All these smart glasses and nothing to do
Despite being more stylish and affordable, smart glasses still have no compelling reason to stay on your face all day.
The latest crop of smart glasses—spanning Even Realities G2, Meta Ray-Ban Display, Rokid, Xreal, RayNeo, and others—are the most stylish, affordable, and comfortable yet. They offer discreet displays, cameras, audio, and AI features like note-taking, navigation, and food tracking. Victoria Song tested over a dozen pairs for six months, finding the hardware impressive: you can listen to audiobooks, see texts, get directions, and capture moments without pulling out a phone. The glasses feel like James Bond gadgets, especially with gesture controls or smart rings.
But the experience remains hollow. The glasses lack a compelling daily use case; the promised AI lifestyle enhancements (health tracking, creativity boosts) fall short. Privacy is a major concern—wearing camera glasses in public makes others uncomfortable, and venues are banning them. Song notes that the category needs a better story: right now, smart glasses are solutions in search of a problem, and no amount of style or AI gimmicks can fix that. Until they offer irreplaceable value, they'll remain a cool but pointless accessory.
- Song tested over a dozen models including Even Realities G2, Meta Ray-Ban Display, Rokid, and more.
- Smart glasses are now stylish, comfortable, and feature discreet displays, cameras, and AI assistants.
- No killer use case exists—privacy concerns and lack of meaningful daily utility undermine adoption.
Why It Matters
Despite major hardware improvements, smart glasses still lack a compelling everyday use case for consumers.