The idea of smart glasses has been around for decades, but the technology is finally catching up. The best smart glasses let you listen to music, answer texts hands-free, or teach you about the world, even as you're looking at it. And they're getting more popular: Meta and Ray-Ban sold more than 7 million pairs of smart glasses in 2025. Google, Samsung, and Apple are releasing their own versions soon. Even better than helpful smart glasses becoming more available is that these specs can also make you look fabulous.
Before you pick your pair, you should know that smart glasses are hugely varied, even more so than many other product categories that we test. Some are glorified headphones for everyday wear; others have very specific use cases, like for sports, gaming, or working. They also come in a wide variety of designs, with varying specs and price points.
The WIRED team has tested just about every pair of smart glasses on the market. In addition to our recommendations, I also explain what you need to know about this category and give a quick history lesson about the space. Think you might need something else instead? Don't forget to check out the rest of our buying guides, including the Best Meta Glasses and the Best Virtual Reality Headsets.
Updated August 2026: I updated product information and added a FAQ section. Specs, prices, and links were also updated.
What Am I Testing Next?
I am currently testing the Lucyd Reebok Optical frames.
Arguably, the success of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses is what spurred the current AI glasses boom. These are the updated version of the OG Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers that were the category's first certified hit. As the sales numbers reinforce, these are the best and most popular smart glasses available.
Why WIRED recommends: The second-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses let you choose different frames, including the Wayfarer ones, and lenses (including prescription lenses), and they look the most like regular glasses. They don’t have any virtual screen—instead, you get a 12-MP camera, open-ear speakers, and five microphones. There’s 32 GB of storage, and they run for around eight hours when fully charged, with a case that can add another 48 hours. They have an IPX4 water resistance rating, so they'll be OK in light rain. The photo quality can’t match the latest phones, and videos are limited to one minute in length, but the quality is much better than what the originals offered, enabling you to record in up to 3K at 30 frames per second. You also get a host of AI features, including live language translation and the ability to ask about what you're seeing. But using these features requires you to connect to a smartphone, plus Meta AI also needs an internet connection.
The trade-offs: If you go to any outdoor or sporting event, you will undoubtedly see people wearing these to record snippets for TikTok or Instagram. The glasses have given rise to a new term, “pervert glasses”. More than 70 organizations have formed a coalition to demand that Meta kill face recognition, an upcoming feature dubbed “Name Tag” in Meta's house. If you’re OK with all this, you're not alone—millions of people are as well! I like these glasses, but only with a lot of precautions, like disabling the Vibes videos and keeping my photos and videos off the Meta AI cloud. Smart glasses with cameras can also provide audio descriptions and answer questions about what you are seeing, which may be useful for folks with vision loss. The glasses also have an integrated Be My Eyes service that doesn't rely on AI. —Adrienne So
Viture Beast's 2026 model has a screen that's bigger, brighter, and with a wider field of view than our previous winner for best virtual screen, the Xreal One Pro. I spent a week using the Beast for work, watching movies with my 2024 MacBook Pro and my iPhone 16, and fighting with my family to take turns playing Tears of the Kingdom in 3D using my Nintendo Switch 2. I'm excited to take the Beast traveling with me this year and eliminate the need for a portable monitor.
Why WIRED recommends: It's easy to dial in a comfy fit, thanks to a wide variety of nose pads. You can buy prescription lenses, and my kids and I could switch lenses quickly enough to take turns using the glasses. The glasses now feature an onboard chip letting you control features like screen-width customization and three DoF (degrees of freedom), which makes your setting fixed around you as you turn and rotate. The chip eliminates the need to use cumbersome third-party apps (like SpaceWalker) to take advantage of the glasses' capabilities.
I tested the glasses with MacOS Spaces. 3 DoF and Smart Follow are effective, though there is a noticeable lag with Smart Follow—I didn't mind it, but it may bother some people. The screen was plenty bright enough that I could watch Somewhere on my patio in the sun, but you can also adjust the light transmittance. In order to use the glasses, you have to plug them into a device, but the upside of that is that they work well with many companion systems.
The trade-offs: Before using the glasses for the first time, you have to calibrate the evenness of the virtual screen by setting them down on a flat surface for 10 seconds, and they just cannot lie flat with the plug coming out of the right arm. So, even after calibration, the view is just a little crooked. These glasses will also drain the battery on any device incredibly quickly. Watching Casino Royale with my phone drained the battery about 70 percent in 1.5 hours. Keep a charger handy. —Adrienne So
The Xreal One Pro is the major competitor to the Viture Beast right now. Virture's model wins for a brighter, crisper, and bigger screen, though the One Pro does still offer an excellent-quality virtual display of up to 171 inches at 1080p resolution, up to 120-Hz refresh rate, and a 57-degree field of view.
Why WIRED recommends: Where the One Pro really shines is its sound quality. The built-in Bose stereo speakers deliver richer sound than Viture’s Harman speakers. These smart glasses work great as a virtual theater. Xreal’s X1 built-in chip allows for 3 DoF, so you can pin the screen without an accessory or app. The electrochromic film can dim the lenses to dial up the contrast.
These aren’t the lightest smart glasses, but Xreal’s switch to a flat prism design makes them sleeker and allows them to sit comfortably closer to your eyes. Three sizes of nose pads enable you to get a comfy fit. There are also several accessories you can snag to enhance the experience. That includes the Xreal Eye ($99) camera, which sits below the bridge of the nose and supports 12-megapixel photos and video recording (1080p at 60 fps). There’s also the Beam Pro ($199) Android computer for content streaming, remote play, and cloud gaming, and it has dual 50-megapixel cameras to create 3D videos. It’s also worth noting that Xreal's upcoming Project Aura will be the company's first Android XR glasses, promising a 70-degree field of view, but details are slim.
The trade-offs: The One Pro display can get brighter than its predecessor at 700 nits of perceived brightness, but it doesn’t hit the highs of some other smart glasses, like the Viture. They lack diopter dials, but you can tweak settings like screen size and distance, IPD (interpupillary distance), calibration, and button mapping on the glasses. Lastly, while Xreal’s free Nebula app unlocks more features, the system is kind of underbaked. —Simon Hill
These are former editor Adrienne So’s favorite smart sunglasses for running. The Oakley Meta Vanguard is inspired by the iconic Oakley Sphaera sports sunglasses, which cost almost $300. For about $200 more, you can get this smart pair that's essentially sunglasses with workout headphones, a five-mic array, and a 12-megapixel action camera built in.
Why WIRED recommends: The headphones are 6 decibels louder than any other pair of Meta glasses, and the IP67 rating means these glasses can be worn in all types of weather (or even on ski slopes) without fear of water damage. The lenses are also interchangeable and are easy to swap when you need something different for your activity or season. You can also set up automations like Meta AI alerting you when you're out of your heart rate zone or select Garmin watches triggering auto-capture for photos and videos. (For example, you can set your Garmin to capture a 30-second clip for every mile on your 10-mile run.)
The trade-offs: The camera quality doesn't compare to a GoPro camera or other popular action cameras. It has a 12-MP sensor, 32 gigabytes of storage, and a 122-degree ultrawide field of view, but competing action cameras typically offer larger sensors, at least two times more storage, wider fields of view, and longer recording times.
If you're not comfortable with everything Meta's doing, then your best bet is the Even Realities G2, the upgraded version of the Even Realities G1.
Why WIRED recommends: With these glasses, there's no need to fear privacy-invading cameras or microphones. Instead, the glasses have a huge, bright display, and are what reviewer Chris Haslam calls “the sharpest-looking smart glasses available.” You can choose between two styles of frames, the oval G2 A and the rectangular G2 B, both of which are available in gray, brown, or muted green. The G2 also supports prescription lenses from −12.00 to +12.00 diopters. You can control the glasses via the new R1 smart ring, which also helps keep interactions with the glasses subtle, or by toggling the responsive touch panel on the temple.
The G2 glasses are aimed at business professionals, offering an Even HAO 2.0 (Holistic Adaptive Optics) display, which you can use to read crisp green digital text in a small rectangle within the lenses. There's Even AI, a helpful onboard assistant that feeds responses to your questions as digital text; a Teleprompt feature, which is useful if you give frequent presentations; and translation support for 33 languages, as compared to Meta's six.
The trade-offs: The newest feature is Conversate, an AI conversational assistant that aims to help you become a more interesting conversationalist. The feature suggests topics or facts as you speak, records transcripts of your conversations, and provides AI-generated summaries. Haslam found this mildly helpful but very distracting, as it's hard to both talk to your friend and read text-prompts onscreen. The ethical implications are also disturbing, since there's no indication that the conversation is being recorded (the Meta glasses have a bright LED that lights up when you're being recorded). At least you can read the staggeringly bright 1,200-nit display in almost any lighting conditions. —Adrienne So
RayNeo Air 3s Pro for $299: TCL-owned RayNeo offers many models, and I've tested several. The latest Air 3s Pro glasses boast a 201-inch virtual screen (1080p, 120 Hz, 1200 nits), but the 46-degree field of view lets it down a little. Both color vibrancy and brightness are improved over previous releases like the Air 2s and the older TCL RayNeo Air 2 XR Glasses. You can just about see the whole screen clearly (even after adjusting, I had to slide them down my nose a little to avoid blurring at the bottom). You will also need the lens shade to use them in brighter environments. While they are cheaper than our other virtual-screen picks, I found them inferior in design, fit, and comfort. Rayneo has added some more on-device options, including spatial sound, but it didn't work well for me, though the standard sound is fine. RayNeo’s software, required for 3 DoF, is still buggy and unpolished. This is a good virtual screen for the money, and perfectly suitable for watching movies and light gaming, but if you want more from your smart glasses, I'd pick a different pair. —Simon Hill
Viture Luma Pro for $499: Every time a company comes out with a new pair of smart glasses, the old one instantly looks dated. The same is true here with the older Viture Luma Pro and the newer Viture Beast. The Beat's display is better, and it has the onboard chip, so you don't have to deal with the hassle of the SpaceWalker app. If you're using the glasses for gaming, you're probably going to spend whatever you save buying the older Luma Pro's on accessories anyway. That said, if you exhausted your budget, the Luma Pro is a cheaper way to get a small, portable screen for traveling. —Adrienne So
Engo3 for $400: These sports sunglasses are for high-performance aerobic athletes going at such high speeds that looking down at your wrist might place you in peril. The glasses are a miracle of engineering, weighing only 38.5 grams (half that of the Oakley Meta Vanguard). I tested the version with the photochromic lenses, which have an ambient light sensor to dial the transmittance up or down. You can connect the glasses with a compatible Garmin or Apple Watch and customize the HUD (heads-up display) to show real-time data on a color display as you're working out. It's accurate, and the text is crisp. Unfortunately, the HUD is located right near the bridge of my nose, which means I'm cross-eyed when I check it. Also, it's debatable which is more distracting during a long run: having to look down at my smartwatch or having a giant HUD mirrored display in the middle of my face, falling down my nose when I sweat. —Adrienne So
Chamelo Music Shield for $229: These are the simplest smart glasses on this list. If you're too cool for auto-transition photochromic lenses, you can just slide your finger along the right arm of these electrochromatic sunglasses to dim them anywhere from 17 to 64 percent light transmittance. They also play music. These are comfortable and work well, but the sound is nowhere near as clear or loud as other options. They're also not polarized and are pricey considering their limited functionality. —Adrienne So
Rokid Max 2 Glasses for $429: The Spider-Man–esque lenses give these comfortable smart glasses a bit of character, though they won’t be to everyone’s taste. They project a 215-inch screen (1080p, 120 Hz, 600 nits, 50-degree FoV) and have diopter dials for focus adjustments, but I struggled to eliminate blurring around the edges, and instead of using stylish electrochromic dimming, there’s a clip-on plastic blackout shield. I also tried the Rokid Station 2, which adds an Android TV interface to access entertainment apps, but also a trackpad and an air mouse for easier control. —Simon Hill
Lucyd Reebok Octane for $199: Designed in partnership with Reebok for cyclists and runners, these lightweight Bluetooth sunglasses feature silver polarized lenses, quality speakers, and an eight-hour battery life. I enjoyed listening to music and podcasts on them while hiking. I also like that you can hear the world around you, but the sound leakage isn’t too bad, so you won’t bother the people you pass. They also have physical controls that are much easier to use than touch controls, even when your hands are wet or sweaty (the glasses are water-resistant, too). You can take calls, get directions, and ask your preferred AI assistant questions. Lucyd has been making Bluetooth sunglasses for several years now and offers a wide range of different styles. We also tried the Lucyd 2.0 Bluetooth Sunglasses a couple of years ago, rating them a 7 out of 10. —Simon Hill
Here's the eyewear that fell short.
Asus AirVision M1 for $699: I was excited to see Asus launch smart glasses, but the lack of fanfare was a red flag. My first impressions of the lightweight design were promising, and the M1 offers up to a 100-inch virtual display and impressive 1100 nits brightness. Designed to plug into your phone, laptop, PC, or handheld gaming device via USB-C, the M1 also features built-in speakers and a microphone. Sadly, the refresh rate maxes out at 72 Hz and is limited to 60 Hz unless you employ the Airvision software, which also enables you to select different modes (working, gaming, infinity), tweak screen position, and set interpupillary distance (IPD). I found the in-focus sweet spot was small, and most of my virtual screen was blurry, no matter how I tweaked the settings. This made the glasses uncomfortable to use, especially for work. There’s also a basic plastic shield to block light, rather than electrochromic dimming, and the speaker quality is decidedly average, leaving me puzzled about why the price is so high. —Simon Hill
Halliday Glasses: While these could almost pass for chunky regular glasses thanks to a clever ring controller and a tiny unobtrusive display, I can confidently say they are not the future of smart glasses. After spending several uncomfortable hours trying to adjust the display to be readable, all I got was a headache. The ring seemed like a smart idea, but it’s big, plastic, and laggy. The eavesdropping AI is slow, and squinting up to try and see the screens of unhelpful text it churns out is painful. The sound quality and battery life are likewise disappointing. —Simon Hill
Solos AirGo Vision for $299: With a built-in AI assistant powered by ChatGPT, the Solos AirGo Vision adds a camera on top of the Bluetooth-connected speakers in the rest of its range. Grant it unfettered access to your location and photo library, and it can describe what you are seeing. The most obvious use cases are translation and navigation, though I’m not convinced about the accuracy of its suggestions. The design is interesting, with chunky temples housing the smarts and interchangeable frames. There’s no virtual screen or HUD, but you can get prescription lenses, and they look relatively normal. Sadly, the photo and audio quality are horrible, and the touch controls are frustratingly finicky. The app is also power-hungry and demands too many permissions. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses do the same things better. —Simon Hill
What Are Smart Glasses? A Brief History
While prototype facial computers date back as far as the late ’60s, it was Google Glass that popularized the idea of smart glasses. First released as a developer kit, Google Glass is more than a decade old. They gave rise to a serious privacy debate but were also beloved by early adopting “Glassholes.” After failing to take off as a consumer product, Google Glass pivoted into factories and warehouses, highlighting the potential of augmented reality in the workplace.
The first wave of augmented reality glasses were unappealing and largely unsuccessful. They were chunky and heavy, were light on features, and made wearers look like cyborg extras from a sci-fi B-movie. The first pair I tried from Vuzix made me question the entire category. There was a lot of hype about augmented reality, but most of these chunky glasses offered relatively low-resolution displays superimposed over your field of view. For smart glasses to truly blend the real world in front of you with the virtual world, they would need cameras, processing power, and some very smart software.
Many players, big and small, have tried and failed to make an impact in this space. The early excitement generated by companies like Magic Leap evaporated amid clunky hardware at high prices. The trouble with some of the most ambitious examples thus far, like Microsoft HoloLens 2 or Apple’s Vision Pro, is that they are relatively big and heavy and, more importantly, horribly expensive. The most successful smart glasses so far are more focused, less ambitious, and cheaper, though they also fall well short of the original vision.
There’s currently a palpable sense that smart glasses are right on the brink of breaking through into the mainstream. Google’s Android XR opens up the space for developers to make the killer apps needed to drive adoption, and it has begun showing off new AI-powered smart glasses and a mixed-reality headset developed with Samsung. Xreal is also working on some new Android XR glasses dubbed Project Aura that are expected to arrive later in 2026. Many other smart glasses are in development, like Meta’s Artemis glasses, new Snap Spectacles, and Emteq’s inward-looking smart glasses. —Simon Hill
Are Smart Glasses Worth It?
Smart glasses aren't for everyone, but they can be a worthwhile investment if you value portability and convenience. They’re especially useful if you want texts, notifications, or directions displayed in your line of sight instead of reaching for your phone. And if hands-free features like photo and video capture, open-ear audio, and live translation are important to you, smart glasses are worth it.
What Are the Different Types of Smart Glasses?
Smart glasses exist on a continuum of simple to complicated. Like a wearable face computer, they can have a wide variety of price points and specs to accommodate the different types of onboard tech.
What Does HUD, DoF, and FoV Mean?
Are Smart Glasses a Privacy Risk?
Smart glasses raise legitimate privacy concerns. While recording a video in public is socially acceptable, many people are understandably uncomfortable with how discreetly smart glasses can capture photos and videos. Some models even incorporate AI features that can recognize objects and faces, validating concerns about surveillance and consent. If you decide to wear smart glasses, be mindful of local recording and privacy laws.
It's also important to consider your own privacy. Many smart glasses and their companion apps request access to messages, photos, and other sensitive information that you may rather keep private. Before granting permissions, review the privacy policies and consider whether each request is necessary for the features you plan to use.
Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that's too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.
10% Off Canon Promo Code + Up to 30% Off
Save With a Peacock Promo Code: 3 Months Free
AT&T Top Deals: Wireless, Internet, Bundles and More!
10% Off Exclusive Squarespace Promo Code 2026
Bundle and Save on Your T-mobile Business Plan
10% Off Home Depot Promo Code With Sign-up
Source: Wired
