I tried next-gen smart glasses, and my nose loves them

We want eyewear to look normal, be comfortable for hours, and display a giant screen with good sound. The latest smart glasses get surprisingly close to that ideal.

Early smart glasses fell short in a few areas. Thick and heavy designs with limited adjustability resulted in a wearable that’s hard to wear. The latest models weigh less, but the question remains as to whether they’re comfortable enough.

A 1-ounce pair of sunglasses is fine for most people, and prescription lenses that weigh 2 to 3 ounces might be a necessity, even if they leave indentations on your nose and make your ears sore.

Since smart glasses are optional, people are less willing to accept discomfort. Every gram counts when a device rests on your face. Audio-only glasses and glasses with cameras, but no displays, like the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, are lightweight.

And it’s not only about weight; improved nose pads and earpieces can soften and distribute the load, so smart glasses feel lighter than they are. Manufacturers listened, and next-gen glasses feel much better, making them more inviting for browsing and binge-watching.

Xreal Air 2

There’s a reason Xreal is the leading manufacturer of smart glasses with displays. The Xreal Air glasses were the best solution when launched in 2022, and the Air 2 upgrades every aspect of that technology and design.

The displays are brighter, and 500 nits of intensity is good enough for a bright room or outside on a cloudy day. The audio is good, with minimal leakage for an open-ear design.

I feel like I could wear the Xreal Air 2 endlessly. My wife, who is more sensitive to smart glasses comfort, found them to be the most comfortable she’d ever tried.

If I add the included shades, the weight increases to 79 grams, and the extra third of an ounce is noticeable after an hour or two. Thankfully, the Xreal Air 2 smart glasses are bright enough that I rarely use the shades.

TCL RayNeo Air 2

TCL took a different approach to its latest smart glasses, building permanent shades into the design. At 76 grams, the RayNeo Air 2 are the lightest smart glasses that are suitable for outdoor use.

The built-in tint is great for watching movies, but it makes it harder to see your surroundings in a dim room. It’s like wearing sunglasses, which could be a drawback when using them at night.

The RayNeo Air 2 glasses have soft, adjustable nose pads and a vertical hinge adjustment similar to Xreal’s design. I found these smart glasses to be as comfortable as the Xreal Air 2, but the rigid earpieces didn’t suit my wife.

The display brightness of 600 nits makes the RayNeo Air 2 one of the brightest smart glasses available. The sound quality is good, though I didn’t notice some buzzing at maximum volume.

Rokid has been making smart glasses for several years, serving industrial needs. The Rokid Max glasses draw on that expertise, creating a refined solution that’s one of my favorites.

The 75-gram weight and comfortable nose pads make these easy on the nose. Although the earpieces are rigid, the shape seems to work for my wife’s smaller ears, as well as mine.

The included shades are opaque, providing full immersion, but bring the weight to 2.9 ounces. The bright 600-nit display makes the blackout covers unnecessary in most cases.

The Rokid Max smart glasses have a unique feature that helps keep the virtual screen super sharp — diopter adjustment of up to -6.00D on each eye. I have mild myopia, so this solution relieves all eye strain for me without the need for prescription inserts.

The sound quality is good, with very little leakage of my audio to people around me.

Xreal offers Nebula software that expands the virtual screen beyond the boundaries of the physical screen. When you turn your head, you can see more. On a Mac or Windows PC, you can add three extra monitors. That can make a big difference since it means you might not need an ultrawide monitor or multi-monitor setup if you use Xreal smart glasses.

On Android, the Nebula app is different, presenting an ultrawide screen that serves as a launcher and a multi-window browser. My phone serves as a pointer, projecting a beam to select windows. It’s not as useful as Samsung’s Dex, but it’s an interesting way to see more within the limited screen size of smart glasses.

These next-generation smart glasses are much more comfortable, but have some significant differences. You need to consider compatibility. Skipping the adapter is best if that’s an option. If you own a device that won’t directly connect, review the compatibility section above to narrow in on the best choice.

If you’re near-sighted, the Rokid Max’s built-in diopter adjustment makes these smart glasses an excellent choice. You won’t need to order expensive prescription lenses to enjoy watching videos, playing games, mirroring your phone, or extending your laptop’s desktop to a virtual monitor.

Xreal Air 2 is an all-around great solution and the most comfortable of all. Xreal’s Nebula app for Mac and Windows makes these smart glasses ideal for work use, adding up to three virtual displays to your laptop or computer.

If you know you’ll be using your smart glasses outdoors often, the built-in shades of TCL’s RayNeo Air 2 can never be lost and make video streaming more immersive.

Whichever solution you choose, it’s nice to know you’ll get more use out of this new generation of smart glasses that don’t make watching videos on a virtual screen a pain in the nose.

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