The festive shopping season is in full swing right now with deals and discounts on almost every storefront. And as usual, electronics gadgets are a hot commodity. Phones, hearables, and consoles are usually at the top of many wishlists, but one item, in particular, that I highly recommend is smart glasses.
I know. I know. The whole concept of putting on a pair of glasses that try hard to look like Ray-Bans, but still spook anyone nearby with conspicuous cameras, is something that many people are still uneasy with. But Meta isn’t the only label out there — with its sordid privacy history intact — that is making smart glasses. And not all of them come equipped with a camera either.
The smart glasses category is actually pretty diverse. Some merely ship with an onboard speaker, camera, and a virtual assistant — like the Meta Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses. Some are merely glorified earbuds with a blue-light filtering lens, such as the Razer Anzu. Then we have the variety with a built-in screen, like the Meta Ray-Ban Display, RayNeo X3 Pro, and Viture Luma Pro. I’m going to focus on the last two.
RayNeo X3 Pro – A glimpse into the future
These are the most stylish (and normal) smart glasses that I’ve tried so far. They blend well enough that, for the first time, my uber-fashionista brother agreed to wear them in public without cursing me. These look pretty darn good, but they also pack arguably the most advanced display tech stack out there, even compared to Meta.
These are true augmented reality (AR) glasses. Each lens comes equipped with its own display unit that is equivalent to having a 43-inch display right in front of your eyes. The display waveguide is driven by the world’s smallest optical engine ever seen in this form factor, capable of producing over 16 million colors, but coming in roughly the size of a tiny bean.
And here is the best part. Despite being extremely bright, the display unit is completely see-through, which means the view of the world around you is never obstructed. Yet, despite packing all that stuff, these glasses tip the scales at just 76 grams, and work independently without any wire dangling from the sides.
Talking about cameras, there are two 12-megapixel units on the front and they can capture 4K resolution videos. The quality is decent enough to post on social media, especially as first-person vlogs. The onboard battery is good enough for nearly five hours of content capture, but if you’re pushing the display in AR overlay mode, the battery life only lasts for about two hours. Watching videos, however, absolutely tanks it down to just half an hour.
That’s primarily because the screen’s peak brightness goes well into the flagship smartphone territory at 3,500 nits, even eclipsing that of the iPhone 17 Pro’s OLED panel. But in offering a discrete, but well-lit display experience tailored for outside usage, a compromise had to be made without sacrificing wireless operation. Thankfully, the battery can be topped off in just over half an hour.
But that’s only half the appeal. Unlike Meta’s Ray-Ban Display glasses, which limit you to Meta’s locked software, you can actually run Android apps on the RayNeo X3 Pro. And I am talking about the full Android experience, from your usual daily utility apps such as WhatsApp and TikTok to more experimental apps such as emulators for gaming.
Out of the box, they run RayNeo’s own AI-driven software layer that offers access to multi-modal Google Gemini capabilities. That means you can have a free-flowing conversation with Gemini, have it make sense of the world as seen through the onboard cameras, or just get your answers as text right in front of your eyes.
There are handy real-time language translation, transcription, and teleprompter modes available, as well. Every display element that pops in your view, from the linked phone’s notifications to the Google Maps overlay, does so without obstructing your view. Plus, the swipe and touch-based controls on the temples work fairly well.
The RayNeo X3 Pro offers the first practically meaningful glimpse of AR smart glasses, one where you are not limited by the operating system. And while at it, you can still enjoy full spatial tracking, without feeling detached from the world around you.
Having Gemini, one of the world’s smartest AI assistants, is the true spark here. Whether you are reading a book, fixing a bike, or working on a desktop, you can summon it, and the AI assistant will answer all your queries by simply taking a look at whatever it is in the onboard cameras’ view.
All the information is either presented visually on the screen or whispered in your ears. And talking about whispering, the speakers on these glasses are one of the best I’ve ever experienced. But above all, this is a truly rewarding glimpse into the future of wearable computing. And if you’re someone who likes to be at the edge of consumer tech innovations, these are your best bet.
Viture Luma Pro – A computing companion in your pocket
These are among a different breed of smart glasses. On the outside, they look like stylish gear you would wear on a casual stroll. But once you peek behind the external lenses, you will see two discrete display units in front of each eye. The one I am wearing right now are the Viture Luma Pro, but you can find competing options from RayNeo and Xreal, as well, for anywhere between $400 to $600 a pop.
Now, I like to refer to them as cinematic external screens that can also pull off 3D viewing and discrete computing. The best part? They are plug-and-play. Whether it’s a Mac, iPad, or Windows PC, you simply plug it into a USB-C port and instantly get access to a 152-inch screen canvas in front of your eyes. There are no OS limitations, which is extremely liberating.
Oh, by the way, you can connect them to consoles, such as Nintendo Switch, and have an absolute blast at gaming. But I absolutely love them for work. When wearing them, I can access multiple desktops on either a flat or curved canvas. I usually arrange three virtual screens side by side, but occasionally stack them vertically, as well.
The best part is the head tracking. You can either have these virtual screens follow your head movement or anchor them in space at a fixed distance, angle, and perceived position. And these display units are plenty bright, enough to work in well-lit rooms and even outdoors. For maximum immersion, the front glass lens can electrochromically adjust its tint to block light pass-through.
The display units support a 120Hz refresh rate and can handle 3D videos pretty well. What I love the most is the rotating dial atop each display, which allows you to compensate for myopia adjustment and get the sharpest view possible, without having to wear corrective lenses or custom prescription inserts.
But above all, I love the convenience of having a pocket-friendly and fashionable external display with me at all times. Whether it’s a cramped flight seat, airport lounge, a bean bag at home, or a co-working space, you will never have to worry about screen real estate. Or speakers to blast Lo-Fi tunes in your ears, for that matter.
The Viture Luma Pro, and its ilk, are one of the most rewarding amalgamations of a work-and-play device out there. And if immersive entertainment and a distraction-free work atmosphere are what you seek, these display-equipped smart glasses should definitely be on your Christmas list next year.
