big ask for what these glass offer/are set to offer in the near future. There needs to be a real killer app for the price of these, and at the moment, we don’t have it — just some nice to haves and a pretty pair of glasses.

L’Atitude 52°N smart glasses: Verdict

So I’m left feeling conflicted. In a few ways, these are good smart glasses for the frequent flyers. The aesthetic will split opinion, but these are well-put-together specs with a solid camera, audio and AI interactivity.

But it’s hard to look past the simple fact that you can get better for cheaper, and on top of that, the ground level features are still a bit unreliable. I’m sure these will come in time, but what about the features that make these a solid buy over the Ray-Ban Metas? I’m not so sure.

And while I’m always keen to be constructive and say “this is what you can do to turn these into winners,” I’m honestly struggling to figure out what that fix would be here — the ceiling is being reached in display-free hardware, and it’s onto the AI to keep throwing new features at them. However, as of right now, the glasses are fine, but you can get more bang for your buck.

Android XR, Google's VR and AR platform, was ignored during The Android Show last week, but we expect it to have a big presence at Google I/O 2026 alongside major Gemini AI announcements.

This could include potential new looks at several different smart glasses, the XR platform itself, and more.

Google Android XR smart glasses

Google teased its own Android XR smart glasses during MWC 2026 in February. At the time, Google showcased a number of Gemini features, including the ability to use the camera and Nano Banana in combination to take and edit a photo on the fly.

We also got another glimpse of Live Translation in action, where Google's Dieter Bohn used it to translate Chinese to English.

At the time, Bohn emphasized that the glasses he was showcasing were still prototypes. He promised more information in the coming months.

If Google's glasses make an appearance, they will likely still be prototypes, but hopefully we'll see some new features and capabilities.

Samsung's smart glasses

Samsung confirmed that it's take on Ray-Ban Meta-style smart glasses would launch this year during an earnings call in January. The company teased its glasses again during its Q2 earnings call at the end of April.

Last year, Samsung teased its Galaxy XR headset early in the year, which included limited hands-on testing, before it officially launched in October 2025. We attended Google I/O 2025 and were able to test out the headset.

Presumably, Samsung could follow a similar strategy letting developers and media get some eyes-on time with its rumored glasses before a potential October launch.

Xreal's Project Aura

Xreal hasn't officially announced that it will make an appearance at Google I/O, but we expect the company to be there showing off its Project Aura tethered glasses.

So far, we know the XR glasses will feature Android XR, Xreal's X1S chip, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. It's also supposed to have a 70-degree field of view.

I like to think of these specs as Google's attempt to make a headset without the bulky headset. Hopefully, we'll get some eyes-on time with Xreal's next glasses.

Non-smart glasses

Outside of Samsung's Galaxy XR headset, Google isn't rumored to be working on any headsets of its own. We might see some new Galaxy XR features, but with Apple seemingly done with the Vision Pro headset, I highly doubt it.

As of this writing, we haven't seen any rumors regarding new features for Android XR devices. It's not clear where Google is leaning.

We'll be live at Google I/O 2026 to bring you all the news as it happens, along with our first impressions.

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