Priced from $349 – $600, these new video smartglasses are a whole new category of Assisted Reality, which traditionally means is putting a monitor in or around your field of view, like the original Google Glass. The new display glasses put a big screen right in front of you. It’s the only thing you see, and the screen is big, like 45% of your field of view. They’re all great for media consumption, playing games, or screen expansion for mobile productivity. Instead of looking down at a screen in your hands, you can now sit up and look ahead. If you’ve got a geek on your list, they’re really going to like these.
RayNeo Air 2 AR, The Ultimate Mobile Media Display Glasses. $349. A smart phone viewing accessory that delivers a 201″ hi-def screen on the go. We love these glasses, but compatibility is an issue. If you have an iPhone 14 or any with a lightning port, you’re going to need the $99 MiraScreen to go with it.
Xreal Air 2 Smart Glasses Simulate 330-Inch Screen. $339. The biggest, brightest screen this new category of mobile phone accessories delivers. I recommend buying it with the $119 Xreal Beam, a needed iPhone adaptor which allows you to place the screens of varying sizes around the room.
Rokid Max AR Glasses, Big Screen on the Go. $399. One of the best is also the most expensive, but we love the $199 Rokid Station, a great Android device for streaming, and viewing downloaded videos without wi-fi. The light weight Station controller makes media consumption on the Rokid Max feel more like the experience of watching TV on your living room sofa.
Virture. $395. I first me Virture at CES last year, fresh off their win as one of Time’s best inventions of 2022. It was plug and play with my iPhone 15 and the old Samsung Galaxy 10 worked well, too. The screen dimming feature, the focal adjustments, and the outstanding Harmon audio are best-in-class. The Spacewalker app turns the Virture into more of a 3DOF experience, and makes the phone your controller. Check device compatablity, as some iPhone and iPads require an adaptor.
Solos AirGo3, Wearable ChatGPT. $299. There’s no display or camera on these smart smartglasses, which use AI as their operating system.
Meta Ray-Ban Stories 2. $299. Our friend, Moor Insights analyst Anshel Sag, took great care with this lengthy review of Meta’s new iteration of Ray-Ban Stories: “The latest collaboration between Meta and Luxottica marks a significant improvement over their predecessor, Ray-Ban Stories. These glasses, powered by Qualcomm’s AR1 Gen 1 platform, offer enhanced features like superior camera capabilities (12MP photos, 1920 x 1440 video), increased storage (32GB), and advanced wireless connectivity. Notable upgrades include IPX4 water resistance, a sleek design, and a battery life of 36 hours with the charging case. The inclusion of Meta AI facilitates voice commands and messaging, enhancing day-to-day usability. Despite some areas needing improvement, such as video frame rate and continuous use battery life, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses represent a major step forward in wearable technology, combining style, functionality, and a strong value at $299, signaling Meta’s leadership in the evolving smart glasses market.” But the cool is about to get even cooler as Meta is starting to use the useless camera on the Stories into a very useful computer vision sensor (as I predicted they would do when introduced earlier this fall).
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