When it comes to buying the best smart glasses, I’ve been wearing and testing them for over 3 years — that means I’m in a good position to help you buy the right smart specs for you. In this category, you’ve got two options: AR or AI. AR glasses are basically an external display for the likes of your laptop, tablet or smartphone — whereas AI specs come armed with compatibility with LLMs like ChatGPT or Meta AI to help answer questions about the world around you.
We’re beginning to see a hybrid of AR and AI with Meta’s Orion unveiled at Connect 2024, but a true blend is still a few years off. So when it comes to choosing the right pair for you right now, I recommend you think hard about what you want to get out of them. For example: if you’re a frequent flyer and want to work (and binge watch) to your heart’s content without the neck strain of looking down at a laptop screen, the Xreal Air 2 would be a solid choice — you can combine it with the Xreal Beam Pro for some all-in-one spatial computing fun.
Meanwhile, if you want to capture life’s moments faster than using your phone and get AI help like identifying ingredients and finding recipes, the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are the best choice. So allow me to put my years of experience into practice and round-up the best AI and AR glasses you can buy right now. The quick list The best smart glasses you can buy today The best AR glasses Read the full Xreal Air 2 review Who are these for? The list of people .