At CES, we saw nearly a dozen pairs of AR glasses, but many of them looked and felt like clunky prototypes or toys. The Vuzix Blade, on the other hand — available beginning later this year for $1,000 — is something I'd actually want to wear. These Android-powered sunglasses-on-steroids pick up where smartwatches fell down by delivering notifications and even Alexa functionality right to your eyes via a color display. The Blade is easy to use, thanks to a touchpad integrated into the right arm, and there's an 8-megapixel camera for capturing photos and videos on the fly.
Vuzix also plans to integrate the camera with Amazon's digital assistant, so you can even ask Alexa "What am I looking at?" and it will be able to identify an object in your line of sight. Vuzix will have to deliver compelling experiences via its own app store to make the premium worth it, but as of right now, the Blade feels like Google Glass done right. — Mark Spoonauer
Credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg/Getty
MORE: I Would Actually Wear the Vuzix Blade AR Glasses