When you hear the term "smart glasses," it's entirely likely that you're definition is very different from someone else's. That's because "smart glasses" is an umbrella term that contains many different types of products, each of which conveniently rests on your nose.
So, which type is the right type for you? That entirely depends on what you want from the glasses on your face. Are you looking to capture moments with family and friends in a hands-free way? Maybe you need your own personal display for your PS5 or Xbox instead of hogging the TV?
Whatever you're looking for, we've got a great list of must-have smart glasses for you.
Nick started with DOS and NES and uses those fond memories of floppy disks and cartridges to fuel his opinions on modern tech. Whether it's VR, smart home gadgets, or something else that beeps and boops, he's been writing about it since 2011. Reach him on Twitter or Instagram @Gwanatu
Best overall
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are incredibly popular because of their ability to capture high-quality photos and video right from the frames. You can even live stream to Instagram and listen to your favorite tunes with the built-in Bluetooth speakers. Plus, Meta AI built-in is the best new virtual assistant we've seen in years and these glasses come in tons of styles.
Best Smart Display glasses
There are lots of smart display glasses, but none are better than Viture Pro. They feature the brightest, highest-resolution displays with more eye-friendly dimming methods and no fringed display edges like all other brands suffer from. Plus, built-in diopter adjustment means you won't need custom lenses if you're near-sighted!
Best for consoles
Whether you're got a Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, or PlayStation, the Viture One Lite dock pack lets you play for hours on end without needing to recharge your portable or worry about confusing connections to your consoles. Plus, the dock tricks the Switch into thinking it's actually docked to a TV, so your games run in a higher resolution than they do on the system's built-in display.
Best 3DoF
If you're someone who can't stand the virtual display being "pinned" to your vision, Xreal Air 2 with Xreal Beam is the package for you. Beam looks like an iPod but makes the Xreal Air 2 glasses fully 3DoF compatible, ensuring that the virtual screen stays pinned in space when you move your head around, helping to prevent motion sickness and headache.
Best audio glasses
Razer's first smart glasses deliver a quality Bluetooth connection to your phone so you can stream tunes for hours without having to wear headphones. Plus, the blue light-blocking and polarized lenses included in the box help protect your eyes for the long haul.
Best for Snapchat junkies
If you spend most of your day on Snapchat, you might want to consider donning a pair of Spectacles 3. They'll capture any moment of your day hands-free via the dual front-facing cameras, which can create 3D photos and 60FPS videos for the ultimate Snap experience.
These are the best smart glasses
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Since the term "smart glasses" covers such a wide gamut, it's difficult to pick one product that does everything well. But, after using every product on this page, I can confidently recommend Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses as the best overall pair of smart glasses you can buy right now for several reasons.
Since their debut in Fall 2023, people have loved the convenience of being able to quickly snap a picture or record video hands-free thanks to the quality cameras built into the frames. Sure, you're got a phone in your pocket that can do something similar, but the hands-free method is something you can't go back from once you've gotten used to it.
Second, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses keep getting huge AI upgrades with things like support for Meta's multimodal AI assistant, which can visually identify what it sees through the camera and give you all sorts of useful information. You can even take video calls or live stream to Instagram right from the glasses!
Plus, Ray-Ban is known for its style and these glasses don't skimp in that regard. There are tons of styles available, and you can even customize the lenses to fit your prescription, including snazzy colored lenses and transitions optics.
But if you're looking for a pair of smart glasses that give you a big display you can work from or watch movies on, Viture has you covered in a number of areas.
I've used Viture One glasses many times on work trips to write while on a plane. If you've ever tried to work on a plane using a laptop, you'll know the experience sucks. Craning your neck for hours is bad enough, but then you also have to worry about your laptop display getting smashed if the person in front of you reclines their seat.
Viture glasses let me comfortably use my laptop on a plane by projecting the display right in front of me at eye level. That lets me mostly close the laptop to leave just enough room for typing and not have to worry about the display getting crushed.
Not only that, but no one else can see the display since it's projected inside the lenses of the glasses I'm wearing. That's great for a multitude of reasons. The cream of the crop is Viture Pro XR glasses which feature the brightest, clearest display of any smart display glasses on the market.
Viture pioneered a new type of display and lens tech that clears up the fringing other smart glasses have on the edges of the virtual display, plus include a built-in diopter adjustment so folks who are near-sighted can use them without needing special lenses.
Not only that, but they use DC-like dimming which is a lot more eye-friendly in my tests, ensuring that even PWM-sensitive folks like myself can use them without getting headaches.
If you're a gamer who is tired of craning your neck down at your Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck, the Viture One Lite Dock Pack is the best choice. This pack comes with the glasses and a handy dock that lets you keep your system powered for hours and use the larger virtual display inside the glasses to give you a better view than the handheld display.
That saves your neck since you can look in any direction and have the display right in front of your eyes, so you can even lounge on the bed while the giant 200-inch display sits on your ceiling.
Steam Deck owners can save some cash and just grab a pair of Viture One Lite glasses and directly plug them into the system's USB-C port up top. Switch owners will need the dock but it doubles as both a power bank and a way to get higher-resolution Switch games since the system thinks it's hooked up to a TV.
But what about glasses that can be worn anywhere? Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses look nearly identical to a regular pair of Ray-Bans, yet offer a lot more functionality than a normal pair of specs.
Ray-Ban Stories connects with your phone via the Meta View app. This app syncs any pictures and video taken from your specs, letting you easily share the clips or pics on social media. Plus, you can stream music to your glasses, take video and phone calls without having to hold your phone, tap into the power of Meta AI with just your voice and the built-in cameras.
These are my personal go-to for going out as they make everyday life easier. I'm already wearing sunglasses when I'm out and about, so why not have them do more than just block sunrays? Plus, the case charges the glasses like a pair of earbuds, showing how much thought went into the product.
And there are so many other categories to consider here, too. Maybe you want to ditch that pair of earbuds and have your glasses play sound instead? A pair of Razer Anzu glasses will do just that, emitting sweet, sweet tunes from the temples and offering both polarized and blue light-blocking lenses for regular use.
Or maybe you're a Snapchat fiend and want to capture every moment of your day? Spectacles 3 gives you a 3D view of the world around you, letting you make the very best Snaps. Your friends will wonder how your Snaps got such an upgrade, and you'll be wondering how to keep making them better.
And while today's smart glasses are still somewhat limited in scope, upcoming smart glasses from companies like Meta promise to fulfill the true vision of AR glasses as seen in movies and science fiction.
