Editors' Note, November 25: This list reflects my current choices for best smart glasses for the holidays. Be sure to check out CNET's Black Friday deals too, which includes some deals on these glasses and others.
I’ve reviewed virtual and augmented reality tech for well over a decade, going all the way back to Google Glass in 2013. Yet the category of smart glasses still feels strange and new. Part of that is because smart glasses take many different forms. They’re all lightweight things that have tech in them and rest on your nose for your eyes to see through. Beyond those similarities, clear differences emerge. And more are coming fast: Meta has three models available now, including ones with a display and neural band.
In the future, smart glasses are likely to be full-fledged augmented reality devices much like Meta showed off last fall with the Orion prototype I test-drove. But in the present, and for the purposes of this list, the most popular products in this space are either AI-enabled audio and camera-equipped glasses, or tethered display glasses. They’re very different sets of products and experiences, but down the road their roles are likely to blend. Meta's Ray-Ban Display glasses are already starting to do that, while also adding wrist-wearable tech to the picture. Things are still likely to change fast here, especially with Google entering the space next year.
What are the best smart glasses?
Meta's latest wave of camera and audio-enabled glasses, the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, are the best ones you can buy for their price and features. They're identical-looking to the previous Ray-Ban Metas I loved before, but the new ones have far better battery life for $80 more. It's worth it, especially if you're interested in wearing these all day. The camera also has improved 3K video recording and stabilization, with slow-motion and timelapse modes coming soon. What I love is that Meta Ray-Bans are normal-looking camera and audio glasses that are fully wireless, have surprisingly good off-ear audio and microphones for playing music or taking calls, and can capture photos and vertical video clips that can be shared via your phone. They also have a growing and surprisingly functional set of AI features that can use the camera to assist in seeing and translating the world around you, although the AI's accuracy is still a mixed bag.
Another pair of glasses-like hardware you should consider are the Xreal One and One Pro. They’re not all-day glasses. Instead, think of them as wearable wired displays that plug into nearly any USB-C device such as a phone or a laptop. The Xreal One can be a portable monitor or on-the-go movie screen, and they do a great job at it. Viture’s Luma Pro and upcoming Beast glasses offer brighter displays, although with fewer onboard display settings.
Best smart glasses of 2025
Pros
- Double the battery life of previous glasses
- Improved video quality
- No change to size, can swap lens from older model
Cons
- Higher price
- Still no landscape photo or video mode
- AI features are still a mixed bag
Meta’s smart glasses have proven to be a relatively big success, and for good reason. The normal-looking glasses have familiar Ray-Ban and Oakley looks but include surprisingly good onboard audio for phone calls and music listening, as well as a camera that records photos and wide-angle vertical video clips up to three minutes in length. A side trackpad and shutter button control the glasses manually, but you can also use voice controls to operate everything. They come in a large range of styles and colors, and optional sunglass lens finishes and prescription lens support.
While Meta also has higher-end display-enabled glasses, I prefer these more everyday-looking (and lower-cost) display-free Ray-Bans because they have a bunch of useful features, are easier to use, and have vastly improved battery life that can last up to twelve hours in our everyday tests. They're a great middle ground until Meta works out the possible kinks and prescription support for its more experimental display glasses.
The most evolutionary feature on these glasses is AI assistance, which works not only via voice chat, but can “see” what your glasses record and provide descriptions, translations and other feedback on the fly. Meta’s AI is constantly evolving new functions. There's a live AI mode that burns up battery life, or a version that can take photos from your glasses and analyze them seconds later. As assistive glasses, they’ve got a lot of potential. They can also live translate into a handful of European languages. These iOS and Android-pairable glasses still need to connect via Meta’s own AI app and use Meta’s AI services to work, though.
The off-ear audio quality is very good, and the microphones are great, but audio can be hard to hear in loud areas. The camera can be great too, and video quality has been improved with 3K recording, stablization and upcoming slow-motion and timelapse modes, but it can't shoot in landscape mode and the wide-angle shots can’t zoom in close.
For their higher $379 price, the boosted battery life is well worth it. The new Oakley Meta HSTN glasses offer the same onboard features in a different set of styles, in case you prefer those instead.
Pros
- Vivid displays
- Improved in-glasses audio
- Can pin displays in place while working
- Work with nearly any USB-C type device to mirror your screen
Cons
- These types of display glasses still need to tethered to work
- Not 4K
For $500 and $600 respectively, Xreal’s newest line of display glasses called Xreal One and One Pro offer excellent-looking microOLED displays to play back movies and games or mirror your laptop or tablet monitor. The killer feature, though, is an ability to fix displays in place so you can turn your head around without the display feeling glued to your face. For working on a laptop, it makes it feel a lot more like a real monitor is floating in front of you. Xreal added support for a wider-screened curved monitor mode on laptops, too. The electrochromic outer lenses can dim to three levels to help block out outside light while you’re wearing them.
Xreal has multiple other onboard display settings that give these glasses an advantage, like changing display size and an auto-transparency mode that turns the sunglass opacity off and on as you turn away from a pinned display. The step-up Pro glasses have a slightly larger-looking field of view and flatter, less reflective lenses for projecting the display to your eyes that are worth the upgrade. But both glasses only have 1080p display resolution, which is good enough but not 4K.
Pros
- Bright, vivid microOLED displays
- Magnetic tethering cable just snaps on
- Included onboard camera
- Vision adjustment up to -4 via included diopters
Cons
- No extra display setting modes on-glasses beyond color temp
- Like all display glasses, still needs tethering to work
Viture’s newest glasses have an edge on Xreal in the display department, with notably brighter microOLED displays at a slightly higher resolution and a taller aspect ratio (16:10 vs 16:9). For plugging into handheld game consoles or other game devices, their vividness stands out.
Luma Pro also has onboard adjustable prescription support for up to -4 myopia via diopter dials on both lenses. The USB-C cable to tether with your own device also has a magnetic pin end to snap onto these glasses to charge, which makes it easier to pop on in a pinch than others, but requires that proprietary cable. The electrochromic outer lenses can auto-dim the outside world if needed at three levels of opacity.
A lack of extra display settings on-glasses makes these feel less versatile than Xreal One, but as a pure display experience for rich gaming color, these stand out.
Pros
- Great audio and microphone quality
- Truly look like regular glasses
- Good photos, videos have solid stabilization
- Meta AI has useful assistive features that keep evolving
Cons
- Won't last a day on a charge
- Needs case to recharge
- Only shoots vertical wide-angle video
- Won't work with other AI platforms
These older-model Meta smart glasses do just about everything the newer second-gen models do, minus the improved battery life and better video camera. These glasses could be on sale over the holidays, though, and as long as you're okay with the more limited battery life, these could be worth it at a discount.
These Ray-Bans only last a few hours on a charge, anywhere from two to four hours, and need an included battery-enabled glasses case to charge up on the go. Everyday glasses-wearers are likely going to want the better battery life, but for a pair of secondary casual glasses or sunglasses, these are a budget way to go.
Other smart glasses we've tested
Meta Ray-Ban Displays: Meta's bleeding-edge pair of display glasses has its own neural gesture control band, and definitely shows a glimpse of the future for early adopters. Its higher price, limited prescription support, and limited range of supported apps limit its appeal, but the ability to live-caption the world could be very helpful for some.
Oakley Meta HSTN glasses: Meta's newest pair of smart glasses has better battery life and improved video recording, but a higher price and more limited set of designs.
Xreal Air 2 Pro: Xreal's older pair of display glasses lack the extra settings that make the One more useful, but could be a good deal on sale.
Rayneo Air 2S: These display glasses didn't wow us as much as Xreal's and Viture's offerings.
Viture Pro XR: Viture's last-gen glasses could still impress if on sale at the right price.
Snap Spectacles: These developer-focused augmented reality glasses should be arriving in a new consumer form next year.
How I test smart glasses
Right now, each pair of smart glasses often feels like a window into a different type of product. In the early days of a tech category, there aren’t always consistent parts to compare across all devices. But I take on AI glasses and display glasses pretty differently.
I review products ambiently, using them as much as I can in my everyday life and noting when the features are particularly attractive and when there’s awkwardness or friction. I also aim to use them enough to see if features that seem exciting at first lose some of their sparkle after a week or two.
I pay attention to daily battery life on wireless glasses, using them to play music, take photos and videos and make AI requests. On different days I alternate the patterns to note changes in battery life. I make phone calls, listen to music and use them as I normally would. Can I use them instead of taking out my phone? If so, for how long?
For display glasses, I compare the visual quality to VR headsets like the Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro, both for field of view, and for color quality and brightness and observed resolution quality. Display types vary widely on glasses and headsets, and I prefer to note how good the displays seem compared to TVs and screens everywhere else in my home. Would I prefer these displays over using something else?
The Oakley HSTN glasses (left) next to Meta's Ray-Ban Wayfarers (right). Similar size and camera placement, pretty different styles.
Factors to consider when buying smart glasses
There’s one big question looming over anyone who considers smart glasses tech right now: Do you want to wear something with tech on your face? And, for how long? The decision when it comes to display-enabled tethered glasses and wireless glasses is pretty different.
Display glasses vs. camera and audio glasses
Tethered glasses are really more like eye headphones that you’re perching on your face over your eyes. Although they have somewhat see-through lenses, they’re not made for all-day wear. You’ll put them on for movies, playing games or doing work, and then take them off. The commitment level might be a couple of hours a day at most.
Meanwhile, wireless smart glasses aim to be true everyday glasses. They’ll likely replace your existing glasses, become an additional pair or maybe act as smart sunglasses. But if you’re doing that, keep in mind you’ll need to outfit them with your prescription… or, get used to the limited battery life of wireless glasses. Meta Ray-Bans last several hours on a charge, depending on how they’re used. After that, they need to be recharged in their case, so you’ll need to wear another pair of glasses or just accept wearing a pair with a dead battery.
Live AI, Meta's newest Ray-Bans feature, can keep a constant camera feed on the world. I tested it out.
AI and its limits
You’ll also want to consider what you’ll use the glasses for, and what devices or AI services you use. Wireless audio and video glasses like Ray-Bans need a phone app to pair and use with, but they can also act as basic Bluetooth headphones with any audio source. However, Meta Ray-Bans are limited to Meta AI as the functioning onboard AI service, with a few hook-ins to apps like Apple Music, Spotify, Calm and Facebook’s core platforms. You’re living in Meta’s world.
Meta is opening up its smart glasses to app developers, although to what degree is still unknown. Meta's newest Ray-Ban Display glasses, meanwhile, add more apps but mainly for Facebook app-connected functions. Meta's also beginning to support connected fitness devices, but only with Garmin and its upcoming Oakley Vanguard sports visor for now.
Google’s next wave of glasses expected next year should be more flexible, tapping into Gemini AI and more Google apps and services. But we still don’t know the limits of those glasses, either.
AI-enabled glasses can often use AI and the onboard camera for a number of assistive purposes like live translation or describing an environment in detail. For those with vision loss or assistive needs, AI glasses are starting to become an exciting and helpful type of device, but companies like Meta -- and Google next year -- need to keep introducing new features to help. Meta’s AI functions on glasses aren’t as flexible as the AI apps on phones and computers -- you can’t necessarily add documents and personal information into it in the same way you can with other services. At least, not yet.
Display glasses have limits, too
Display-enabled tethered glasses use USB-C to connect to gadgets that can output video via USB-C, like phones, laptops, tablets and even handheld game consoles. But they don’t all work the same. Phones can sometimes have app incompatibilities, preventing copyrighted videos from playing in rare instances (like Disney+ on iPhones). Steam Decks and Windows game handhelds work with tethered display glasses, but the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 don’t, and need proprietary and bulky battery pack “mini docks” sold separately to send a signal through. Some glasses-makers like Xreal are building more custom chipsets in-glasses to pin displays in space or customize display size, while others lean on extra software only available on laptops or certain devices to perform extra tricks.
A good time for new Meta glasses, but more on the horizon
If this all sounds like a bit of a Wild West landscape, that’s because it is. Glasses right now remind me of the wrist wearable scene before the Apple Watch and Android watches arrived: It was experimental, inconsistent, sometimes brilliant and sometimes frustrating. Expect glasses to evolve quickly over the next few years, meaning your choice to buy in now is not guaranteed to be a perfect solution down the road.
While Meta has just announced a wave of new glasses, and the new Ray-Ban and Oakley models have excellent improved battery life, it's likely that glasses coming next year will be even more evolved. The $800 Ray-Ban Display glasses show signs of where other glasses are going to head. You could be an early adopter of those more expensive glasses now, but I'd suggest you get less-expensive Ray-Ban glasses instead, or wait out the changes.
There are other options coming that are likely worth waiting for. Luma’s high-end Beast glasses coming this fall should offer excellent wide viewing areas and improved, anti-reflective prism lenses that will compete with the Xreal One Pro. Google is expected to release its own line of AI glasses with Warby Parker and other brands next year, offering a true competitor to Meta’s glasses line.
