• Smart glasses bans are being introduced and considered
• There are growing concerns over smart glasses privacy
• Could hardware changes solve people's concerns?

I’ve written a lot about the high likelihood of major smart glasses regulation being introduced in various regions as the technology garners more and more bad press, and as expected, we’re starting to see bans and other restrictions take shape.

No nation has yet to all-out ban smart glasses, but a few have outlawed their use in certain scenarios while others are investigating harsher measures. Some private companies, such as event organizers, have also banned smart glasses on their premises and at their conferences.

Of course, this is bad news for smart specs owners who now could be facing restrictions on where they can/can’t wear their intelligent eyewear. For anyone considering adding smart glasses to their technology arsenal, these possible restrictions should be taken into account when making your final purchase decision.

So where are we starting to see smart glasses bans? Here’s a selection of the countries investigating and introducing anti-intelligent eyewear rules.

United States

Generally, smart glasses can be worn freely in the US; however, New York State has banned them from being used in any of its courts. Smart glasses with recording capabilities could be seen as an attempt to intimidate those involved in the case, and some cases contain sensitive private information where unauthorized recordings could impose serious risks.

Other states have introduced less widespread bans in courts — including Philadelphia, Hawaii, and North Carolina.

Meanwhile, the US Air Force includes in its rules for service members that they are “Unauthorized to wear mirrored lenses or smart glasses with photo, video or artificial intelligence capabilities while in uniform.” This seems like more of a presentation thing than an anti-smart specs rule (especially given the inclusion of mirrored specs), but it does mean you can’t wear intelligent eyewear in uniform regardless.

Further, attendees of conventions such as major hacker conference DEF CON 34 have been barred from wearing Meta glasses or similar. These bans focus on the possibility of glasses recording folks without their knowledge — with organizers arguing the recording light some glasses offer isn’t the most obvious.

UK

In the UK, things are much the same. Courts don’t ban their use, though after one person was being coached by their glasses’ AI mid-trial, their usage is generally advised against. There are also recording restrictions in UK courts, so while glasses aren’t explicitly banned, using them to snap photos or videos would be against the rules — the same as it would be for using your phone or a regular camera.

We have seen companies like Monopoly Events ban camera glasses from its Comic-Cons after secret filming complaints, and there’s a petition to the Government to ban the sale and promotion of smart specs in the country. These petitions don’t always go anywhere, but it shows there’s at least some public unrest over smart specs, and that could lead to rule changes.

EU

The European Data Protection Board is currently drafting a report on smart glasses, with it expected to land sometime in the next few months. However, while more general EU rules are being discussed, some individual members are making their own individual decisions on the tech.

Germany’s data protection authority commissioner has warned camera glasses could be banned under existing laws prohibiting recording devices hidden in everyday objects.

Netherlands digital rights activists have expressed frustration at smart glasses' ability to record people without their knowledge, while France’s privacy regulator, the National Commission on Informatics and Liberty, has highlighted the privacy risks camera glasses pose.

South Korea

Rounding things off, we have a different kind of ban in South Korea, with the country specifically restricting smart glasses access in exam halls after cases of students being caught trying to cheat using intelligent eyewear.

Smart devices are generally banned from exam rooms in most schools across the globe to prevent cheating, though given the importance of South Korea’s College Scholastic Ability Test, their very explicit ban makes sense so as to remove any possible confusion over whether students can even bring smart specs into the room with them.

Could things change?

Of course, very few bans have been brought in yet, but they could be unless things change on the hardware side.

A big concern is over privacy for non-glasses wearers caught in the gaze of someone's camera — especially if they don't know they’re being recorded. An obvious fix here would be to make smart glasses much more obvious when they're recording — perhaps brighter camera lights, a loud audible camera sound when snapping a photo, some kind of audio indicator when video is being recorded.

For users, they’ll want better control over what is and isn’t accessed by smart glasses makers when using their tech, and more certainty about which images are and aren’t shared, or which videos can or can’t be seen by contractors.

We’ll have to wait and see how the situation develops, though I’m not sure how much longer smart specs can go before we see serious regulations.

• Cheap smart glasses are selling out as people look for Meta Ray-Ban alternatives
• More camera glasses are leading to more privacy concerns for many
• I wouldn't buy them for plenty of other reasons

If you want a pair of smart glasses, you’re spoiled for choice in terms of what they can do technologically, and over time we’ve seen more and more budget options appear. These cheaper models are the first step in making emerging gadgets more accessible, but for smart specs there’s a fear they might simply exacerbate the growing concerns over the tech.

Australian discount store Kmart recently went viral after the AU$89 Anko glasses it was selling sold out entirely (via The Guardian). In the US and UK, you don’t have to look far to find equally affordable camera glasses available through reputable digital marketplaces such as Amazon.

Given the proven popularity of Meta’s Ray-Ban and Oakley specs, it’s no surprise the market would see an influx of smart glasses, especially cheap pairs that aim to mimic much more expensive rivals while keeping costs low — typically by downgrading their technological capabilities and not partnering with premium design brands.

However, cheap smart glasses aren’t as universally celebrated as cheap TVs or affordable smartphones — scrolling through online forums discussing this news, the replies aren’t kind about smart glasses, discussing the pitfalls of smart glasses in general and more affordable options specifically.

The most prominent concern is that cheap camera glasses expand the range of people with the technology. More people with these glasses means more people possibly recording people in public without their knowledge.

There are also fears that cheap camera glasses might not come with the same sophisticated tamper protection glasses from more recognizable brands boast. Either through tape coverings or minor electrical modifications, folks could disable the camera light and use the specs even more covertly than they otherwise would — they’ve tried the same with Meta specs, but Meta has patched out these workarounds so far.

Privacy and other problems

Beyond the impact on the general public, cheap smart glasses users might want to consider the privacy implications of wearing cameras from unknown brands.

We’ve seen that even super well-known brands like Meta aren’t perfect — for example, there are reports that contractors could see videos (including intimate or otherwise private content) taken using the glasses if it involved the AI in some way — so why should we expect completely unknown brands with nothing to lose to be any better with privacy?

In fact, considering their lack of notoriety makes them less likely to get investigated in the way Meta was by journalists who uncovered the sharing of videos with contractors. The ease with which tiny brands can dissolve and pop back up under different names, I for one would be a lot less trusting of what they do with my data and of their phone apps.

Of course, many lesser-known brands behave responsibly, but when there’s so much room for things to go wrong, for private information or video to get leaked, I just have this extra layer of paranoia I can’t shake.

Even ignoring my personal privacy concerns, as someone who has tested countless smart glasses at this point, I’ve found that better-known brands are simply better at making hardware and software.

I’ve worn so many uncomfortable specs with tinny audio, awful camera quality, terrible AI, and apps that are worse than useless. They’re sluggish. They’re ugly. They’re not worth even a budget price.

Just don’t buy them.

If you do want smart specs, save up for something proper — it doesn’t have to be from Meta, but I’d recommend choosing a brand with plenty of solid independent reviews. While I’m using them less for reasons better explained by other writing, I have gone weeks on end wearing a good pair of smart glasses thanks to comfy yet fashionable design and solid tech. Whereas the cheap (and terrible) glasses I’ve tried I’ve wanted to rip off my face within hours.

You get what you pay for.

Meta may dominate the smart glasses zeitgeist, but it's far from the only player — my favorite brand in the space is actually Xreal, with its range of impressive but pricey wearable-display specs. And with the launch of its new xbx brand, Xreal's lineup now includes more budget-friendly options too.

If money were no object, Xreal’s One Pro glasses are easily the crème de la crème of smart specs. Their Bose-tuned audio is impressive for such a small package, their electrochromic dimming tech is perfect for swapping between clear vision and shaded for optimal viewing conditions, and their unique optic engine displays their image more vividly than the competition, with fewer visible distortions.

The only issue is their price — $649 / £579 (they aren't available directly in Australia), absent any discounts, although they can be found on sale occasionally.

If you’re on a budget, my preferred pick has instead been RayNeo. Its Air 4 Pro specs debuted earlier this year, and not only are they affordable at just $299 / £289, they still come with solid specs, including HDR10 support.

With its new xbx a01+, however, Xreal might have just claimed the budget crown for itself.

Budget brilliance

Now the elephant in the room is that Xreal's specs cost a bit more. At their current $299 / £269 discounted price at Xreal.com they're on par with or cheaper than RayNeo's glasses; however their official price is $359 / £349, and while they aren’t discounted at the moment, we’ve regularly seen the RayNeo Air 4 Pros selling for $249 / £249 (RayNeo also doesn't seem to sell directly to Australia) or cheaper.

At the same time, the Xreal xbx a01+ glasses boast a handful of improvements which warrant a slightly higher price.

For a start, their brightness tops out at 1,600 nits, while the RayNeo Air 4 Pro can only hit 1,200 nits. This extra brightness should allow you to get more out of the HDR10 support, offering more room for the light vs dark contrast and vivid colors to breathe across the video format’s visual range. Highs can look more high, helping lows look lower by comparison.

Aiding the image quality are the swappable lens covers.

While advertised as giving you the ability to choose which color of sunglasses cover you most want to complement your style, the xbx's box also includes a completely opaque black cover you can use with your specs. Because the specs are essentially virtual projectors, a darker environment ensures the highest-quality viewing conditions, though I found the regular sunglasses were fine even in bright sunlight.

The xbx glasses are lighter too, weighing just 62g compared to the RayNeo Air 4 Pro's 76g. Admittedly I haven't found them majorly more comfortable, but as I kicked back with them in a sun lounger while on vacation for hours on end I was relaxed enough to doze off on several occasions.

The only tradeoff is, I'd say, the audio, which doesn't seem to involve Bose tuning this time, and isn't quite as impactful as the Air 4 Pro's. That said, I'll almost always use earbuds or headphones with my display glasses, because they’re better in terms of quality and minimize sound leakage, so this downgrade didn't bother me.

Who wins? You decide

You'll also have to contend with Xreal's standard optic engine too. This is the prism that reflects the micro-OLED display into your eyes, and the standard design is susceptible to external reflections — most commonly light bouncing off the top of the specs and into your view. Pictures will also be a little smaller thanks to a reduced field of view, and can be a little blurrier at the frame edges.

Only Xreal's One Pros boast the improved design, but having experienced it, it's tough to go back to the standard optic engine.

To be fair, though, that’s mostly a me problem, and if you’re new to the display glasses world the Xreal xbx a01+ and RayNeo Air 4 Pros should be perfectly adequate performance-wise.

As for which of the budget specs you should go for — whichever is cheaper would be my suggestion.

The technical improvements of the xbx specs are solid, but if you can save $40/£40 or more on the RayNeos, their few deficiencies can be overlooked.

That said, if stylish, colorful designs are a must, alongside a marginally better image quality, then you'll be very pleased with the new Xreal xbx a01+ glasses.

I’ve tested dozens of smart glasses for TechRadar, but every time I get a new pair of Meta Ray-Bans to try, I’m reminded why they’re so popular — because yet again my past three weeks with the Ray-Ban Meta Optics have been a joy.

Mostly.

Much like Meta’s previous smart specs, you’ll find a host of technological features crammed into the eyewear.

There are speakers for open-ear audio, which is perfect for listening to casual tunes, taking a call, or hearing the AI’s responses to your queries — with the glasses’ microphones also doing a great job at picking up what you’re saying with minimal noise disruption.

Dedicated earbuds will sound better for sure — the bass isn’t as emphatic as I like with Meta’s Optics glasses (or its other models) — though I did enjoy listening to music through my glasses for hours on end with no major complaints.

As mentioned, there’s also Meta’s AI, which is accessed through the connected phone app and voice commands on your specs. It can answer questions you ask it and, with your permission, see what you see by accessing the Meta Optics’ camera to provide additional context to your questions, and interact with connected apps to play music requests or tell your health and fitness stats.

I’m not a big AI user except when I’m on holiday or just generally acting like a tourist. On our honeymoon, my wife used Look and Ask to check the ingredients on hair care products to make sure she wasn’t allergic, and I got the AI to supply me with phrases to use when I realized my limited Spanish wasn’t going to cut it.

The AI’s also perfect for identifying landmarks and telling you more about historic sites. I relied on it so much on a trip I took to Italy with my other Meta glasses a while ago — it helped me understand the ruins of Pompeii and better learn the history of the Colosseum.

Beyond identifying foreign signs and buildings, the cameras are ideal for first-person video. I used them to snap photos and videos of my wife and me, and they came out really well — they're the ideal way to record memories digitally, as you can still live in the moment rather than being cut off behind a phone screen.

I’ll talk more about cameras in a moment, but before that I want to focus on the key way the Optics is different to Meta’s other Ray-Ban smart specs: it's comfort and fit.

Built to last all-day

Meta’s smart glasses are chunkier than non-intelligent eyewear, which can make them feel more rigid and less comfortable than regular specs. To make the Optics better suited to all-day wear (something I can confirm they handle effectively after wearing these glasses for hours on end over the past few weeks), you’ll find interchangeable nose pads and adjustable temple tips to help you sculpt them to your face shape.

The correct nose pads have helped the specs sit better on my head without slipping down, while the temple tips can be carefully manipulated (either at home or at an optician) to help the Optics grip your face without applying too much pressure to the sides of your head.

If you’re considering getting some yourself, my final design note is this: pay extra for transition lenses.

The Ray-Bans I’ve been testing are outfitted with the Transitions XTRActive option, meaning they change between clear and shaded when exposed to sunlight — even when I’m in the car — and the lenses changed so quickly as I moved between different environments (something I noticed a lot when going between indoor and outdoor spaces on my honeymoon to Tenerife).

My non-smart eyeglasses boast Transitions Gen S lenses, and I’m also happy with them, or you can opt for polarized Transitions if you want even more light protection, if you’re also willing to pay a bit extra.

Regardless of which type you opt for, Transitions lenses are essential because they maximize the usefulness of your smart specs. Without them, you’re limited to either clear glasses you can only use indoors or on darker days, or shaded glasses that can only be worn outdoors when the sun is brightly shining.

Why did there have to be a but?

Now, the elephant in the room is that Meta’s smart specs are facing increasing amounts of scrutiny from the public because of their cameras.

News stories showcasing bad actors harassing women, recording secretly by modding their specs, or revealing that Meta contractors might be able to see more of your recorded content than you realize have been populating our timelines throughout 2026.

The upshot seems to be a wave of negativity: I conducted a poll through one of my recent stories, and over half of all respondents said they think smart glasses should be banned.

For its part, Meta is doing plenty to combat these issues: it cracked down on Facebook Marketplace listings for glasses modding services and issued an update to prevent the camera from working if the recording light on your smart eyewear is disabled, and it’s also tackling Instagram profiles belonging to creeps like pickup artists who promote using the glasses to harass people.

I still think more needs to be done on the privacy side of things — at the very least being much more explicit about what features share captured content with Meta, though ideally all of your content would remain private through an Apple-like Private Cloud Compute server setup.

As of now, I’m admittedly very nervous to wear my Meta Optics. I haven’t been worried about going around wearing my Meta Ray-Ban and Oakley specs in the past, but with growing public anger over the way smart specs are being misused, I have a genuine concern someone will see me wearing them and act violently towards me.

Or I could simply be banned from entering a space while wearing them. Some Comic-Cons, offices, and courts don’t let you in wearing Meta-style smart glasses. Especially for something as essential as prescription glasses, and pricey ones at that, being constantly nervous while wearing them or barred from entering certain spaces isn’t ideal.

There is genuinely so much to love about the smart glasses, and if you haven’t yet got a pair and wear prescription eyeglasses, the Meta Ray-Ban Scriber Optics styles are the ones I’d most highly recommend.

• SyLC 3D Player supports everything from 3D Blu-ray to Apple spatial videos, and it can convert 3D video to display it on Apple Vision Pro headsets
• It's backwards and forwards compatible — and the creator says it can get dual-HDMI output for dual projection, for future-proofing
• The app runs on Windows, and is free via Github 'because this format deserves better than a slow death'

One of the great tech disappointments of the last few decades was 3D TV. Like many movie fans I was excited by the possibilities, invested in a 3D TV, and watched the entertainment industry ensure that yet again, 3D movies were a short-lived trend. By 2013, it was already generally agreed that 3D TV was dead and that smart TVs and 4K were the way ahead.

Not everyone got the memo [I had mine until 2020… -Ed]. Over on the r/audiovisual subreddit, Jarod-The_Centre is determined to ensure 3D never dies — so they have been making a free player that now "plays EVERYTHING in 3D" from Blu-ray to Apple spatial videos.

And that's just the beginning of its talents. If you're a fan of things pointing out of the screen for no good reason, Jarod's player is fascinating.

What does the 3D player do?

What doesn't it do? The player, called SyLC 3D Player, is a Windows app that's now in its fifth release. It's designed to play three different generations of 3D content: Blu-ray 3D/ISO/MVC MKV; HEVC/H.265 3D up to 4K 10-bit HDR; and Apple's MV-HEVC spatial videos. "The MVC of the 2020s, playing on your 2010s 3D TV," Jarod writes. "There's something poetic about that."

The app outputs in frame-packed 3D for compatible 3D TVs and projectors, and it can do something else that's really impressive: it can export 3D content as MV-HEVC, so you can take a 3D Blu-ray and turn it into a spatial video for Vision Pro.

I love Jarod's explanation for making the app. "It exists because this format deserves better than a slow death, and because apparently I don't know when to stop."

Jarod's in good company. Reddit's response to the latest announcement has been really positive and packed with good ideas, so for example Acceptable-Rise8783 suggests that for future-proofing, the app should be able to "send the two fields separately but in sync through two HDMI outputs."

With 3D TVs and projectors becoming increasingly hard to find — as they point out, "projectors are dropping support left and right because the chips that do 3D are becoming hard to come by" — the choice of viewing platforms will be reduced to dual-projector 3D or VR headsets.

The creator says this is something likely to appear in the player in a future version as the player already drives two windows simultaneously — and it means that dual projectors is the most 'future-proof' option for 3D, and the app supports it as best it can.

The whole discussion is fascinating, and I think Jarod sums it up beautifully. "Keep the faith. The format's not dead while we're still building for it 🔥".

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It’s probably fair to say Meta is facing serious public backlash to its AI glasses.

Musician Lorde took time at a recent concert to tell her audience, “Don’t get the glasses,” many online are branding them “pervert glasses,” and activist group Everyone Hates Elon has put up spoof adverts for the glasses featuring Jeffrey Epstein wearing a pair (note: the story behind a paywall).

I myself have been unsure if I’ll keep using my Meta glasses, despite their utility making them one of my favorite gadgets I’ve tested while working at TechRadar.

Meta has rebutted with new measures to combat misuse of its glasses. It recently patched its specs to prevent modders from using the camera despite disabling the recording light, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently announced harassment videos shot using Meta glasses will be banned from the platform — with some high-profile accounts already getting the boot.

Among the folks still in love with the Meta glasses, however, is my wife Izzy.

When I suggested taking a pair each with us on our recent honeymoon to Tenerife, she wasn’t convinced — despite them being our only sunglasses without my prescription lenses in them — but she wore the white-and-gold Oakley HSTN specs nearly all the time we were abroad.

I was also testing out a pair of the Ray-Ban Meta Optics styles for an upcoming review, and time and again the glasses proved themselves useful. Our trip confirmed how awesome these glasses can be when used right, and why a middle ground needs to be found to maximize privacy and utility before things get out of hand.

An all-in-one AI supertool

Of course, the primary reason to rely on Meta glasses is their built-in tech.

Whether we were lounging on a sunbed, strolling through the streets and past the beaches of Los Cristianos, or kicking back with a drink in the evening, we both loved the open-ear speakers that let us enjoy our podcast or playlist of choice without tuning out the world.

For hours on end, I enjoyed Radio 1 through BBC Sounds, while Izzy drifted between Spotify hits, and both pairs lasted a good length of time battery-wise — with touch controls making it super simple to control the tunes when needed.

The AI translations came in clutch several times as well. It offered quick advice on what phrases to use when we realized our limited selection of “Hola,” “Gracias,” and “Por favor” wouldn’t cut the mustard.

Meanwhile, Look and Ask helped Izzy decipher which of the unrecognizable shampoos and conditioners would be best for her hair after a travel mishap saw the supply we packed leak into her travel bag. The AI could read the Spanish labels to her to help identify and filter out ingredients she knows to avoid, and we ended up buying a few extra bottles of the conditioner she found to bring home after she fell in love with it.

It can't be understated how useful the smart specs are simply as sunglasses too.

My Optics pair features Transitions XTRActive lenses, transitioning fast from clear to shaded as I moved between indoor and outdoor spaces, which was super handy for someone like me who wears glasses all the time. Meanwhile, the polarized gold HSTN lenses were perfect for Izzy as she spent hours of her day baking in high-UV weather.

Thanks to the charging case, my specs rarely ran out of battery, but even when they did, I could still rely on them just fine as stylish shades.

Of course, the controversial aspect is the camera. Beyond the AI assistance, it was helpful for snapping quick photos and first-person clips for the travel vlog I’m looking to cut together.

Though whenever I went to snap a photo, I had flashes of the story about Meta contractors who claimed to have seen intimate moments captured through the specs. Shots of either of us in swimwear went nowhere near the glasses’ snapper, and I kept a careful eye on who was in the background of any shots I did take.

We were also a little worried that someone might not like us using the glasses at all in their presence, though thankfully no one took any issue with us.

These fears and considerations do create points of friction when it comes to using Meta’s glasses—or any smart glasses, for that matter. While the Facebook company is the best-known for smart eyewear right now it is far from alone, and while it's making efforts to clean up its public perception smart glasses will be tarred with the same brush if any brand steps out of line.

I also don’t think Meta’s efforts are perfect so far, at least not yet. I’d like to see more work across social and hardware platforms to root out smart glasses misuse; I believe better, more thorough privacy rules are necessary to make it crystal clear what data is and isn’t shared with Meta and its staff, and I’m not convinced I could trust it with the immense amount of data its rumored super sense feature would capture from my daily life — blunders like its Instagram AI image use plan and backtrack don’t fill me with confidence in its AI decision making.

At the same time, my week falling back in love with the Meta glasses, and my wife loving her Oakley smart specs, proves there’s something really fun and useful about the tech that I equally don’t want to see taken away or banned outright.

With other brands joining in on intelligent eyewear — recently Samsung demonstrated its own pairs at Galaxy Unpacked — it’s clear the tech industry is storming ahead, just as it has with exciting emerging technologies in the past.

I just hope a middle ground can be found, because smart specs represent a serious privacy nightmare beyond other gadgets we’ve relied on. If the tech doesn’t hold itself to account, we could see even more regulation and public backlash than we’ve seen already, and that could kill off my favorite tech sector of recent years before it has a chance to thrive.

While the tech world is gearing up for the debut of Samsung’s new foldables at Unpacked next week — with the company teasing some major changes to its lineup — here in the UK we’re finally able to get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy XR headset.

It's now available outside the US and Korea for the first time since its launch in October of last year, and I’ve been taking the headset for a spin after Samsung sent me a review a few weeks ago, and seeing how it compares to my trusty Meta Quest 3.

Now, I could just rehash a lot of what our Editor at Large, Lance Ulanoff, said in his Samsung Galaxy XR hands-on — praising the OLED screen, describing the comfort of the headset over several sessions, and listing the apps I love in XR that elevate the Android experience beyond what's possible on a phone or laptop. But I won't do that here.

Instead I'm putting my body (well, head and neck comfort) on the line to bring you the return of my favorite VR headset testing format: can I spend a whole week wearing the Samsung Galaxy XR?

The short answer? Yes, but it could be comfier. Read on for more about my experience.

Into the Android XR-verse

Just to be clear, I didn't wear the Galaxy XR headset 24/7 — I haven't been walking around my local supermarket immersed in XR, or sleeping in my Samsung headset .

I spent my whole working day in the headset (taking it off only for my lunch breaks, and to use the bathroom), and also wore it for a couple of hours each evening, to unwind with a movie or a game.

I also made sure to spend at least a day relying on only the hardware in the Samsung Galaxy XR’s box — i.e., the headset.

Software-wise, I used everything I’d normally rely on my PC or phone to work and stay entertained, and also had access to the Explorer Pack — a suite of software and subscriptions worth £665 that you'll get for free with a purchase of the Galaxy XR until December 16.

A quick aside on this pack: with a year's access to premium Gemini models (and 5TB of digital Google Cloud storage), plus a year of YouTube Premium, a Calm subscription, and plenty more, it's a really solid addition to the XR experience — I'll be writing more about my experience with its services soon.

Anyway, back to the headset itself…

Things got off to a good start on day one. Thanks to the XR multitasking I was able to have a giant floating Slack window keeping me in touch with my TechRadar colleagues, and a second giant floating YouTube window featuring the latest episode of one of my many podcasts or music playlists to keep me engaged, flanking a Google doc page for whatever I was working on, which I wrote in using a floating keyboard that reacts to my finger movements.

I could open Google Chrome tabs too, and conveniently flick through and between windows using eye controls — the headset relies on eye-tracking to determine what buttons I want to press, which I indicate by simply pinching my fingers while my hand rests lazily in front of me.

I was even able to join meetings virtually, with digital avatars that were good, but not yet great at representing me or mimicking my real-world facial expressions. My Galaxy avatar looked a bit too cartoonish for work meetings, and my Google avatar looked permanently distressed (which I don’t think is my general state of being), and was also missing my glasses, which felt weird — I always wear them, so it felt like the avatar was missing some of my identity.

That aside, I quickly found that any job which relies on lots of basic operations (essentially anything that isn’t something like intense video editing, though there are Play Store apps for less sophisticated video editing needs) is a breeze on the Galaxy XR headset. However, as the novelty faded, I hit my first hurdle: speed.

Gotta type fast!

Eye-tracking controls are neat, and generally XR controls are incredibly intuitive, but the keyboard is not as responsive as even the most basic physical keyboard. This slowed my typing pace to a crawl, and with deadlines looming over me I couldn’t spend my days steadily working through sentences at a snail pace.

The ideal alternative would be a Bluetooth keyboard that pairs with your headset, and most standard models will get the job done after you’ve connected one. I gave one a quick try, and it was much more effective than the virtual keyboard for actually working productively in XR — the brief pause I had to contend with between virtual key presses was eliminated.

My predicament gave me an excuse, however, to see how the headset works when paired with a PC — giving me the massive virtual displays of XR combined with the convenience of a fully powered desktop.

The perfect setup would involve a Samsung Galaxy Book, which pairs more seamlessly with the headset, like the Vision Pro and a MacBook pair for Apple users. However I don’t have a Galaxy Book, so I instead had to turn to Virtual Desktop.

It’s an app I’ve used previously to pair Meta headsets with my PC, and it’s very effective. The connection, even in a room a few meters from where my router lives, is seamless, with next to no delay between what I do on my PC and see on my headset’s view. Plus, with the ability to drag displays around and resize them, I could create the ultimate multi-monitor setup.

The downside is that you can’t access the full multitasking capabilities of the Galaxy XR headset within the Virtual Desktop app. Other apps seem not to suffer from these issues; however the trouble is that several, such as Google’s PC Connect, weren’t available in the UK when I was conducting my tests, and it seems that every app has a downside (for example, PC Connect only lets you stream a single monitor, not multiple).

This compatibility friction with non-Samsung PCs would be the biggest change I’d like to see addressed from a productivity standpoint, as otherwise the Galaxy XR excels on the software side.

My other two big changes would be to the design: the addition of a silicone facial interface and a top strap.

I can’t feel my head when I’m with you

The UK, where I’m based, has been buffeted by heat waves in recent weeks, including while I was testing the Galaxy headset. In homes designed to retain heat, and which lack A/C, this means things can get pretty hot and sweaty, which isn’t ideal when a headset is strapped to your face — and it’s even less ideal when you can feel that sweat being soaked up by the fabric facial interface.

If I was in charge of making headsets I’d mandate that all facial interfaces are made of silicone, or at least that headsets come with a swappable silicone interface, or a silicone cover for the fabric interface, in the box. Unfortunately I can't force such a change on Samsung, but hopefully it’s a change it’ll make for the Galaxy XR 2; it’s more hygienic, and makes the headset easier to share, and I’ve found it doesn’t impact the comfort at all (if anything it makes me feel more at ease in the headset, as I know I’m not immersed in months-old sweat).

As for a top strap (one which runs over the top of my head rather than simply around it), I firmly believe it would help to make the headset comfier to wear for long stretches, as it would further spread the weight of the device across my head.

Day one wasn’t too bad, but by the midpoint of day two I was feeling a little discomfort. By day four I was ready to give up my challenge; and the end of day five couldn’t come fast enough.

Samsung gets so much else right in terms of the Galaxy XR's comfort — chiefly moving the weight of its bulky battery to an external puck, so that you’re only carrying 545g on your head — so it’s a shame that the headset is let down by something as simple as its headband.

For a few hours I found it was fine, but for my extreme testing sessions it didn’t hold up.

Yet again, then, I’ve found that I don’t really want to spend my whole day inside a VR headset, even though the Samsung Galaxy XR headset represents a serious improvement in terms of visual performance (courtesy of its superb OLED screen), the usefulness of its features, including eye-tracking (which I’ve previously found is quite gimmicky), and delivering solid multitasking performance (aided by the expansive app library of the Play Store) compared to the last time I tried a similar exercise with the Meta Quest Pro a few years ago.

Even if I won’t be spending all my time in the Galaxy XR, I plan to wear it plenty more, albeit just for more casual sessions, and I’ll definitely be taking it on a flight, as soon as I have the opportunity, to see how it fares — perhaps that’s where it’ll really shine.

Tech companies large and small — including the likes of Meta, Samsung, and Google (and perhaps even Apple) — are betting that smart glasses become one of the leading device form factors of the future. But this week it became clear that they're facing an increasingly strong backlash against the technology.

There's one problem in particular: cameras. These tiny, embedded recording devices make it easier to record your kids' cute mishaps, your latest mountain bike ride, and a first-person view of anything without needing to get your phone out, but they also enable a certain level of surreptitious photo and video capturing that isn't possible with a phone.

And there's no doubt that bad actors are using these smart glasses for unwholesome purposes: some glasses owners have been paying modders to disable the warning light that should appear whenever recording is actively happening.

We're now at the stage where smart glasses owners are worried about wearing them in public, such is the growing negativity around them. Here's what we've learned in the last few days, and what might happen next.

An inevitable 'collapse into surveillance tech'

Smart glasses with cameras are nothing new of course, but stories around these devices being modded to operate without recording lights (something Meta has now moved to block), as well as reports that future Meta Ray-Bans could be recording all the time, seems to have prompted a new wave of anti-smart glasses sentiment.

Even the celebrities are weighing in: pop icon Lorde was less than complimentary about smart specs on stage recently, leaving her audience in no doubt about her feelings about the tech, while rapper and producer Tyler, the Creator has declared that "anyone who uses these glasses is a real weirdo".

Some of the rich and famous are still on board — you can actually buy Kylie Jenner-branded Meta Glasses, if you want — but most of the online reaction is critical of the technology. A quick peek at Reddit reveals comments like "all internet and computer tech seems to inevitably collapse into surveillance tech" and "people are choosing to be a walking Flock camera" (if you don't get the reference, read this).

Users are referencing Black Mirror and calling for the technology to be banned outright, and using terms like "creep goggles" to describe the devices. While a ban is unlikely at this point, there are some legal changes happening: Illinois looks set to be the first US state to ban smart glasses while driving, not because of any sneaky recording capabilities, but because they might prove to be a distraction to drivers.

Over in South Korea, meanwhile, a man is facing criminal charges after admitting to using smart glasses to cheat on a test. The camera captures the questions, on-board AI figures out what the answers are, and the person sitting the exam writes down the answers. There's more than one way to misuse the camera technology.

However, lawmakers don't yet seem convinced that these AI-powered glasses represent a privacy threat. Regulators in the European Union have reportedly bowed to US pressure in deciding that wearables were exempt from having to include removable batteries, like some other gadget types are when sold in the EU.

What happens next?

While there are some limited efforts to curb the use of smart glasses then, at this stage they're small scale and localized. To try and nudge things along, activists in London have been busy putting up fake Meta Glasses ads on bus stops (below), making a point about surveillance. One of the ads uses an optical illusion to turn the face of Kylie Jenner into a creepy skeleton, with the tagline "we're always watching".

Recording everything we see and do constantly? It’s giving fascism, not fashion It’s just been revealed Meta is planning to make the glasses “continuously record audio while taking photos every few seconds” without any warning light*Literally NO ONE asked for this#noncegoggles*Source: the FT

— @everyonehateselon.bsky.social (@everyonehateselon.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-07-17T18:40:05.934Z

Cast your mind back to 2012 when Google Glass launched, and you'll remember that we've been debating these issues for years. There are clearly benefits to wearable specs that can give you hands-free directions, translations, and information without you having to take your phone out, but it seems the concerns over covert surveillance are outweighing the positives in the public's mind.

Given the growing influence of AI tech and how well-suited these wearables are to taking in and processing information, it doesn't seem likely that the tech will be restricted any time soon. For several years now we've been seeing demos of smart glasses that can see and understand the world around them, and those capabilities are on the way whether we like it or not.

If, as rumored, Apple does make its own version of smart glasses, it's going to be interesting to see how this famously privacy-focused company deals with the issues of surveillance. A recording light that cannot be switched off is a good start, but as we've already mentioned, existing users are already cautious of wearing their smart specs around other people.

Later this year we're going to see more smart glasses from Google and Samsung, with Gemini AI ready and waiting to tell you everything you need to know about what you're looking at — which of course requires a camera. As per Google, the company is aware that people won't wear these specs if the privacy concerns are too great, and its solution is mostly to make sure the recording light is noticeable and cannot be tampered with.

"If people don't feel comfortable wearing these glasses, and privacy is part of this, they just won't wear the glasses," Google's Juston Payne told Tom's Guide this week. "It’s as simple as that." The new Google and Samsung wearables are scheduled to arrive later this year, but the companies involved still have a way to go when it comes to shifting user opinion.

• Meta reportedly has a new AI glasses prototype
• It is helping the company finalize a super sensing AI model
• Meta execs apparently aren't yet certain what rules the all seeing AI should follow

Meta is reportedly trialling a new super-sensing AI glasses prototype that aim to offer an ultimate level of assistance, for the small price of capturing your every moment.

The basic idea is that, because personal AI assistance gets better the more the AI knows you, by having you smart specs watch every detail of your life, the assistant can then offer more insightful help.

It could, for example, know if your fridge has milk in because it has seen inside it, or remind you not to forget your keys as you go to leave home. It could remember that gift your friend was desperately hoping to get for their birthday, or remind you the name of someone you’ve met before, if you're forgotten and are too embarrassed to ask.

This kind of tool would undeniably be pretty handy, but the extreme cost would be that your glasses would have to be always on — otherwise the AI might not see or hear the crucial information you’ll need later.

However, this incredible level of insight could be very easily abused — so you’d either have to really trust the company capturing it, or just not care if it knows everything about you.

This latest super-sensing leak comes via the Financial Times (behind a paywall) which reports that Meta is currently testing a pair of specs that achieve super-sensing by capturing continuous audio, and snapping photos every few seconds.

The more staccato image feed is likely an effort to conserve battery — according to previous leaks, existing Meta glasses have all the hardware they need to pull off super sensing, but their batteries wouldn’t be able to last long enough for it to be widely useful.

According to the report, Meta is also still trying to work on some other aspects, like whether the recording light LED should be displayed or not. When you’re recording it normally would be — super sense would be capturing people around you who might wish to know if they’re on camera — though sources have told the FT that there are plans for it to not to be displayed.

Considering that Meta just made a big post about privacy, and even updating the specs to disable tricks modders have been using to allow the specs to record without the light coming on, I’d be surprised if it took the no-light approach, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Man vs machine

You might also remember a story we shared in March about Meta contractors who claimed to be able to see images and videos taken with the glasses.

Essentially, in order to use Meta’s AI you agree to allow the company to see information about your AI communications, including videos and photos. This seemingly includes photos and videos you take using hands-free voice controls — which does technically involve Meta AI, as it has to action your request.

If an always-on AI is seeing every detail of your life there’s potentially a lot more scope for you to capture sensitive data that you'd rather not let Meta's contractors (or anyone else frankly) see. Encouragingly, according to people familiar with Meta’s super-sensing technology, there are plans to never store the raw footage and audio — meaning Meta nor the user could access it.

Instead, the system would extract the metadata from the capture, and only that would be uploaded — metadata is data about data, so imagine if instead of showing someone a photo you just described what’s in it and where it is.

There’s still some room for personal data to leak through this system, but with the correct safeguards it would have far fewer privacy implications. The big obvious gap would be the privacy of those around you — people who, unlike you the glasses wearer, might not have consented for Meta to store any kind of data about them.

The FT report adds there are also debates over whether Meta’s AI should be allowed to use this metadata for training purposes, in order for it to keep up with the capabilities of OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic’s models.

While leaks should be taken with a pinch of salt, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made it clear that he wants to offer these kinds of features on his company’s glasses. Most recently he said in an investor call that he wants smart glasses “to be a personal agent that’s with you all day long, helping you remember things and achieve your goals.”

So the advent of technology like super-sense is most likely a matter of when not if, though with battery hardware constraints persisting (especially if you want slim and light glasses), and with privacy being such a hot-button issue, I expect it might be a while before we see super sense in action.

Whenever it arrives, we'll just have to hope that it’s implemented in the right way, and with appropriate safeguards. Such a tool could potentially offers some incredible accessibility benefits, but if the privacy cost is too great the I don’t see it taking off in the way I’m sure Meta would want it to.

Do you remember the metaverse? If you don’t, don’t worry. In 2026, four years into the AI revolution that’s changing the world forever, you could easily be forgiven for thinking it was a strange fever dream you had back in 2021. You might even have odd memories of seeing a blocky version of Mark Zuckerberg floating about in a Minecraft-inspired hellscape, conducting meetings with people who could walk with no legs, while the real Mark Zuckerberg was looking at the whole thing through VR goggles. At least, that’s my memory of it.

I could be suffering from the Mandela effect, but I distinctly remember something off about the legs. They fixed that in a later version, but that’s my overriding memory — no legs. Oh, and Mark Zuckerberg assuring us that this was the future. He’d spent tens of billions of dollars on it, even changing the company name from Facebook to Meta, just to let us know he was really serious about the metaverse. Even if the legs didn’t work.

The problem was, it looked laughable. While everything in the technology world to do with games and special effects was moving in the direction of hyper-realism, the metaverse was moving in the opposite direction, towards the sort of blocky graphics that small children enjoy. But even that didn’t really answer the most basic question about the metaverse. Why? What possible advantage was there for us all to meet in a VR space where clunky avatars of ourselves could interact… badly?

Then AI happened and Meta abruptly forgot about the metaverse and pivoted towards the mission of putting personal superintelligence in all our hands instead, which sounds as terrifying and dangerous as it actually is, but we are where we are. At least when Zuckerberg was obsessed with the metaverse, we could ignore him. It existed somewhere “over there”, in Meta-land, where we could let him get on with it. Now he’s right up in our business again.

The rise of a bad idea

I’ve always been fascinated by how Zuckerberg got into the metaverse and why he became so obsessed with it. The origins of the metaverse go way back. In March 2014, Facebook bought Oculus, the VR company, for about $2 billion. This was where his passion for VR started. Think of it as the seed, not the full obsession.

By July 2021, Zuckerberg gave a long interview to Casey Newton at The Verge about Facebook becoming a “metaverse company” and described it as an “embodied internet”. Then, on October 28, 2021, his obsession became the company identity. Zuckerberg announced that Facebook the company was becoming Meta at Connect 2021, saying the new company brand would focus on bringing the metaverse to life.

I can see the logic. As a business strategy, that made sense. As a product ordinary people were expected to use, it was much harder to understand. Zuckerberg did not want Meta/Facebook to be trapped inside someone else’s platform again. Facebook had won on social, but on mobile it remained dependent on Apple and Google for distribution, privacy rules, app-store policies and hardware. The metaverse looked like a chance to own the next operating system of social life: hardware, avatars, identity, payments, meetings, gaming, work, commerce — the whole stack. In his 2021 founder’s letter, he framed the metaverse as the “next chapter of the internet” and said Meta would become “metaverse-first, not Facebook-first.”

Facebook had obviously had its problems — it was scandal-ridden. It had let advertisers target vulnerable teenagers, helped fake news spread, and enabled the spread of hate speech linked to atrocities in Myanmar. Perhaps Zuckerberg was looking for a way out of Facebook, and the metaverse offered that.

What I still didn’t understand was why he didn’t see what the rest of us saw — that it looked terrible and offered no real benefit to users. Then I read Sarah Wynn-Williams’ tell-all book about Facebook, Careless People, and it all started to make sense.

To say the book made my jaw hit the floor on several occasions would be an understatement. It’s an absolute page-turner, and your reactions grow from mild amusement to shock, then disbelief, then absolute outrage the further through the book you get. I’m aware of the criticisms of Wynn-Williams: that it is a book written by a disgruntled employee, and that she dodges a lot of personal responsibility for her part in the various misdeeds of the company. However, in another perfect example of the Streisand effect, the fact that Meta obtained a legal order in the United States to prevent her from saying anything negative about the company — at all — made me want to pick it up, and I’m glad I did.

Because now I get it — Zuckerberg seems to have spent years in an environment where too few people were willing to tell him when his ideas weren’t good. According to Wynn-Williams, he was surrounded by sycophants. When he had bad ideas, like the ill-fated Internet.org, he wouldn’t let them go and persisted with them, even when they were obviously going to fail. The people around him enabled him because he was simply too powerful. They even let him win at the board games he liked to play with them at his house or on his jet, and — crucially — he didn’t notice that they were letting him win. I can imagine that in that environment, nobody inside Meta would want to tell Zuckerberg that his metaverse was the equivalent of the emperor’s new clothes, especially if they wouldn’t even risk beating him at Settlers of Catan.

Wynn-Williams only mentions the metaverse in her epilogue. It happened after she was brutally fired from Facebook. Perhaps selfishly, I wish she’d been there for the metaverse period, because I would love to read firsthand accounts of how and why Zuckerberg persisted with such an obviously bad idea.

The fall of the metaverse

Maybe I’m being too harsh on Zuckerberg. The metaverse graphics did get better over time and Apple ventured slightly into the same territory with its Apple Vision Pro, even after the metaverse had turned into a smoldering wasteland. The fact is, people don’t enjoy wearing VR goggles for extended periods of time, and for normal people, VR lacks that one killer app. There doesn’t seem to be anything you can do in a VR space that you can’t do elsewhere much more easily.

The metaverse didn’t really die with a bang, but with a whimper. It faded through layoffs, spending cuts and the AI pivot. If I had to put a date on it, I’d say early 2023 was when Meta’s narrative moved on. In February and March 2023, Zuckerberg started talking about Meta’s “year of efficiency” and announced huge layoffs and cost-cutting. OpenAI had launched ChatGPT in November 2022, and by early 2023, generative AI had swallowed the oxygen that ideas like the metaverse need to survive. Every tech company was talking about AI now, not virtual offices and avatar legs.

The metaverse was over. We all forgot about it and moved on.

I’m glad I read Wynn-Williams’ book, because now I can understand how Facebook let the metaverse happen. And if there’s one thing I learned from reading it, it’s that money and power can bring you a lot of things, but common sense requires neither.

• A new update is coming to Meta's smart glasses
• It should stop modders from disabling the light that lets people know you're using the camera
• Meta is also targeting modders on and off its platform

Last month we shared details of reports that Meta glasses were being modded to bypass privacy protections and turn them into secret spy glasses. Now Meta has revealed it will update the glasses’ software to detect whether its light has been tampered with (or destroyed) to prevent recording.

Whenever you take a photo or video with Meta glasses, a white light appears on the front of the glasses to signal to people around you that you’re filming.

For creeps looking to be more secretive with their recordings, this light is a hindrance, but Meta has imposed more basic tamper-proof features since launch. That is, any attempt to use the camera while the light is blocked — such as by a piece of tape — wouldn’t be allowed. The trouble is, modders have found ways to open up the glasses and disable or damage the light and its mechanisms that prevent it from showing, without getting flagged by the system — meaning you can use the camera as you normally would, but without anyone else knowing.

This is (to put it bluntly) not good, and when the reports came out, a Meta spokesperson told me that the company was looking into ways to disable this workaround.

They also explained that Meta is working hard to stamp out advertisements for these kinds of services — some of which appeared on its own Facebook Marketplace platform — with its latest announcement explaining this means banning accounts, taking down listings, and taking legal action against people or businesses that tamper with its tech.

Beyond the detail of updating software to prevent tampering, the whole article from Meta is focused on privacy, and crucially how Meta keeps you and others safe.

Thanks to people misusing its tech, the wider notoriety these gadgets are getting again, and reports of contractors seeing recorded images and videos that Meta glasses users might not have fully realized they could see, Meta and smart glasses makers have been facing major privacy questions.

With this article, Meta seems to answer many of them, though we’ll have to wait and see if it can convince users — or if they might be tempted by the rise of cameraless smart glasses.

The only way is cameraless?

Even Realities, another smart glasses firm, recently announced it has raised $150 million in investment at a $1 billion valuation — not too shabby for a company that only launched its first XR gadget in 2024.

Instead of Meta’s camera-first approach, Even Realities went for a display-first approach. Information is shown visually as green text and basic diagrams to provide features such as AI advice, navigational directions, or a speech appearing on a virtual prompter. Its specs also lack speakers, though that’s not true for all glasses of their kind.

Losing out on the camera is, of course, a major privacy win for some, as there’s no possible way for the glasses to see something they shouldn’t or be used to spy.

The thing is, I think these kinds of glasses are pretty terrible. Having tested a few at home, the ones without a camera just aren’t worth wearing.

Smart glasses, despite being increasingly popular, are in their infancy, which in the tech world means you can expect to pay a fair sum for relatively limited features — that’s the price of being an early adopter. That’s especially true, I’ve found, for these XR glasses specifically, because while they can offer several tools like navigation, on-screen translations, a prompter, and notification pop-ups, their usefulness is pretty limited.

How often do you need a prompter? Or one-way translation tools? In the case of the latter, because these kinds of glasses often have you rely on your phone to set up the translation feature or access other features, you might as well just turn to something like Google Translate — which has conversation modes so that two people can talk and see translations through a single device.

The software I’ve found for these types of specs can also be pretty terrible with sluggishness, inaccuracies, and crashes — and if I, as someone who tests smart glasses professionally, have trouble, I can’t imagine what less techy people must think.

Additionally, the green text can be hard to make out on a bright day if you’re outside, making on-screen directions difficult to see.

While admittedly more limited feature-wise, the Meta glasses and smart specs like them feel like way better value for money. From Meta specifically, the software is generally very reliable, and more broadly, the ability to snap a photo whenever — either to capture a moment or to provide context for an AI’s response — comes in handy so often.

Even if it isn’t as good as my phone camera, the ability to record a memory, hands-free and without being taken out of the moment, is so utterly delightful.

Yes, there are privacy challenges which need to be hashed out more formally, as even without the ability to record privately there is still plenty of room for creeps to harass people with this kind of gadget, but if you want a pair of smart glasses right now there simply isn’t a better option.

Walk deep into Walt Disney Imagineering’s sprawling, surprisingly unassuming Glendale campus, and you’ll eventually find Studio C.

It’s where Imagineering mixes the audio for its attractions, but when I recently stepped inside, I quickly realized it was much more than a recording studio. The room is lined with dozens upon dozens of speakers designed to recreate the sound field of Disney attractions, letting Imagineers hear a ride long before guests ever do.

During my visit, I watched a live mix session for Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, Shanghai Disneyland’s trackless dark ride, and the experience was almost uncanny. Sound moved seamlessly around the room, tracking the ride vehicle as though I were actually inside the attraction.

That same room became the proving ground for one of Imagineering’s most unusual engineering challenges yet: figuring out how to mix the audio for Soarin’ Across America.

The reimagined version of Disney’s iconic flight simulator debuted this summer at both EPCOT at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California, timed for America’s Semiquincentennial celebration. Disney’s Unscripted behind-the-scenes video confirmed that Imagineers used the Apple Vision Pro during production of Soarin’ Across America, but it left one obvious question unanswered: why? That’s what I wanted to find out.

So I spoke with Greg Lhotka, Sr. Manager, Audio Media Design at Walt Disney Imagineering, who walked me through the surprisingly complicated process behind mixing one of Disney’s most technically demanding attractions.

“For Soarin’ Across America, we utilized Studio C not only as a production facility, but as a proving ground for an entirely new field-mixing approach developed specifically for this film. On the sound design side, we partnered with Skywalker Sound, and together we used Studio C to prototype and validate a custom speaker configuration that closely mirrors the unique audio architecture of the Soarin’ theaters.”

If you’ve ridden Soarin’, you already know why that matters. Riders are lifted into the air in three stacked rows facing a massive curved projection screen, while sound moves not only around the theater but above and below you as well. As Lhotka explained, the attraction uses a four-tiered speaker system — upper, mid-level, lower, and a dedicated floor array — creating an audio environment that’s far more complex than a traditional movie theater.

Having now ridden Soarin’ Across America several times, it’s easy to appreciate the result. The updated film sweeps from New York Harbor and the Grand Canyon to California’s rolling hills and countless landscapes in between through soaring aerial cinematography, practical effects, and a soundtrack that glides almost effortlessly alongside you. The audio shifts just as fluidly as the visuals, making each transition feel natural as the ride carries you across some of America’s most recognizable landmarks and scenic vistas.

Studio C could simulate much of that during production, but not all of it.

“For Soarin’ films, mixing historically required the construction of scaffolding inside the theater to reach the appropriate listening height for final mix decisions,” Lhotka explained. “Even then, the process was far from ideal, as the ride canopy significantly influences the acoustics. For this project, one of the key requirements was that the theater remain fully operational and open to guests throughout production — eliminating the possibility of scaffolding altogether.”

That constraint forced Imagineering to rethink its entire workflow.

“The challenge was clear: how do you mix a show with over 1,000 audio tracks and an extremely complex panning matrix while seated in a ride vehicle? The solution came through an innovative use of new AR technologies. By leveraging advanced screen-sharing capabilities, we were able to remotely control our production system — directly connected to the theater — while seated in the ride vehicle itself. This allowed us to place virtual screens in our field of view, effectively bringing the mixing console into the theater environment.”

Before anyone tested it inside the attraction, Studio C became the test lab.

“Studio C once again played a critical role as our testbed. Over the course of a week, we evaluated multiple configurations to confirm that things could be controlled precisely in this way, and that the AR headset’s external cameras would allow us to view the film clearly in the theater’s low-light conditions while simultaneously monitoring the virtual screens. The final configuration exceeded expectations.”

Once validated, the workflow moved from experiment to production.

“This workflow was ultimately used as the solution — and it became the method by which Soarin’ Across America was mixed. The result is a soundtrack that was shaped directly from the guest’s perspective, using tools and techniques that reflect our continued commitment to innovation, immersion, and storytelling.”

Having experienced Studio C for myself, that revelation immediately clicked. The room is already designed to recreate the feeling of sitting inside a Disney attraction with remarkable accuracy. But even a purpose-built facility couldn’t perfectly replicate Soarin’s unique acoustics. The only place left to finish the mix was inside the attraction itself.

It’s an elegant solution that solved two problems at once. Guests never lost access to Soarin’ during production, and Imagineering’s audio team was able to shape the soundtrack from the exact seat every future rider would occupy. Rather than approximating the experience from scaffolding or even Studio C, the final mix was crafted where it mattered most: inside the attraction itself.

• Conversation focus is being limited to three hours a month for some Meta glasses users
• For a longer 15 hours a month limit you'll need to pay for Meta One Premium
• The feature is handled on device, so it's unclear why it has been paywalled

The Meta Ray-Bans and other AI glasses can perform a slew of useful tasks thanks to their wearable hardware and digital assistant — but Meta has just announced that one of those features will be getting serious limitations as it introduces a paid subscription plan that will unlock more usage time.

Conversation focus was showcased at Meta Connect last year, and is essentially an audio mixer for your real-life conversations. When you switch the feature on — using the voice command "Hey Meta, start conversation focus" — the specs’ microphones will pick up the voice of the person you’re looking at, the AI will separate their voice from the background noise, and then your glasses’ speakers will play what they’re saying to you to amplify their speech and make it stand out.

It’s an impressive feature, and very useful if you struggle to hear people in crowded spaces — or are starting to become a little hard of hearing and want a voice boost much of the time — but this is the feature Meta is now starting to limit. If you only have the free account that you create when you set up your glasses in the Meta AI app, you’ll just have three hours of conversation focus a month (as spotted by The Verge).

If you want more hours you’ll need to sign up to a paid Meta One Premium subscription, which costs $19.99 per month. Notably this subscription doesn’t unlock unlimited conversation focus access; instead your limit is bumped up to 15 hours a month.

In addition to this, Meta One Premium will also give you access to more advanced Meta AI reasoning models through the app, and expanded access to image and video generation models.

Was this inevitable?

We know that unlimited free AI access isn’t sustainable. Every AI query has a data center and energy cost to AI companies like Meta, and eventually they'll need to recuperate those costs or risk serious financial struggles.

However, no matter how inevitable a Meta AI glasses subscription seemed, this isn’t how I imagined it would roll out — frankly it’s quite a bad look for Meta, and I hope it reverses course.

My frustrations with this change as a Meta AI glasses user are three-fold. First, having something that was previously free taken away is never fun, especially as features like conversation focus felt like they’d already been paid for via the purchase of Meta’s glasses.

If Meta One had instead locked a new more powerful AI model behind a subscription, or some powerful new tool, that would feel very different. Your glasses would still do everything you were told they could do at launch, but to get some serious upgrades you’d need to pay up — sure this wouldn’t feel all that amazing either, but at least Meta wouldn’t be seen to be taking a feature away and holding it hostage.

My next frustration is that it’s conversation focus specifically that is being taken away. As I've mentioned, this is something of an accessibility tool, and while I’m sure most users only activate it periodically if there’re in a very noisy bar or somewhere similarly packed, for some I can see conversation focus being a tool they rely on frequently if they have more general hearing troubles but aren’t quite ready for a more sophisticated aid.

The flip side, unfortunately, is that if conversation focus isn’t a tool everyone uses all the time it’s the one least likely to actually inconvenience most Meta glasses users, allowing the company to experiment with paid access to tools without upsetting a large section of their consumer base.

Finally, according to Meta itself, conversation focus is handled entirely on-device. Your Meta AI glasses can offer the function without an internet connection, meaning it shouldn’t be costing its data centers anything to process.

In a way, taking unlimited conversation focus usage away is like Meta limiting how many photos your glasses can take a month. All the hardware and software tech is on your device; it’s just being locked away in what seems like a classic case of corporate greed.

Now, the silver lining at the moment is that if you haven’t noticed any rate limits yet, or heard about Meta One through your specs, it’s likely that your glasses are still working the same as they always have. As explained in the help article, “Meta One is currently in limited testing and isn't available everywhere yet.”

Additionally, I’m hoping the fact that Meta One is still in testing means Meta won’t be afraid to reverse course, especially as this decision feels so nonsensical for all the reasons I’ve outlined. Or perhaps it’ll be forced to rethink things if its AI glasses rivals (including the incoming Android XR specs) boast similar features at a similar price with no such paywall or usage limit.

Otherwise, this feels like yet another unforced error for Meta in the smart glasses space. How can we now trust tha tMeta won’t paywall any AI glasses feature we’ve previously had access to?

Following the announcement of its more budget-friendly AI glasses — including a pair styled by Kylie Jenner — I hoped it might be getting back on the right track. This latest announcement has knocked my confidence, but the ball is still in Meta’s court — perhaps Meta Connect 2026 will see it properly turn things around.

Meta just announced some stunning new smart glasses, one pair of which has been co-designed by the Kylie Jenner. The specs, as always designed alongside Ray-Ban parent company EssilorLuxottica, will start at $299 / £269 / AU$599, offer much the same in terms of features as the second-generation Ray-Ban Metas, with improvements in some places, such as the addition of adjustable nose pieces, plus a lot of design and color choices.

They're available already, perhaps in efforts to beat Apple's suspected smart spec play later this year, but if you want AR experiences or the safe pair of hands the Ray-Ban frames offer design-wise, you might be better off shopping around.

Luckily, there are a few alternatives which may well be better for your needs currently on offer, some as part of the Amazon Prime Day deals, plus a few others from regional retailers like Best Buy in the US and Currys in the UK.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

For me, personally, the deal-breaker is always style. A lot of smart glasses are more masculine in form, and few can hold their own against my bangs when it comes to filming, meaning a lot of my best vacation shots have been ruined by errant hair. That's why the new wider-frame Meta Starfire Kylie Edition frames have captured my heart so much, but if you're not bothered by that, you can score some of the best smart glasses we've tested for less right now. Read on for my top picks.

Today's best smart glasses deals (US)

Today's best smart glasses deals (UK)

I'd definitely spotlight the RayNeo Air 4 Pro deals as the best of the bunch. My colleague Hamish Hector is somewhat of a smart spec aficionado, and he raves about the RayNeo Air 4 Pro; you can watch below or read his full 4.5-star review to learn more about why.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

The Samsung Galaxy XR headset is now available for preorder ahead of its July 8 launch in the UK, and while you can’t pick it up at Amazon, that doesn’t mean you can't snag a Prime Day-like deal or two.

Best of all, you won’t need to be a Prime or other subscription service member; Samsung’s discounts are available to every shopper through its online store — you’ll just need to bundle a few things with your purchase, or sign up to PayPal (if you haven’t already) and check out using that as your payment method.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

For that PayPal offer, you’ll get £100 off using the code PAYPALXR at Samsung's online store. That’s a serious saving off the £1,699 asking price, but you only have until July 7 to take advantage of this offer.

Plus, if you’re looking to upgrade your Samsung tech, or dive deeper into its ecosystem, it has deals that will save you 10% on Galaxy smartphones, a Galaxy Watch, and Galaxy Buds.

Today's best Samsung Galaxy XR deals

After spending a week with the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, Lance Ulanoff called it “an impressive multimodal AI spatial computer,” though Android XR and the overall experience didn’t hold a candle to visionOS and the Apple Vision Pro, especially the M5 version.

He also noted that, at launch, Gemini felt less deeply integrated as he had originally imagined, and the lack of precision with controls dulled the ‘wow’ factor.

At the same time, the Galaxy XR headset is half the price of the Vision Pro, so technical downgrades are to be expected, and as Google and Samsung iterate on the software, you could find the Samsung Galaxy XR headset seriously ups its game — especially as more apps get XR support.

It delivers some impressive OLED visuals despite costing less, and can integrate with the full G Suite of apps for some spatial productivity. So, if you want something that balances work and play, with great performance, at a more affordable price point, and don’t mind missing out on the Quest gaming library, you’ll struggle to find something better than Samsung’s XR machine.

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

In 2026 it can feel a little like VR’s moment has passed.

Meta’s layoffs to kick off the year felt like a major downer for the industry at large — especially as it has been the champion of this space for years now — and it certainly seems that smart glasses like the Meta Ray-Bans but also Snap Specs, Android XR glasses, and more that have debuted this year are stealing the XR spotlight.

But VR is far from dead. Sure it might not be seeing the growth it once saw but sa a gaming and entertainment machine that tech is only getting better each day.

Plus with some Meta Quest 3S deals at Amazon Prime Day you can save big on the best affordable VR hardware out there.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

This headset is technically as capable as a Meta Quest 3, meaning the 3S can handle whatever software the Quest ecosystem might want to throw at it — and that’s a broad list.

There’s plenty of VR games to jump into including Marvel’s Deadpool, Batman:Arkham Shadow, Walkabout Minigolf, and Beat Saber to name just a few. Plus there are fitness apps — which when combined with a silicone facial interface turn your headset into an actually enjoyable home gym — and a growing collection of streaming services which turn your headset into a private home theatre, you can even kick back in bed and enjoy watching the screen as if it were affixed to your ceiling.

With game console price hikes making gaming pricier than ever, it’s worth noting your headset can double as an Xbox too — again complete with a giant display. You’ll just need a Game Pass subscription and Xbox controller.

In the US a bonus Quest deal will get you a free month of Xbox Game Pass, while the UK version nets you 20%-off code for an Xbox controller and one month of Game Pass Ultimate after the purchase of a 3S headset.

Price up, prices down

The slight elephant in the room we should address with these Prime Day ‘deals’ is they unfortunately aren’t really deals in the truest sense.

Thanks to the RAM crisis the Meta Quest 3 series headsets saw a price hike. The 128GB model Meta Quest 3S went up to $349.99 / £319.99 / AU$569, while the price of the 256GB edition rose to $449.99 / £409.99 / AU$729. The 512GB Meta Quest 3now sets you back $599.99 / £549.99 / AU$969.

These Prime Day deals generally just revert the headset to its pre-hike price. You’ll see a roughly $53 saving, but in actuality it’s closer to $3.

That said, as some pointed out even after the hike, the Quest 3S represents incredible value for money. So sure this discount isn’t as great as it was a year ago before the base cost rose, but the Quest 3S at its original asking price is one of the best deals in tech, so definitely consider grabbing one while the discount is around.

With the RAM crisis and shipping troubles looking set to persist I wouldn’t be surprised if prices rise further, and Black Friday deals might struggle to match even those we have today. Not just for the Meta Quest 3S, but any gadget.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

• Meta unveils $299 / £269 / AU$599 smart glasses (Meta Glasses) designed with EssilorLuxottica
• They match Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses on virtually all features
• They add adjustable nose pieces, and a lot of design and color choices

"It’s pretty easy to make glasses that don’t look good, it turns out," chuckled Meta CTO and Head of Reality Labs, Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth, shortly after unveiling a bumper crop of new Meta eyeware, simply called Meta Glasses, all fashioned in collaboration with EssilorLuxottica.

Bosworth says the team argues over "every gram, every quarter of a millimeter" in an effort to bring ever lighter, ever more comfortable, and ever more fashionable AI eyewear to the market. With this foray into making frames with a slightly less well-known brand than Ray-Ban, Meta is bringing the new frames — Adventurer, Fury, and Starfire Kylie [Jenner] Edition — to market at a somewhat startling price: $299 /£269 / AU$599 (not counting prescriptions).

No one size or style fits all when it comes to eyewear, Ankit Brahmbhatt, Meta's Senior Director of Product for AI glasses, told me as he walked me through some of the new frames. There are, he added, eight colorways and 26 different style options.

Ogling the style choices

As I looked around the room in the Manhattan event space, I spotted black, something like ivory, tortoiseshell, deep black, green, and a dark maroon. The frames range from larger and almost boxy-looking to thinner and lighter frames. In fact, many of the EssilorLuxottica frames are so relatively thin and light that you might miss the cameras hidden in the front, and the slightly thicker stems to accommodate components and batteries, and mistake them for normal frames.

Kylie Jenner's cat-eye-style frames are particularly fetching, and surprisingly looked halfway decent on me.

Brahmbhatt told me Meta worked closely with Jenner to develop the design, adding signature touches like a tiny gem in the frame, a mirror in the case, and even Kylie Jenner's voice in the Meta AI.

There are structural changes new to the Essilor Luxottica frames. The nose piece adjusts with a push to three different positions, the stems are bendable at the ends (Bosworth noted that the wires are coated with a kind of cellulose plastic), and the stems actually flex outward. I tried on almost every style I could find, and they were all quite comfortable.

One of the biggest changes, though, is the addition of a small button behind the traditional Meta AI glasses button that you might use to capture a photo or start a video: it's a tiny Meta AI summoning button, and I used it interchangeably with saying, "Hey, Meta."

More and better AI

This is also the first set of Meta AI glasses to feature a Meta AI system backed by the company's more robust Muse Spark models, which provide a more conversational voice, better context awareness, and the ability to tap into the zeitgeist by checking out social media (at one point I asked Meta AI if there was chatter online about fake food, and it confirmed that many were talking about it on social media).

I tried the new Meta AI in a few scenarios, and it ably identified whatever I was looking at (I could hear it snap a picture before the analysis), launched a music playlist based on my surroundings, and translated Arabic print for me.

That all of this comes in for under $299 (Ray-Ban Meta frames start at $379), and without compromising on the 3K video-shooting quality, 12MP photos, microphones, array, or speakers, is remarkable; but these are still relatively early days in the wearable AI space.

Getting it right and making it safe

Design is "really important if you want people to wear them as daily driver glasses," said Meta Head of Industrial Design Peter Bristol, who joined Bosworth on stage and took some questions from reporters.

In perhaps a nod to how thick and oversized AI glasses can look, the pair talked about how they made subtle changes to the designs, slimming down the frames, or simply making them look thinner by, for instance, adding a chamfer along the top edge of the frames, near the brow.

A good design means less friction, which Bristol believes can help with AI adoption.

For Meta, the goal is to "reach every corner of the market," said Bosworth, but that approach does come with risks.

When asked about growing concerns about the privacy of these glasses (there have been reports of people wearing them to illegally photograph women and even tampering with the glasses to turn off the LED "I'm filming you" light), Bosworth acknowledged these issues, but reminded us that Meta had actually "pioneered putting LED on the glasses," and talked about the anti-tampering technology they put in Gen 2 Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses. But, he added, it's "a cat and mouse game."

As for what the future holds, I pointed out to Bosworth and Bristol that, while they now have a lot of styles, not everyone wears, or wants to wear glasses. What about smart contacts?

"Absolutely, that one’s top of mind for the design team," said Bristol, adding, "We are thinking and trying the other potential paths, but it’s a complicated space, so glasses is front and center for us.”

Bosworth agreed with the premise of my question, admitting that he’s not a glasses wearer, but is happy to wear Meta AI glasses “because they brought a lot of value — but I’m aware that I’m doing it.

"The design team is absolutely captivated by this question. What are the other ways that we can deliver this capability to people who don’t have glasses on?"

The RayNeo Air 4 Pro smart glasses are easily the best budget smart specs you can buy if you’re after the ultimate portable entertainment gadget.

High-tech specs are all the rage, but there are different types in this broad category. You have the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which offer audio-only AI assistance, the Snap Specs, which deliver AI and full-on AR, and then something like the RayNeo glasses, which act like your own private movie theatre.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

You connect them to a compatible USB-C device, and your screen will be projected in front of you on a virtual 200-inch screen that only you can see.

This setup is perfect in so many scenarios. When I’m taking a flight I can watch Netflix on a giant display that’s better than any in-flight entertainment screen, I can lay back in bed with my Asus Rog Xbox Ally X display virtually projected onto my ceiling, and when I’m working on a story about an unannounced gadget I can rely on the specs to keep that info private with a display no one else can read.

If you don’t yet own a pair of smart glasses like this, you absolutely should. They’re a must-buy ahead of this year’s Summer travel season, and thanks to Amazon Prime Day there’s never been a better time to grab a pair.

Today's best RayNeo Air 4 Pro deals

Did I mention that the specs are only $295? For Prime Day, the standard edition specs are $239.20, saving you 20% at Amazon. That’s the best price these smart glasses have ever been, and the best bang for your buck a pair of smart specs has ever been. Meanwhile, in the UK, the RayNeo Air 4 Pro glasses will set you back just £248.99 at Amazon, a 34% drop from their usual £379 — again thanks to some Prime Day magic.

When tech prices have been on a sharp increase, it’s a breath of fresh air to see something as genuinely excellent as the RayNeo Air 4 Pros not only launch at a budget-friendly price, but then fall during Prime Day sales.

While the RayNeo Air 4 Pro glasses aren’t as unique as this category once was — I mean, we’re four generations in on just this product alone, plus all of its rivals from other brands — the tech stands alone because it’s so budget-friendly and yet incredibly capable.

The micro-OLED displays boast HDR10 support — and they were the first smart glasses of this type to do so. This means they boast an incredible range of color hues, with professional accuracy that will make your HDR10-supported content pop. Plus, as you expect from OLED screens, the contrast is solid, especially if you use a lens cover to block out external light.

As for audio, while headphones are a solid option if you want to keep what you’re listening to more private, RayNeo’s specs boast spatial audio tuned by experts Bang & Olufsen. They sound great, and a major step up from the earliest generations of smart specs, which were effectively unusable sonically unless you had a pair of Bluetooth cans.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

• Illinois is set to ban smart glasses being used while driving
• The bill makes no distinction between glasses with and without displays
• Many online fear that it gives cops too much power to pull drivers over

Illinois is poised to be the first US state to ban smart glasses — of any kind — while you’re driving. Importantly, the bill makes no distinction between smart specs with a display and those without.

Once Governor JB Pritzker approves the bill, people caught flouting the rules could face fines of $75 (or $150 for repeat offenses) and the possibility of misdemeanor or felony charges if involved in a serious crash while wearing smart glasses.

Other states, such as New York, have proposed bills limiting smart glasses use while driving, but so far none have progressed as far as Illinois’ has — though that could soon change if states decide to take Illinois’ lead.

The hope is that this proposal will make roads safer by reducing distractions for drivers.

While there’s possibly some advantage of drivers having, say, navigation on a HUD in front of them to find their destination — which is something Amazon is hoping to offer its delivery drivers with its own smart glasses — attempting to text chat or watch a video on your glasses while driving is a terrible idea.

So, to discourage this kind of dangerous driving, it’s perhaps safer to just ban smart glasses and avoid any possibility of temptation.

Safer, but for who?

While many can agree that having a display distracting you while you drive isn’t ideal, some are questioning why non-display glasses — which are completely hands-free and boast zero visual distractions — are included in the ban.

Some have therefore wondered if there’s an ulterior motive to Illinois’ smart glasses approach, or if it’s at least not very well thought out.

Over on Reddit one user pointed out that the law “Gives cops license to pull over anyone and claim ‘oh, i thought those were smart glasses’” which could be abused by bad actors to write invalid tickets — with the user linking to a viral example of a cop using Florida’s existing driver laws to pull over a woman for texting while driving using a phone in her right hand, and doubling down even when the woman shows she doesn’t have a right hand.

Meanwhile, a commenter replying to Gizmodo’s coverage of this story said the rules have “Nothing to do with driver safety. Everything to do with law enforcement not wanting to be recorded,” as it’s much easier to record police with your smart glasses than holding up a phone.

On the flip side, Illinois does have precedent for banning audio distractions; headphones, earbuds, or other headsets that play audio into both ears are illegal under the state’s vehicle code. One-ear headsets are generally allowed, and there are exemptions for some professions and audio devices that improve hearing, like hearing aids.

Because audio can be a major distraction while driving — you might not hear sirens if you have active noise cancellation turned on, for example — even in places where it isn’t expressly against the law, it is advised against, and can work against you if you’re caught in an accident while immersed in your music.

Smart glasses don’t fully immerse you because they have open-ear audio, but their audio notifications and music playing into both of your ears could cause a distraction.

Additionally, because the tech is evolving so quickly, creating nuanced carve-outs today might lead to legal disputes or confusion down the line, especially as lawmakers aren’t known for being particularly tech-savvy. There’s a simplicity to just banning smart glasses outright while driving.

Of course, these rules are just for one state, assuming they get signed into law at all, but smart glasses regulation seems to be on the agenda for a growing number of local and national governments in an attempt to curb bad actors.

So don’t be surprised if similar rules start being proposed in your local area, and be sure to follow any new smart glasses rules that are introduced if you like using a pair.

• Snap's AR glasses have been announced
• Specs will launch later this year and cost $2,195
• They're an upgraded version of its Specs developer kit

After joining the chorus of brands promising consumer smart glasses would arrive in 2026 at last year’s Augmented World Expo, Snap (formerly Snapchat) has finally debuted its latest Specs at this year’s AWE — announcing its true AR glasses are shipping later this year to the UK, US, and France. They’re incredible, truly sci-fi, and cost $2,195 (Around £1,640).

That high cost is explained by all the different XR tech the Specs combine into a single gadget. You have the form factor of glasses that are (relatively) lightweight, with a pair of clear displays built into the electrochromic lenses to overlay digital elements on the real world, and cameras to track your hands and anchor points in the space around you so that the spatial features feel as real as physical objects.

The glasses are powered by a pair of Qualcomm Snapdragon chips — matching the Apple Vision Pro’s approach, as one handles the OS and your apps, while the other tackles spatial aspects like hand and position tracking and anchoring.

Removable inserts can support a range of eyeglass prescriptions, and the batteries can deliver “up to four hours of mixed-use." You’ll get a charging case for an additional four charges (for 20 hours of total use), and, of course, there’s built-in AI assistance.

Best of all, this isn’t some unavailable prototype. It’s a real gadget you’ll be able to buy this Fall (aka September, October, or November). There’s nothing quite like the Snap Specs on the market right now, and that's a major advantage for Snap as it leapfrogs Meta, Android XR, and the rest.

Truly fantastical

Reactions online from many have been pretty negative, with folks asking, "Why can’t anybody make a normal looking pair of glasses," and "that’s gonna be a hard no from me dawg." However, I'm very excited to take these glasses for a whirl.

I’ve not used these Snap Specs specifically yet, but I have had several chances to try their predecessor — a developer kit with essentially the same capabilities — and they do stand alone amongst the growing sea of smart glasses. AI and basic XR features are cool and certainly feel futuristic, but Snap’s Specs take things a step further with true AR that feels positively science fiction every time I experience them.

Where they succeed best is in social interactions. During a live demo, I experienced a three-way conversation between two Snap representatives and me. We were each speaking a different language, but we could communicate perfectly as the Specs displayed live translation subtitles above our heads in near real time.

In another demo — this time of the game Peridot — we could all bring along our virtual pets into a shared space to play together as a group as if our critters were all really there in the room, and in another AR drawing app we could create and collaborate virtual sculptures and then walk through the room together as if in our own gallery — as each person’s creation appeared for everyone in the place it had been drawn as if it were a real object in the space.

Into the unknown

Unfortunately, these demos require each person to have a pair of Specs, and at $2,195, I expect they’re too pricey for mass adoption.

There are two other important unknowns.

Firstly: comfort. At 132g or 136g (based on which size of Snap Specs you buy), these AR glasses weigh almost three times as much as standard Meta Ray-Bans, and roughly double the monocular Ray-Ban Displays.

This is a lot less than a headset, with models like the Quest 3 and Samsung Galaxy XR clocking in at over 500g, but the form factor of glasses will make the weight feel different, and so we’ll have to wait and see if these chunky specs are something you can wear for a whole day. In my demos, they were comfortable enough, but only for an hour or so at a time.

More crucially, a big question is software.

Snap has showcased several AR Glasses applications, such as getting visual instructions from the AI assistant for a simple car repair, watching a video on a large virtual screen, navigating a real-world map, and real-time translation.

Plus, there are third-party apps for things like cooking and golf assistance, drawing tools for AR and real-world art, games including darts, Peridot, and an official Avatar: The Last Airbender experience, and more are promised.

It all looks great, but when the Specs cost $2,195, they have a high bar to clear out the gate. They can’t be a one-and-done thing either. They’ll need to be a growing platform that feels more valuable over time, with new experiences and features added. Otherwise, early adopters could feel let down, and the early hype will die.

This is what happened with the Apple Vision Pro. The hardware is superb, and the early impressions were praising Apple's headset, but after a month or so with the device many found it gathering dust and excitement dried up because it didn't have the software utility it needed.

The silver lining is that, for long-term affordability, there’s some hope. Thanks to the RAM crisis and other component cost increases, thanks to AI and global trade disruptions, tech is pricier than ever. If / when these troubles dissipate, we’ll hopefully see prices fall, and they could fall rather steeply.

We can’t know what the future holds, but I have my hopes that upcoming generations of the Snap Specs and glasses like them will be a lot more affordable. Hopefully, Snap’s current model is popular enough and impressive enough to deliver that AR future I’m dreaming of.

• Samsung's Galaxy XR headset is finally coming to the UK
• It lands on July 8, and will cost £1,699
• It lands ahead of Samsung's Android XR glasses expansion

After months of waiting, the Samsung Galaxy XR headset is finally ready to bring Android XR to countries beyond the US and South Korea. A UK launch date has just been announced for July 8 at a price of £1,699, and the headset is available for preorder right now at Samsung's online store.

Known previously as Project Moohan when it was debuted back in late 2024, this headset exists as a collaboration between Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm and showcases the best of each: Samsung’s hardware expertise is felt through the excellent 4K micro-OLED displays and comfortable design, Google’s Android XR software powers the beast with Gemini AI enhancements and a suite of Play Store apps at your fingertips, and Qualcomm’s chipmaking knowledge is leveraged through the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2.

TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff got the chance to try the Galaxy XR when it launched, noting that it raises the bar while lowering the price for premium spatial experiences — check out his Galaxy XR review.

I’ve spent much less time with Samsung’s headset, though based on my hour-or-so demo at Samsung’s UK studio this week it was clear the headset offered some solid upgrades compared to my Meta Quest 3 experience — mainly those displays, and how impressive the visuals are.

If I could, I would have stuck Netflix on and just kicked back for a few more hours with a film. In fact, it was a delight to see a full suite of native entertainment apps (courtesy of the Android Play Store), something which is a little lacking on Meta’s hardware.

I’d also say my hour or so in VR was surprisingly comfortable — this is likely helped by the fact that the Samsung Galaxy XR is only 545g (just 31g heavier than my trusty Quest 3). This makes it a lot lighter than the Meta Quest Pro (at 722g), and the roughly 750g Apple Vision Pro, and so I’ll be excited to repeat my week-in-VR experiment from a few years ago.

A glimpse of more to come

The Samsung Galaxy XR seems impressive in its own right with its entertainment capabilities, solid selection of native XR (such as ports of existing games brought over to Google’s Play Store) and XR-enabled (2D apps you can place around your space as windows), and Gemini integrations.

I’m getting married next month, and we're already thinking about our honeymoon, which we’re planning to take some time early in 2027. The ability to explore destination we're considering in VR through Google Maps and street view — and even being able to visit attractions that have been 3D scanned by the owners — seems like an excellent holiday planning tool, especially for places I’ve never been to before.

That said, some of the tools feel like they’ll truly shine on AR glasses that you can wear all the time — like the headset’s circle-to-search function, which works both digitally and for the real world. I use my phone for this all the time, but having an even quicker way to visually search something I can see — such as details on where an outfit is from, how to care for a plant in my home, or more info on a landmark I can see, would be a major upgrade. It would be like a more precise version of Meta’s Ray-Ban’s look-and-ask tool, which I already use all the time.

That’s not to say the Galaxy XR isn’t its own thing, and I’m excited to experience it properly now that it’s landing in the UK. I'm just noting that some of the tools sound perfect for glasses, and as Samsung expands its foothold in this area — it just announced AI specs at Google I/O in partnership with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster — and I can't wait to see what else it has up its sleeve.

• Samsung's XR headset will help you meditate while giving blood
• Employees recently tried the demo, and it'll be available at AWE
• Further expansions are already planned

There are plenty of things in life we know we should be doing but don’t for one reason or another — like eating more vegetables, exercising several times a week, giving our time to good causes, or reading a good book. But for one such activity, giving blood, Samsung and healthcare company Abbott have just showcased a way to make it a bit more bearable: immersive meditation.

To mark World Blood Donor Day, Samsung employees in South Korea had the opportunity to give blood while experiencing immersive meditation, and the company plans to expand the program globally, with events scheduled for the US and Malaysia.

One such activation is happening in just a few days. Attendees at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California, next week (June 15 to 18) can take part in Samsung and Abbott’s four-day blood drive.

I’m currently taking part in a medical trial, and as part of it every couple of months I have to get a lot of blood taken. While I am now used to it, I always get stressed out in the moments before the needle goes in, and I can’t relax until I know it’s all over — so some kind of immersive XR experience would be a help.

It would certainly beat my current method of trying to distract myself by talking the nurse’s ear off.

Analysis/subhead section

We’ve seen XR used in similar ways before, for example, some flights now offer VR headset meditation to help calm nervous fliers, and schools have used VR to help bring education to life. These examples give some ideas for how XR can make other mundane parts of our lives a bit more fun.

Gamifying exercise to make it more exciting is a trend that's always being chased, but too often it struggles to pull folks away from a more traditional routine. So instead, I’d like to see an XR glasses app that can work with any gym equipment.

Imagine having an XR coach there to talk you through a routine, with advice for each machine and stats about your last visit, like what weights you were lifting and pushing you to go a little harder if you can. Treadmill runs could come with immersive routes to jog through, or perhaps you could have a virtual you/rival joining you at each machine, giving you someone to compete against.

My next proposal: a reading companion. I know a few teachers, and many have said it’s harder than ever to get kids to read. If you do try to set a reading and then quiz the kids on what the book is about, they’ll just use AI to summarize the story for them.

So what if an XR glasses or headset app could leverage eye-tracking to follow along as you read to see that you’ve actually gone through a book properly. Parents and teachers can then know their kid has been reading and deserves some congratulations, and for the kid, the glasses could help with understanding or pronouncing words, perhaps provide some visual cues to what they’re reading, and help them find similar books once they’re finished.

I’m not envisioning anything supremely immersive, just a few bits to help readers of all ages engage with a story.

Or perhaps we could use XR to help make doing chores less of a, well, chore.

MR apps have been made to show us where we have and haven’t vacuumed, so something similar for dusting, cleaning the bathroom, and other tasks would be great at keeping my home spotless in every way.

I also love listening to music while I clean, so perhaps an XR app could turn my home into a rave that only plays while I’m tidying, helping me push through chores.

These are just a few fun possible examples, but they showcase some of the reasons and ways XR could be an awesome technology as it develops. We’ll just have to wait and see what Samsung, Google, Meta, Apple, and the rest have up their sleeves.

• Lawmakers in Pennsylvania want new smart glasses rules
• A proposed bill would mandate that glasses display when they are recording video or audio
• This comes after reports that modders are disabling this feature on Meta Ray-Bans for a price

Last week, I covered reports of, let’s face it, creeps who have been modifying their smart glasses (typically Meta Ray-Bans) to secretly record video and snap photos — by disabling the safety light that flashes when the glasses’ camera is in use. Now, Pennsylvania lawmakers want to make private recording with smart glasses a crime.

Representative Joe Ciresi (D-Montgomery), has introduced a bill that would require smart glasses made, sold or used in his state to display a visual indicator (like a light) when the device is recording — though his bill would go beyond video and to audio as well.

Calling the bill’s rules “common-sense privacy safeguards” to prevent the “misuse of emerging technologies.” It would also require device makers to prevent users from disabling the visual indicator.

While Meta has yet to respond to this new proposed bill, a spokesperson did get back to us after my last story, saying, "All technology — whether it's cameras, smartphones, or AI glasses — comes with the same basic expectation: people should behave responsibly and not misuse it.”

Adding “We aggressively target anyone advertising tampering tools, have removed thousands of violating ads and Marketplace listings for these services, and pursue legal action when appropriate," in response to questions about modification services being sold and advertised through Meta’s own Facebook Marketplace platform.

Meta also explained that its teams are working on evolving its measures — so hopefully it’ll find a way to counter the techniques modders have developed to disable the smart glasses' safety light.

The best outcome?

This new bill is one I’m expecting we’ll see echoed across the States and in other regions because it feels like common sense.

As I mentioned before, we’re seeing how folks are being plain weird in public by misusing smart glasses to harass, intimidate, stalk, and spy on people — amongst other creepy behavior — and these actions risk spoiling everyone’s fun.

Cameras on glasses have genuine utility for allowing the AI to identify landmarks or translate signs, or simply snapping a quick first-person shot while you’re on vacation. Having used my Meta Ray-Bans plenty, the camera quality is worse than my phone's, but the big advantage is that the specs can record without taking me out of the moment — you’re living it for real, not behind a phone screen, but still capturing the memory.

But the risks of misuse can be countered by full-on bans, so I’m glad to see Pennsylvania is taking a tactful approach.

We’ll have to see how companies and governments respond to modification services trying to skirt these rules, but this is the best possible next step in the smart glasses safety saga — giving us an increasingly uncommon win in the consumer tech space.

• Code to power facial recognition has been found in the Meta AI app
• This would allow Meta's smart glasses to identify people's faces
• The feature isn't live yet, and Meta claims it may never be, but reactions to it are largely negative

Meta’s smart glasses like the Ray-Ban Meta and the Oakley Meta Vanguard have always been concerning from a privacy perspective, given their ability to photograph and film whoever the wearer happens to be looking at. But they just got even more troubling, as there’s evidence that they might soon get facial recognition.

Wired (via Mashable) has found that the company has quietly been adding code related to facial recognition to the Meta AI app over multiple updates this year.

Its investigation found references to three AI models, one which would detect faces, another that would crop them, and one that'd encode them into biometric data. And while the feature isn’t live, two security researchers who reviewed Wired’s findings claimed that it’s almost ready to launch, if and when Meta chooses to.

In a response, a Meta spokesperson told Wired that "nothing has shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything. If we do decide to roll something out, we will take a thoughtful approach and do so with full transparency. One decision we can be clear about — we are not building a central face database."

A privacy nightmare in the making?

Still, the fact that Meta is already adding relevant code to its app certainly suggests a feature along these lines may well launch. At which point, not only do you need to worry about being photographed or filmed by people’s glasses, but that they could identify you just by looking at you.

Responses to the news on Reddit are largely negative, but also largely unsurprised, given that this is Meta we’re talking about — a company that hasn’t got the best track record for respecting people’s privacy.

One Reddit user commented “is anyone surprised by this, really?”, with others saying “well, that tracks”, “I miss privacy”, and “should be illegal”, among other negative comments.

And while Meta does at least provide some measure of privacy with its smart glasses — such as displaying a light when they’re recording or taking photos — modders can already disable that light, so it’s easy to imagine that any precautions put in place for facial recognition could also be disabled or got around.

• UK government says cheating in exams using smart devices poses a great threat
• Students could soon resort to using smart glasses and invisible earpieces
• It's not just a concern in the UK, and cases are rising in China and the US

The UK government has warned that the rise of smart tech could give students more reason to cheat in their GCSE, AS, and A-level exams, and the threat should not be overlooked.

Chief Regulator of Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation), Sir Ian Bauckham, warns that devices such as hidden earpieces and smart glasses advertised to students via social media could overtake phones as a means of cheating. Speaking with BBC Radio 4, he shared the following:

"We're hearing stories — and I hear this directly from schools as I go up and down the country — of devices like supposedly hidden earpieces, smart glasses that play text covertly on the inside of the glasses that only the wearer can see, and even biros [pens] that have got apparently invisible mini video screens built into them”. "In the worst cases, they could lose all their A-level grades. That's future-altering," he added

Additionally, Bauckham appeared on Ofqual’s Can I Just Qualify That? podcast show, where he revealed that the government has had to “move really fast, because technology is moving fast”. He also said that exam invigilators are now being trained to spot these kinds of smart tech.

Since 2018, the rise of smartphone malpractice in exams has grown substantially, and last summer alone, 2,225 cases where smartphones and other devices were used to cheat were flagged, resulting in 545 cases where students were disqualified.

Having access to mobile phones in schools, Bauckham argues, has opened the doors for a new wave of technology to enable cheating in exams, and from his recent warnings, it’s only going to get more difficult to control. That said, this threat isn’t just limited to UK schools.

Global education systems need to take action

This isn’t the first time smart devices have made their way into the examination hall.

In regions such as China, smart glasses are becoming a popular way to cheat in university exams, allowing students to scan questions, which the device will then display the answers on the lens, Rest of World reported a few weeks back.

Students are even going the distance to rent out their smart glasses to other students to use during exams for between $6-$12 a day, the outlet says, and second-hand online marketplaces like Xianyu are becoming an increasingly popular place for students to source their devices.

Using smart glasses to cheat in exams is one thing, but AI is another growing issue in educational spaces. Not only is AI becoming increasingly difficult to detect in written coursework in the UK, but it’s prevalent in universities across the pond.

In May, Ars Technica reported that 30% of Princeton students are cheating in exams by using AI, but this can be attributed to the institution’s outdated examination codes. The outlet shared that because lecturers don’t monitor exams (the university still adheres to a 19th-century regulation), it makes it easier for students to get away with cheating, and the number of cases is only rising.

According to a survey of Princeton seniors conducted in 2025, almost 30% of students admitted to cheating during an exam. However, in spite of this number, almost 45% of students said they had witnessed fellow classmates cheating, but decided not to report it, even though students must vow to report malpractice.

However, the university is clamping down on this soon. A few weeks ago, Princeton faculty members cast votes in a referendum to write mandatory proctoring for in-person exams into Princeton's laws, and it was a landslide win with only one member opposing. The regulation will come into effect on July 1.

• Modders are charging as little as $50 in the US to alter Ray-Ban Meta specs
• The altered smart glasses are then able to record without the safety light
• This allows bad actors to film secretly and potentially harass people

Update: Since publishing this story Meta has responded to say its tech (like all technology) comes the expectation that "people should behave responsibly and not misuse it." You can read the full statement below. I've also reported on news that Pennsylvanian lawmakers want new smart glasses safety rules, and that story also includes Meta's statement.

Original: $50 or some technical know-how — that’s all it’s taking some to mod their Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to disable one of its most important safety features: the camera light.

The first-person video perspective is incredible for snapping first-person shots while on vacation or just living your day to day, but bad actors have been using smart glasses in more nefarious ways — often to harass women as the BBC reported earlier this year, with that likely to spike again as we enter beach season in the Northern hemisphere.

To help prevent secret recording, the Meta glasses switch on a light that plays the entire time. It sits on the left side of the glasses, creating design symmetry with the camera on the right, and if it’s ever covered (say, by some tape), the glasses will prevent you from recording.

However, as reported by Joanna Stern in a YouTube video, modders can permanently disable this light in a way that doesn’t prevent recording. You just need the technical know-how and some tools, or $50 to $100 to pay someone on places like Facebook Marketplace, adding an unfortunate ironic layer that it’s happening through Meta’s own platform.

This kind of hack isn’t illegal, but it is against Meta’s terms of service. Recording with these now secret spy glasses isn’t necessarily illegal either. It depends on the region's laws surrounding things like recording in public and if you need one- or two-party consent.

I reached out to Meta for comment, and it said "All technology — whether it's cameras, smartphones, or AI glasses — comes with the same basic expectation: people should behave responsibly and not misuse it. We aggressively target anyone advertising tampering tools, have removed thousands of violating ads and Marketplace listings for these services, and pursue legal action when appropriate."

It added that it is looking into evolving its existing measures so that it can continue to deliver safe and secure products.

Please don't ruin the tech I love

My relationship with smart glasses has been a little up and down recently, but overall, I’m still a major advocate for them.

Just like smartwatches before them, smart specs offer truly useful features in ways that are more convenient than our existing tech — I’ve used my own RayBans when I travel to great effect (translating signs, identifying historical sites and monuments, and recording memories without being taken out of the moment), and the tech’s only getting better.

These kinds of modifications risk ruining everyone’s fun. Because if people keep abusing this tech, I can see governments taking a heavy hand with restrictions — either outlawing cameras in specs, or simply banning smart glasses altogether if things get too out of hand.

That would suck.

So I'm hoping there are some fixes Meta can implement, and that other manufacturers follow suit. Perhaps they could also work with governments to introduce precise rule changes, such as making it illegal to record covertly or changing harassment rules so that bad actors are punished.

Because smart glasses are so incredibly cool, and while I have tried a lot of awesome tech over the years, smart specs have always seemed in a league of their own (in a great way). It’s a wearables category that I hope keeps thriving — we just need to make sure it grows the right way so that this dream tech doesn’t become a nightmare for many.

• More hardware is reportedly on the way from Meta
• We could get an always-on AI pendant and new smart glasses
• The smart specs may involve new hardware partners

As well as exploring premium subscriptions for its social media platforms, Meta is also reportedly developing new hardware too: an AI pendant, and smart glasses that are apparently going to be different to the models we've seen before.

This is according to The Information, which says testing for the AI pendant will begin in the coming year. Presumably it works along similar lines to the Limitless AI Pendant which launched in 2024, as Meta acquired Limitless at the end of last year: the device records and processes audio, and can answer queries with its built-in chatbot.

Details are thin on the ground at the moment, but we've seen quite a few of these AI wearables in recent years. From transcribing meetings to telling you what time you need to be at the station to catch the next train home, the idea is they act as constant companions ready to lend a hand at any moment.

We know that ChatGPT developer OpenAI is working on something similar, though again there's not much in the way of solid information about what the something is, or what it'll do. We could be getting gadget launches from two of the biggest names in AI across the course of the next 12 months.

More smart glasses

As for the smart glasses, as per the report in The Information, there are apparently several new models coming. The rumored plan is to bring more partners on board, in addition to Ray Ban, which Meta already works with. As you would expect, Meta's own AI models are going to be providing the intelligence.

The same report mentions a new 'Wearables for Work' project at Meta, intended to drive subscriptions for Meta's AI apps — including an as-yet-unreleased AI agent called Hatch. Meta is apparently aiming to sell 10 million smart glasses in the second half of 2026, in part by expanding sales to more countries.

There's more evidence for the incoming smart glasses via Android Authority: Meta has registered several new pairs of smart specs with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US, a necessary regulatory step for new gadgets. These documents have been filed under the Meta name, which hasn't often been the case with previous wearables.

That might suggest Meta is teaming up with another hardware partner, which lines up with what The Information is saying, but we'll have to wait for confirmation. Many other companies are expected to launch smart glasses soon too, including — perhaps — Apple.

• Xreal just unveiled the xbx a01 smart glasses
• These XR specs are super budget-friendly...
• ...but packed with some impressive features

With its One Pro glasses Xreal seriously hit it out of the park — making arguably the best XR glasses you can buy right now for the private home theatre experience, and easily my favorites. The only issue? They’re pretty darn pricey, as are many of Xreal’s previous specs. That’s about to change however, with the new xbx range.

Standing for 'X by Xreal', and not some Xbox tie-in as I initially thought it was, this sub-brand will champion new glasses lines, starting with the budget-friendly a01 line. Instead of costing $649 like the Xreal One Pro, it’ll cost just $299.

Initially coming to China, with a US launch scheduled for July this new budget option looks set to give my favorite cheap XR specs — the RayNeo Air 4 Pros — a serious run for their money.

A budget XR champion?

First up, Xreal's xbx a01 boasts a 1600-nit HDR10 display. RayNeo’s budget specs debuted the first HDR10 XR specs earlier this year with the Air 4 Pros, and it seriously helps improve the vibrancy of its colors with compatible content. However it only came with 1,200 nits; the extra brightness from Xreal should help further enhance the clarity and beauty of its images.

Secondly, there’s a new anti-shake algorithm built for using during commutes, flights, and bumpy subway rides. Think of it like a reverse version of the stability controls cameras come with — the glasses will try to keep the in-display image from shaking around, while trying to preserve as much of the image clarity as possible.

Thirdly, these glasses are meant to look great. With a range of interchangeable front frames to suit different styles, they also cater to different needs — such as the ability to swap to dimmer lenses in brighter conditions.

Plus they should be pretty comfy too. At only 62g which should make them feel fairly light on your face.

Of course we’ll need to test Xreal’s glasses out to be able to judge them fully, but I’m a major fan of its other specs so I’m optimistic that Xreal’s foray in budget glasses will be a slam dunk.

If I was RayNeo I’d even be a little worried Xreal is coming to eat my lunch — though I’m sure it has some tricks up its sleeves to counter down the line.

This also gives us a fun look at how Xreal’s Android XR efforts might develop. As smart glasses become something we wear all the time, design aspects like interchangeable frame covers could allow us to make fashion conscious decisions (having multiple designs to wear for various scenarios) without breaking the bank on several expensive pairs of smart specs.

We’ll have to wait and see what next, but yet again smart glasses are proving why they’re one of the most exciting sectors in tech right now.

Rumor has it, Apple's pricey Vision Pro is headed for the scrap heap of failed tech gadgets. Rumor also has it that it's fine and will see either further upgrades or iterations. Rumor further has it that even if the Vision Pro doesn't get significant upgrades, it will stand as the progenitor of Apple AR glasses, the wearable everyone will probably want.

By now, you should know that no one knows anything about the future of the woebegone spatial computer except for Apple, which, for the moment, is busy celebrating a significant Vision Pro win: eye surgery completed via a surgeon wearing the headset.

That news is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's a fist-pumping validation of Vision Pro's potential as a life-altering piece of wearable technology for enterprise. On the other hand, consumers may see it as yet another sign that the Vision Pro was never intended for them in the first place.

It's been almost three years now since Apple unveiled Vision Pro at WWDC 2023 and gave a small group of attendees, including me, the chance to try it out. As I wrote back then:

Perhaps it was the moment a virtual butterfly effortlessly landed on my extended finger, or maybe it was the dinosaur's snaggle-toothed maw that came within inches of my face, or even the mountaineer who balanced barefoot on a thin cable pulled taut across a vast ravine. In truth, it was all of those experiences with Apple's stunning Apple Vision Pro spatial computing headset that convinced me I'd just experienced the true future of VR.

To this day, I do not think this was hyperbole. I had never in decades of using technology and even trying VR (going all the way back to the mid 1990s) and AR tech for the last two decades, experienced anything like it.

As most people know, the Vision Pro arrives with a hefty price tag of $3,499. If you held, wore, and experienced the spatial computer, you could understand, if not justify, the price, but between the sometimes uncomfortable nature of wearing the 1-pound device on your face and the instant out-of-reach for average consumer price, the Vision Pro was a hamstrung consumer product from the get-go.

Apple did not win over consumers

Over the last year or so, Apple has done what it could to attract consumers, like integrating more entertainment and experiences, letting people turn any photo into a spatial image, updating the processor to the M5 chip, and radically improving the headstraps to finally make the Vision Pro truly comfortable to wear for hours at a time.

But there has always been a disconnect. Even aside from the price, consumers showed little interest in being cut off from family, friends, and coworkers. Because that's what Vision Pro was asking of you: dive into a 3D movie while your family does something else. Work at a massive virtual desktop while your coworkers sit nearby, staring at you incredulously.

The latest software lets you bring other coworkers into your virtual space, and it's a wild experience, but it requires that they also wear a Vision Pro headset. It's overkill for remote work, where Zoom will probably suffice.

The Ternus factor

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the Vision Pro is not the breakout consumer hit Apple imagined. I don't see the headsets in offices, and I do not get questions about them from consumers.

Stories about using them and the eye-popping experiences you can find (like the spatial vision of U2 lead singer Bono's documentary) drive little to no interest.

Apple will still point to the goggles as a point of pride. In a recent discussion with Tom's Guide, John Ternus called them "an extraordinary product."

The vote of confidence is important because Ternus is now just months away from stepping into the Apple CEO role. It sounds like he likes Vision Pro. On the other hand, now is not the time to tear down products championed by Tim Cook, his soon-to-be former boss and predecessor. It would be the height of bad form.

Perhaps it's Ternus's recent appointment that's recharged the rumor mill here, but fresh reports indicate Apple's failure to ignite widespread consumer adoption with the Vision Pro M5 upgrade may have doomed the product. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has claimed in the past that Ternus was not necessarily a fan, but more recently said that he may have killed a lower-cost Vision Pro product project.

Apple has no public statements to support any of this conjecture, but anyone with a brain knows that a product struggling at this level will at least need solid repositioning. The closest Apple has come to admitting that it's not a consumer hit is Tim Cook mentioning Vision Pro's big enterprise potential. I do think the Vision Pro could have a long-term future with the corporate set. On the other hand, Microsoft (HoloLens) and Google (Google Glass) both followed that path only to eventually shelve their wearable AR products.

More certain is that everything Apple and John Ternus learned from Vision Pro about spatial computing will be poured into Apple Glass, iGlass, or whatever Apple calls its lightweight, affordable mixed-reality glasses that draw most of their intelligence from the iPhone in your pocket.

For as much as Ternus may have disliked the Vision Pro project, he will look to the glasses — and maybe the folding iPhone — to be his signature products, the ones people talk about when he steps aside 15 years from now.

No matter what happens to Vision Pro, nothing can diminish the accomplishment. Apple's spatial computer remains the apex product in the category (yes, outdoing the Galaxy XR headset for now) and marked a turning point in wearable hardware. Sure, it's been overshadowed by AI and Apple's failure to deliver a more powerful Siri, but I will encourage you to head over to an Apple Store and put on a Vision Pro headset, just so you can someday tell your grandkids about it.

• Apple’s Vision Pro headset was used in a world-first surgery
• It’s since been used in hundreds of similar operations
• It could help transform operating theaters, one surgeon believes

If you’re due for surgery, the next time you go under the knife, your operation could be performed by a surgeon using an Apple Vision Pro headset. That’s because the world’s first successful procedure to remove optical cataracts has been completed with the assistance of one of Apple’s headsets — and it’s gone on to help in scores of other medical operations in the past year alone.

The surgery actually first took place in October 2025, but the surgeon in question — Dr. Eric Rosenberg, DO, MSE — has since performed “hundreds” of subsequent procedures, according to a press release.

It all happened at the SightMD practice in New England, which is owned by Dr. Rosenberg. Using a Vision Pro app called ScopeXR (also developed by Dr. Rosenberg), the surgeons were able to visualize the operation “in immersive stereoscopic 3D while simultaneously accessing real-time surgical overlays and comprehensive preoperative diagnostic data, all without breaking sterile technique".

Dr. Rosenberg had plenty of praise for the Vision Pro: “This isn’t just about a new device, it’s about reimagining what the operating room of the future looks like.” Speaking of ScopeXR, he said: “We’ve created a platform that makes surgeons safer, smarter, and more connected.”

Fulfilling the Vision Pro’s potential

One way that ScopeXR was able to tap into the Vision Pro was by enabling collaboration between surgeons and consultants, even if they weren’t all in the same room together. Assistants and mentors could remotely join the feed provided by the Vision Pro and communicate in real time.

As Dr. Rosenberg put it, “We are now able to bring the world’s best surgeon into any operating room, at any hour, from anywhere on the planet.” That has a range of uses, from training surgeons to providing help with unexpected complications.

Apple’s Vision Pro is often held up as an expensive flop, with its future existence frequently called into question, and it’s true that the device seems to have struggled to gain traction in the consumer world. But flip over to the other side of the coin and it appears that the product is doing well in industrial, medical and similar environments.

Perhaps that’s where the Vision Pro is best placed to fulfill its potential. Apple is said to be working on lightweight smart glasses, and those would probably be a more consumer-friendly device. But for more demanding users like operating theaters around the world, the Vision Pro’s incredibly high-end specs could be just what’s needed.

Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2): two-minute review

Between the boom in generative AI technology and the ability of manufacturers to produce smaller-than-ever hardware components, accessories as light as glasses frames can house impressive computing power these days, and leading that particular charge has been Meta, with its stylish and capable Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, made in collaboration with EssilorLuxottica (the parent company of Ray-Ban and Oakley), set the current standard for the many lesser-known brands competing for space in the burgeoning market.

That being said, the competition may well catch up before long — the changes between the first- and second-gen glasses are only iterative, and Meta’s focus is more than likely on the Meta Ray-Ban Displays rather than on these comparatively ‘dumb’ smart glasses.

So, what better way to test them than by taking them on the road? I took my pair of second-gen Ray-Ban Metas on vacation to Rome, Italy and used them as both my main camera and my tour guide to find out how useful they are in real-life environments.

Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) review: price and availability

• Starts at $379 / £379 / AU$689

The Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) start at $379 / £379 / AU$599 in all their various styles — that’s $80 / £80 / AU$150 more than the first-generation glasses. That’s a relatively small price increase (especially given current market conditions) for a decent upgrade to battery life and camera specs — and you can easily swap out your existing lenses into the Gen 2 if you already own the first generation and really want those benefits.

You'll also pay $30 / £30 / AU$40 or $80 / £80 / AU$90 extra for Polarized or Transitions lenses, respectively. I went for standard shaded lenses, and I wished for transitions countless times during my testing; they’re a must-have if you plan to use these indoors at any point without looking like you’re nursing a hangover.

While these are still surprisingly affordable, the price is beginning to creep up towards “wait, do I really need these?” territory; in a world where we can now purchase a $599 / £599 / AU$899 MacBook Neo, the ‘cool’ factor can only go so far to inspire new customers to invest in an otherwise niche category.

All frame designs are priced the same, and you can choose from six color options across the Wayfarer and Headliner frames, or seven in Skyler. Plus, two new designs have also recently been released for prescription wearers: Blayzer and Scriber. There are two model sizes too, although exclusively for the Wayfarer style; one for larger and one for smaller heads. Certain frames also offer the option of a low nose-bridge model.

• Value: 4/5

Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) review: design

• Broadly the same as first-gen glasses
• Slightly heavier
• Still IPX4 splash-resistant

Little has changed outwardlythat the eye can see between the first and second-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The case is the same, they’re available in the same styles with the same lenses (Prescription (-6.0 to +4.0), Transition and Polarized) – in fact, all that’s noticeably changed here is the weight, which goes up 2.8g, from the 49.2g of the first-generation to 52g, likely on account of the larger battery and improved camera hardware.

There’s some disappointment in this sameness. For example, these still only have an IPX4 rating, so they’re splash-resistant but not splash-proof — and something that’s worn on your head, which is the first place to get wet in a sudden downpour, should have the best possible protection here.

I don’t love how the Wayfarers look on me, which did kind of ruin my holiday shots. I went for the Wayfarers as they’re a more unisex design, and I could share them around with my colleagues, but the boxy shape and thick frames make me look like Carl Fredricksen from Up. Broadly speaking, I think at least one of the three styles will suit most people (I’m more of a Skylar girl, myself), but even Meta can’t entirely escape the fact that these glasses need to be decently boxy in order to squeeze in all that tech.

The fit is still super-comfortable, though, and that 2.8g weight increase hasn’t made the glasses unwearable — though first-timers may find them a little heavy on the nose bridge. On the upper-left corner when you’re wearing the glasses / looking at the glasses from the front, as on the first-gen, is the 12MP camera lens, and on the upper-right is the indicator light that lets passers-by know you’re filming or taking a photo. The placement here bothers me — most smart glasses clearly weren’t made with women in mind, because if you have bangs as I do, you’ll find a great many shots get interrupted by your hair.

Also as on the first-gen specs, the shutter button is on the top of the right arm, and the invisible touchpad is on the outer side of the arm, which lets you control things like music and Meta AI. On the left arm is the power switch.

From afar, these features are discreet enough to be almost invisible, and that continues right the way through to the embedded mics and speakers. In fact, the only way you can tell these are smart glasses at all is from the camera lens and the light — I’ll let you decide whether that’s a good thing, or a menace to society.

• Design: 5/5

Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) review: Performance

• AI is broadly reliable
• 12MP camera is still limiting, but decent
• Battery boost is much appreciated

I took the Ray-Ban Meta (2nd generation) smart glasses on vacation with me to Rome, Italy, hoping the beautiful and historic city would offer lots of opportunities for that neat little 12MP camera to capture some great first-person perspectives as I explored the landmarks.

I didn’t necessarily want to like the process — I’m deeply concerned by the privacy implications of guerrilla video and photo capture — but I can’t think of a better way to really capture a moment than to record pretty much the exact perspective you had when you experienced it. Plus, with news in late 2025 about new targeted ads using Meta AI conversations and alarming reports about footage captured on the glasses, including intimate moments, being viewed by contractors, the privacy-conscious may well want to keep all Meta products at arm’s length.

That aside, the quality of photos and videos captured by the Ray-Ban Meta (2nd generation) will naturally pale in comparison to the main camera on any flagship smartphone from the past few years. It’s only a 12MP camera, after all. Still, I think there’s something quite rustic and charming about the photos and videos taken by the Ray-Ban Meta, especially if you work around its limitations.

You’re limited to vertical shots, and framing your shots is tough, given there’s no display or preview. Shooting at night will garner middling results, and colors can also often be a little diluted, but broadly speaking the results are great for capturing the moment.

You’ll need to put some thought into what video settings suit the action, too: 1080p at 30fps is a little better stabilized, but naturally less detailed and well-balanced, than 3K HDR videos. You can see examples of this in our Ray-Ban Meta (gen 2) video review.

The most noteworthy upgrade for me is to the battery. With double the on-device battery and a solid 16-hour boost to the case charge compared to the first-gen, these can comfortably last you through a whole weekend away, or you could get by with a few quick charges if you’re travelling for a week or two. That’s a huge win while only adding a few grams to the weight.

Inside the glasses’ arms are two open-ear speakers, through which you can hear Meta AI’s responses and music; these are louder, bassier, and have less sound leakage compared to the first model, according to Meta. I’d say that all tracks — the quality here is pretty great, though there’s still a good amount of leakage. I still wouldn’t personally wear these while sitting next to a stranger and listening to tunes full blast, but if you’re lying on a beach or on a walk, they’ll work a treat.

Speaking of Meta AI, the assistant is pretty handy to have around, and has seen some improvements since we reviewed those original specs back in 2024. Broadly, the AI suite works as expected, including newer features; I tried using Live Translation to quickly unpack what someone was saying, and while it’s not super-accurate or snappy, it gets you by when you’re abroad and you’ve been neglecting your Duolingo sessions.

When I visited the Colosseum, Meta AI served as my stand-in tour guide, telling me about the different landmarks I was looking at, and chatting up a storm about Ancient Rome. However, I did experience some hallucination; I asked if the massive structure had ever been used for anything beyond entertainment, and Meta AI told me all about its past as a housing complex.

I pressed for more information – including when this happened, and all of a sudden it said that had never been the case. Such issues were infrequent, but it does show why you should generally take AI-generated information with a pinch of salt.

The worst part of the AI suite is, unfortunately, the app you have to use to pair your Ray-Ban Meta. The Meta AI app is brimming with AI slop, and I hate that there’s no one-touch button to get straight to your media if you’re a Ray-Ban user. Every time I accidentally open the Vibes feed, I shudder.

• Performance: 4/5

Should I buy the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2)?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

How I tested the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) review

I used the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) for a month, including during a trip to Rome, Italy, wearing them on any day where it was bright enough to use sunglasses. I filmed and shot photos indoors and outdoors, day and night to see how well the 12MP camera could capture the action.

I made sure to try all of their AI features, testing their battery and performance over longer periods to assess comfort, usability and battery life.

I ran the Meta AI app from my iPhone 15 Pro.

• First reviewed: April 2026

• Leaked renders show what the Samsung Galaxy Glasses might look like
• They don't have a screen and they look a lot like Ray-Ban Meta glasses
• However, they reportedly run Android XR with access to Gemini

Meta is probably the biggest name in smart glasses right now, but it might not be for much longer, because Samsung has a pair of its own smart specs on the way. And based on a new leak, they look very similar to the Meta Ray-Bans — but with at least one clear advantage.

Android Headlines has shared renders of what it claims are the Samsung Galaxy Glasses, and for the most part, they look like an ordinary pair of specs — the only real sign that they’re not is the camera lenses at the edges of the frame.

But this is a design that’s also very similar to a lot of Meta’s smart glasses, which likewise have a camera at each side and, in some cases, similarly shaped lenses.

Their capabilities also sound similar, with Android Headlines explaining that this first pair of Samsung smart glasses likewise lacks a screen, but that, as they run Android XR, you’ll be able to talk to Gemini to do things like translate signs and take pictures, while Google Maps will be able to give you directions through them.

It’s a similar idea to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, but with those specs, you’re stuck with Meta’s AI, which isn’t as capable or popular as Google’s, so Samsung could have a big advantage there.

Of course, Meta has Ray-Ban and Oakley branding for its glasses, which is probably more appealing than the Samsung branding here, but we already know that future Samsung frames will be made in collaboration with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, so Meta’s branding advantage might not last for long either.

And if you’re disappointed that there’s no screen on these glasses, you shouldn’t have too much longer to wait for a model with a display, with those coming in 2027, according to Android Headlines.

But this first screenless pair will probably land before the end of 2026, and they're rumored to cost between $379 and $499 (roughly between £280 / AU$525 and £370 / AU$695), which puts them roughly in line with Meta’s pricing.

So, will you buy a pair of Samsung Galaxy Glasses based on what we know so far? Take part in our poll below to let us know.

If you do want to buy these Samsung glasses, you might be able to do so in July, as that's when the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and Galaxy Watch 9 will likely launch. Though Android Headlines speculates that the Galaxy Glasses could get teased then and go on sale later.

Personally, I think they look promising, but I'll probably hold out for the model with a screen next year, even though those are sure to cost even more — with leaks currently putting the display-toting model at between $600 and $900 (around £440 / AU$835 to £665 / AU$1,250).

• The CEO of Gucci's parent company has said the brand will probably launch smart glasses next year
• These will reportedly be made in partnership with Google, likely meaning they'll run Android XR
• Nothing else is known about them, but they're sure to be extremely expensive

The world might soon be inundated with smart glasses, as not only do companies like Google, Samsung, Xreal, and Meta have some coming fairly soon — along likely with Apple — but now it seems Gucci does too.

This is according to Luca de Meo, the CEO of Gucci-owner Kering, in conversation with Reuters, and saying specifically that they will come out "probably next year, 2027."

The smart glasses will be made in partnership with Google, so will presumably run Android XR — an operating system that so far is only available on the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, but which will also be used by smart glasses including the Xreal Project Aura, the Samsung Galaxy Glasses, and some unnamed Google specs.

Not the first but not far behind

Some of these will probably land this year, so Gucci isn’t going to be first out of the gate, but it probably won’t be far behind, with de Meo explaining that the brand plans to scale up its eyewear division to help rebuild the Gucci brand, which has struggled a bit in recent years.

We don’t really know anything about these smart glasses yet, but they’re sure to be extremely expensive. Even smart specs that aren’t made by luxury brands will probably command a high price tag, so Gucci-branded ones may be essentially unobtainable to many.

Still, it’s unlikely that their specs will be any better than smart glasses bearing Google or Samsung branding — instead you’ll be paying for the name, and perhaps the specific design or materials. So if Gucci is out of your price range, you probably won’t be missing out too much.

• Meta is raising prices for its Quest 3 and Quest 3S virtual reality headsets
• The company blamed "significantly" higher costs for the price rises
• Users are disappointed but say the products are still good value for money

The Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S are phenomenally good virtual reality (VR) headsets — in fact, they’re some of the best VR headsets money can buy. Part of that lies in the strong value for money they represent, but that’s just hit something of a road bump, as Meta has announced it’ll be raising the price of both devices as soon as April 19 — just two days from now.

According to a post on the Meta website, the price increases will affect both the Meta Quest 3 and the Meta Quest 3S in many markets around the world. Meta said the changes have been made because “the cost of building high-performance VR hardware has risen significantly,” with the sky-high cost of memory modules almost certainly the main culprit.

The 128GB model of the Meta Quest 3S will now cost $349.99 / £319.99 / AU$569, while the price of the 256GB edition is rising to $449.99 / £409.99 / AU$729. The 512GB Meta Quest 3, meanwhile, will soon set you back $599.99 / £549.99 / AU$969.

That’s a significant price escalation across the board. For comparison, buy one of the above headsets today and you’ll pay the following:

• Meta Quest 3S 128GB: $299.99 / £289.99 / AU$499.99
• Meta Quest 3S 256GB: $399.99 / £379.99 / AU$669.99
• Meta Quest 3 512GB: $499.99 / £469.99 / AU$799.99

The Meta Quest 3 is more negatively affected than its more budget Quest 3S sibling, with the former’s price rising by as much as 20% in US dollars.

That’ll be an unwelcome change for VR fans, and with Meta barely giving any notice, there’s not long to pull the trigger if you want to avoid the price hike.

Still a good deal?

Unsurprisingly, many people aren’t happy with the news. Over on Reddit, for example, one user lamented: “That’s too bad, price increases make VR harder to get started in. Hopefully things get better but I wouldn’t hold my breath on Quest 4 coming out soon and/or being as good of a deal as the Quest 3 was.”

Meanwhile, another sarcastically added that the move “Will definitely drive VR adoption along with axing their first party studios.” Other readers expressed little surprise over the change, with user Alarikun saying: “this was inevitable. They were heavily subsidizing the costs of the hardware to try to get more people into VR.”

That said, several users argued that even with the price rises, the Meta Quest series still represents a good deal. One Redditor contended that “while the price increase isn’t fun, it’s still the best value headset out.” That was mirrored by another post, which argued that although the Quest 3 series is “still the best value in VR,” its price change could lead Valve to “release the Frame with a higher cost than expected.”

If you’ve been on the fence about buying a Meta Quest VR headset, now might be the time to make a move. With the RAM crisis still causing misery, today’s prices might be the cheapest you’ll pay for quite some time.

• Apple's Greg Joswiak has hinted about some potential smart glasses
• He was joined by Apple's John Ternus in a new Tom's Guide interview
• Both also claimed that Apple isn't looking to merge Mac and iPad

Two of Apple's most influential executives have hinted that the tech giant could be working on some smart glasses, as rumors predicted earlier this week.

Greg 'Joz' Joswiak (Apple's SVP of worldwide marketing) was joined by John Ternus (SVP of Hardware engineering) in a wide-ranging interview with Tom's Guide, which covered everything from the MacBook Neo to Apple's recent 50th anniversary.

But it was their comments about a potential Meta Ray-Bans rival, which Bloomberg suggested could appear later in 2026 ahead of a 2027 launch, that were the most illuminating. When asked about smart glasses being the next wave of computing, Greg Joswiak said that "there’s some inevitability to combining digital and physical worlds."

Of course, Apple has already done that to an extent with the Apple Vision Pro, but it was telling that Joswiak's "inevitability" remark came in response to a question about the future of spatial computing.

Naturally, he wasn't willing to elaborate much further. "I can't give you a timeline for when spatial becomes, you know, anything else," he said. "But it's an inevitability of digital and physical worlds coming together."

The timing of the comments is apt because Bloomberg's report earlier this week gave us some more details about its rumored smart glasses. It claimed that Apple is developing its own Meta Ray-Bans rival, internally code-named N50, and that they're being tested in four different styles, including a large rectangular frame (like Ray-Ban Wayfarers) plus some oval or circular options.

Apple talks Mac vs iPad

The interview also covered the age-old Mac vs iPad debate and where the MacBook Neo sits in that divide — and Apple again stressed that it's not looking to merge the two platforms.

When asked about iPadOS becoming more Mac-like recently, Apple's John Ternus (who has been touted as a future CEO) claimed that Apple still thinks of them as separate experiences.

"There’s never been this idea of mashing these two things together," Ternus said. "There's this narrative outside that there is, but that's never been the case," he added. Anyone who's tried iPadOS 26.4 might disagree, but for now, Apple continues to push the narrative that many people want both, which is obviously good news for Apple.

Naturally, neither of the execs would be drawn on the prospect of a touchscreen MacBook Pro, which has also been strongly rumored to be launching by the end of 2026. But one thing's for sure — Apple is going to be asked these questions a lot later this year, particularly if the rumored smart glasses and OLED MacBook Pro are indeed finally made official.

• Meta has been urged to scrap its rumored Name Tag feature
• In an open letter, privacy advocates have said the facial recognition tech is dangerous
• Meta hasn't announced Name Tag yet, but a statement suggests the feature may still be coming to Ray-Ban glasses

Over 70 organizations are asking Meta to cancel its controversial Name Tag AI glasses feature plans — out of fear it could supercharge the threat of stalkers and abusers.

While not yet officially announced, a report came out last year suggesting that the company wants to develop an always-on AI system with the ability to recognize people’s faces and other details from your life, like where you left your keys. The story was amplified earlier this year when The New York Times reaffirmed Meta’s rumored plans.

What’s more, the NYT report included a leaked Reality Labs memo that suggests Meta knows the tool is controversial, as it apparently plans to launch Name Tag “during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”

The document also highlighted possible plans to launch the tool at a conference for the blind to help promote it as an accessibility tool.

Despite some possible advantages to Name Tag, various organizations, including the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and Electronic Privacy Information Center, have signed an open letter urging Meta to protect the public’s privacy by never releasing Name Tag or a feature like it.

“Facial recognition technology built into inconspicuous consumer eyewear represents a serious threat to privacy and civil liberties for every member of our society, and particularly for historically marginalized and vulnerable groups,” the letter explains.

It added, “People should be able to move through their daily lives without fear that stalkers, scammers, abusers, federal agents, and activists across the political spectrum are silently and invisibly verifying their identities and potentially matching their names to a wealth of readily available data about their habits, hobbies, relationships, health, and behaviors.”

In response, Meta issued a statement saying, “Our competitors offer this type of facial recognition product, we do not. If we were to release such a feature, we would take a very thoughtful approach before rolling anything out.”

The issue some may have with that response is that Meta doesn't promise to never introduce facial recognition to its specs, just that it would do it the right way. However, this comes off the back of reporting that Meta contractors are seeing a lot more of our AI smart glasses’ photos and videos than we might have realized.

This second smart glasses era has so far managed to dodge the major complaints that plagued Google Glass in terms of privacy, but that has changed. If Meta, Google, and even, possibly, Apple want things to go back in a more positive direction, they need to be careful and make stronger guarantees that the public is being taken seriously.

Smart glasses are still something of a novelty — fun but arguably a lot less useful than our phones, smartwatches, and earbuds. If public backlash continues to grow, a second smart glasses decline will likely follow — and I say this as someone who thinks the tech could be awesome and would like to see it flourish.

We just need to make sure privacy protections are taken seriously. Otherwise, I imagine it won’t be long before governments or members of the public start taking action.

• Apple is working on smart glasses that should be revealed later this year, according to leaks
• AI AirPods and an AI pendant are also planned
• Apple's privacy-first approach could help it win with AI glasses

Every tech company and its dog is cramming AI into whatever system it can, and while Apple has been slow to get off the starting line, its rumored AI glasses, AI-focused AirPods, and AI necklace could help it snatch victory from the jaws of defeat — all thanks to one major long-term focus: privacy.

While a couple of these gadgets have been teased previously by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (behind a paywall), who often shares reliable Apple insider info, he has just revealed more details about Apple’s plans to create its first smart glasses.

According to Gurman, Apple is developing display-free smart glasses that will compete directly with the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2. These smart specs, internally code-named N50, will apparently help you capture photos and videos, play music, catch up on notifications, and interact with Siri. The latter will finally, according to reports, get a big upgrade in iOS 27.

The rumored AirPods and pendant could similarly rely on tech like cameras and microphones to capture information from your surroundings to provide insight and assistance, such as visual reminders.

Gurman doesn’t share release dates for any of the trio, but says the smart spectacles should appear later this year, with a launch due in 2027. He also claims that Apple's smart glasses are being tested with four designs: a large, rectangular frame (like the Ray-Ban Wayfarers), a slimmer rectangular design (like Tim Cook's specs), larger oval or circular frames, plus a "smaller, more refined" version of the latter.

But despite these rumors that Apple will try to eclipse its rivals with a "higher-end build", I still think they're going to have their work cut out for them, for a few reasons.

Not plain sailing

For starters, this delayed Apple glasses rollout could damage the perceived utility of its tech compared to its rivals — especially as by the time it debuts AI specs, Apple’s competitors are expected to have a generation or two of AR / display glasses released.

From experience, AR and display glasses (which can overlay your vision with various details, including live translation, shared play environments, or HUD elements like a map) are also a significant step up from display-less AI specs in terms of their usefulness and capabilities.

The less-than-stellar Apple Intelligence rollout also gives me cause for concern. Apple still hasn't really proved that it knows what it's doing with AI.

The other potential pitfall is that Apple is said to be going it alone design-wise, rather than linking with a brand like Ray-Ban or Warby Parker, like Meta and Google have. As a fashion accessory, the look of smart glasses is almost as essential as their usefulness, and several brands I’ve seen try to design their glasses in-house have struggled to make something that looks good.

That said, if any brand can buck that trend, it’s arguably the tech design champion that is Apple.

And the Californian tech giant also has one major smart glasses strength that could still win me over, even as an Android fan: privacy.

Privacy, privacy, privacy

Visual reminders are seen as the next big advantage AI wearables can leverage. That is, they can take in all of the information about your life and help you remember things like people’s names, where you left your keys, or what needs restocking in your fridge.

The issue is, while this level of AI assistance is undeniably useful, it’s equally invasive — essentially requiring the wearable to have an always-on view of your life. Otherwise, it could miss vital context that would make its advice useless.

Meta and Google's practices have come under fire in the past for their data privacy, and what information is or isn’t shared with their AI — most recently, Meta has fallen into hot water over how many more videos and images than people realized are being shared with Meta and reviewed by contractors.

Apple, on the other hand, has always made a big effort to promote privacy with its tech. And in the world of AI — where some tasks require personal information to be processed on servers rather than on your device — it created Private Cloud Compute to ensure that user data is kept private even when it is used by Apple’s remote servers.

I’m firmly in the Android ecosystem, and if you’ve seen our podcast you know I have a bit of an ‘Apple-hater’ persona. Still, I’d currently trust Apple glasses over any other brand as things stand — and with the privacy advantages I expect them to offer I’d even be willing to put up with worse performance and specs if it meant knowing my personal data was secure.

We’ll have to wait and see what Apple reveals — as with all leaks, we must take teases and speculation with a pinch of salt — but I’m uncharacteristically excited to see what Apple has up its sleeve. Meta and Google (and the rest) should watch out.

• Meta just debuted a new AI: Muse Spark
• This improved LLM more closely matches ChatGPT and Gemini
• It's launching on Meta's smart glasses and social platforms soon

Meta’s VR scaleback came with the promise of renewed effort in its glasses and AI divisions, and today we’re seeing the first glimpse of what this focus means, as Meta debuts Muse Spark.

A new Meta LLM, Muse Spark is described as offering “competitive performance” across a range of metrics including reasoning, health, and agentic tasks. Meta shared performance scores for Muse Spark that shows its performance in these areas is solidly amongst the pack — either matching, surpassing or being just behind its Gemini and ChatGPT competitors in each of those fields.

Meta’s announcement report gets quite into the weeds about the testing, scaling, and training Muse Spark received with the promise that we should look forward to “increasingly capable models” on the horizon.

The report also highlights the safety of Muse Spark, such as its refusal to be used to discuss chemical and biological weapons, which might bring this new AI into the government-usage conversation dominated by OpenAI and Anthropic.

Regardless, the interesting aspect of this new AI is that it’ll soon be rolling out to Meta glasses and software users — at least in the US where Meta usually introduces new software features first.

Meta promises that Muse Spark will debut on Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and its Ray-Ban and Oakley smart specs “in the coming weeks” which should bring some serious performance boosts.

Exactly what this boost will look like is yet to be seen in practice on Meta’s glasses, but we have experienced the Muse Spark update on other platforms — and we expect the AI glasses roll-out might see improvements to conversational performance, image and video editing (perhaps with improved generative elements), and improved health data assistance.

Though this comes on the back of the growing backlash to Meta’s AI and glasses, it doesn’t seem to address some of the biggest concerns folks have (primarily data privacy, especially for images and videos). Perhaps the major improvements and utility of the new Meta AI will win people over, however, as Meta’s lacking ability compared to its rivals was a growing frustration — that does at least seem to have been addressed.

We’ll have to wait and see how Muse Spark unfolds, but some of my Meta interest is returning. Let’s see if it can live up to, and maintain, the hype.

Meta’s smart glasses are pretty great; in fact, they’ve been one of my favorite gadgets released in the past few years. The Ray-Ban and Oakley styles are beautiful, the audio and camera quality are solid, and the AI assistive tools are genuinely useful when I travel.

But I rarely wear mine anymore — and I’m considering picking up some ‘dumb’ sunglasses as we head into the UK’s summer. I don’t really want to wear them anymore after a few recent Meta developments, and it turns out I’m not alone.

A BanRay movement is appearing with assets to help promote the banning of smart glasses from spaces, and the arguments made for why such a movement needs to exist are compelling.

I love smart glasses, and even I acknowledge the wild west world we currently live in needs to change.

One battle after another

It's been a tough few months for Meta. The realization it has squandered its XR lead, and set fire to billions of dollars, and killed the metaverse dream before it began has seen it effectively shelve its Horizon Worlds platform in VR.

Next, a joint investigation by Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten revealed to many that their private glasses-recorded videos might not be so private. Instead, any video, audio, or photo recordings taken using hands-free voice controls have been shared with Meta's servers and possibly reviewed by contractors, with reviewed content apparently including credit card details, people using the bathroom, and couples having sex.

Most recently, Meta has been found guilty of exploiting addiction in teens to grow its social media platforms. Meta has expressed plans to appeal the landmark loss, but it's a serious blow to Meta no matter the end result — especially with thousands of similar trials remaining (and if the ruling sticks, I expect even more will follow). In the court of public perception, it’s another arrow in the anti-social-media movement’s quiver.

On top of all this, you have AI glasses that seriously step over the line — such as boasting completely secretive recording abilities — price hikes for recent smart glasses that make them less appealing from a value perspective, and general AI frustrations — as AI struggles to live up to the hype while creating component shortages and contributing to the aforementioned cost hikes.

I’m not surprised that an anti-smart glasses movement has finally formed, even if it took a few years to kick off.

My own hype has waned

I’ve previously been a massive smart glasses fan, but while I still think there’s something useful to the tech, I’m also increasingly frustrated by it.

Price hikes with not much in the way of substantial upgrades to warrant them are one, and the enshitification of Meta’s AI app is another — it used to just be a glasses control center, which was ideal. The all-in-one Meta AI platform is too bloated with tools I don’t want or need.

Plus, while I knew Meta’s AI policy meant it could see images and videos taken with the specs, my impression was these would be those used by features like look and ask — where the glasses use the camera to get context for a question I have like “what’s the name of this landmark” or “translate this sign” — I for one didn’t realize hands-free voice controls to start the camera also shared footage with Meta.

This feels extra frightening next to Meta’s plans to have your glasses camera always on. The argument is that this will help you remember where you left your keys or identify people you’ve met before (things I’m terrible at), but it simply sounds like a privacy nightmare, especially as all this data will be sent to the Meta AI cloud to process the AI functions rather than being kept private on the device.

The end result of all these issues is that unless I have a pair to test for a review, I probably won’t be wearing my Meta Ray-Bans on the regular anymore — I’m going to invest in a pair of regular transitions instead.

A glimpse at the future?

Do these woes spell the end of smart glasses before they've truly arrived?

Of course not. While some of us are losing faith, clearly, this is a field many tech companies want to explore, and changes could win me back.

Android XR, while headed up by Google, which itself isn’t a bastion of privacy (and whose platform YouTube was also successfully sued for social media addiction), might offer some privacy solutions if it uses your phone for more on-device AI processing. This approach is much more private than Meta’s server approach and could eliminate some major data protection concerns.

Better regulation would also be a massive help. Forcing glasses to always make it obvious they are filming, imposing privacy safeguards, or tweaking regulations so folks don’t abuse their tech in public and private spaces are a few possible avenues, and would make it easier to punish companies and individuals that step over the line.

For now, however, we’re in the AI and smart glasses wild west. Hopefully things will change for the better, but right now I’m worried we might be headed the way of Google Glass after all.

Rokid AI Glasses Style: two-minute review

At first glance the Rokid AI Glasses Style should be nothing but a slam dunk.

Officially starting at $379 (around £285) but discounted to $299 (around £225) at Rokid’s own store, these glasses are cheaper (assuming you get the lower price) than Meta’s Ray-Bans, while boasting specs on-par or ahead of its rival.

These AI glasses run ChatGPT 5 for insightful answers to your questions (provided you have an internet connection), a solid 12MP camera for first-person shots, real-time translation over 12 languages — including English, Japanese, German, French, Korean and Chinese — and a promised 12-hour long battery life. In our tests they lasted a fair few hours, but regular calls, taking photos and video, AI use and music will drain the battery more quickly (my experience was closer to around five to six hours of charge per session).

The only slight let down was audio. It’s fine but you won’t get a song’s true flavor through these as notes are lost — especially in the bass department. That said, this is true of other smart glasses of this kind, though I do feel some brands have a slight edge (i.e. Meta).

However, the initial price isn’t what it seems.

For a start, it doesn’t include a charging case — that’s an extra $99 fee, unlike its rival, which includes the charging case for free and it’s a real game changer. Additionally, while it’s not uncommon for premium lenses to incur an added charge, especially prescription lenses, the price of Rokid’s glasses doesn’t even include basic clear lenses.

They’ll set you back an additional $59, shaded cost $89, polarized are $109, and my recommended option photochromic transition lenses (more on that below) also cost $109 — and that’s also not included the added cost of any coatings you might want to add to reduce blue light or reflections.

Plus, while I’m being negative, I’ll mention that Rokid’s frames also look and feel cheap. You could confuse them for the 3D specs you get given before a movie. As much a fashion accessory as a useful gadget, the design of smart glasses is crucial — something rivals like Meta has realized with Ray-Ban and Oakley designs, and Google with its Warby Parker and Gentle Monster collaborations.

All that’s to say that while Rokid’s AI Glasses Style make a strong opening impression, the feeling you’re being nickel and dimed, coupled with the lackluster look, left me disappointed.

Rokid AI Glasses Style review: price and availability

You can pick up the Rokid AI Glasses in the US (they also ship to Canada, the UK, and EU) from Rokid's own store for $379 (around £285), though they’re seemingly always on sale for $299 (around £225). This price doesn't tell you the full story however.

Firstly, lenses cost extra, and I'm not just talking about prescription lenses. Clear lenses are $59, shaded lenses are $89, while polarized options will set you back $109, and photochromic lenses that can swap between clear and shaded are $109 too.

My advice with smart glasses is always pay more for photochromic lenses. That way you can use the glasses in clear, sunny, and cloudy weather — as well as indoors. You don’t want your smart specs to only be usable sometimes.

There's additional costs for various additional coatings like anti-glare, and then you'll also need to pay more for a charging case if you want one — it sets you back $99.

Rokid is one of those brands that seems to run frequent deals, which keeps these specs from getting too out of hand financially, but what initially seem to be budget-friendly specs can still quickly spiral into the mid-range or beyond territory. At which point some of their deficiencies — especially in the design category — feel less than excusable.

• Value: 3/5

Rokid AI Glasses Style review: design

At a distance, Rokid AI Glasses Style follow the Wayfarer style that many smart specs adopt — not simply Meta’s Ray-Bans. But, ironically when you consider their name, upon closer inspection they miss the mark style-wise, while their core rival oozes cool.

The black plastic frame and flat lenses adopted by Rokid’s specs remind me of movie theatre 3D glasses, not a premium fashion accessory you’d be proud to be caught wearing in public.

I also don’t love that there isn’t a physical power off switch on the glasses’ frame. When I, say, go to the bathroom while wearing my smart glasses, knowing I have physically toggled them off puts my mind at ease that I am indeed conducting my business in private. Without this switch, I have to trust the Rokid glasses aren’t watching — and while I know Rokid will say the specs aren't spying, I still feel uncomfortable.

Rokid’s specs also get a knock points-wise when it comes to the lack of charging case. Unless you pay extra that is.

This case is super handy for recharging your smart specs on the go. On a day out, there are plenty of easy opportunities to recharge your frames with a case — say when you pause for a coffee or lunch — to make them feel like genuinely all-day companions. You could find a socket and use the USB-C charging cable, but that’s significantly less convenient.

Speaking of battery life, while Rokid promises 12 hours of use per charge, my experience using them for regularly calling people, taking photos, asking the AI questions, and playing music saw them last for around half that — about five to six hours.

That’s still not bad in fairness. And as I’ve noted with smart glasses in the past, at least when they do run out of charge, you still have a handy pair of shades.

Before talking about lenses, I will give one definitely positive design comment: the nose pads help to improve the comfort and secure fit of these specs. I wish my Ray-Bans had something similar — I have a large pair and in the summer when my face is covered in a mixture of sweat and sun cream, I constantly have to readjust where they sit on my face. With these Rokid glasses, I could leave them in place for a whole day.

They were comfortable to wear the entire time too.

Now, rounding the design section off: a comment on lenses. I was sent a shaded pair of Rokid AI Glasses Style to test, and in the UK Winter / early Spring these things are next to useless. It’s too dark outside to wear sunglasses, and you can’t really wear them indoors either — unless you’re in the minority of folks who wear sunglasses all-year round.

If you’re getting a pair, get completely clear or — ideally — photochromic lenses that morph between clear and shaded in harsh sunlight. That'll mean you have specs you can use in any conditions.

• Design: 2.5/5

Rokid AI Glasses Style review: Performance

If the Rokid AI Glasses struggle in terms of design and price, performance is where they solidly hit the mark.

Rokid’s AI assistant is powered by ChatGPT 5, which I found meant the specs were able to provide useful, insightful info on a range of topics — they even helped me find a new restaurant to try in Brighton’s Lanes after I asked for food recommendations. As someone who regularly uses my smart glasses as a tourist, they were more than capable of being your personal guide in both familiar and unfamiliar places.

I can’t speak for the full quality of their translation abilities, though tests at trade shows have proven they have a solid grasp of Chinese, and the 12-long list of supported languages — which includes English, as well as essential European and Asian languages — does put them ahead of some key rivals (read: Meta’s specs).

The microphones pick up clear audio and AI commands even in windier conditions, making voice notes is super easy, and navigation through the Rokid App is handy when it works properly — it sometimes misheard me and wanted to send me to Nottingham train station rather than my nearest one.

All of these tools can be activated hands-free using voice commands, but you can find recordings, photos, and additional information like a route map in the Hi Rokid app.

Speaking of photos, the Rokid AI glasses’ camera is, in a word, fine. The 12MP snapper is a little better for video, but it can be handy for snapping a quick first-person shot — especially if you haven’t got the hands to take your phone out of your pocket.

The audio is also fine. The bass lacks oomph, tracks feel noticeably emptier than they would with headphones and, at medium to louder volumes, there’s noticeable sound leakage if people are near you. But for casual tunes while you explore a city, these specs will serve you fine with open-ear audio that won’t take you out of the moment you’re in.

• Performance: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Rokid AI Glasses Style?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

How I tested the Rokid AI Glasses Style

I used the Rokid AI Glasses Style for a month, wearing them on days it was bright enough to use sunglasses and not look too odd in late Winter / early Spring. I also did some at-home testing where I didn’t mind how silly I looked.

I made sure to try all of their features, and took them on a couple of day trips to test their abilities over longer stretches of time to judge their comfort and battery life.

I ran the Hi Rokid app from my trusty Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.

• First reviewed: April 2026

• Meta has two new smart glasses on the way
• Blayzer and Scriber Optics shapes are designed for people who wear prescription lenses
• The glasses don't come cheap

Meta just debuted a duo of new AI glasses styles in its Ray-Ban smart specs lineup, and they’re designed for folks who have prescriptions with designs aimed at “all-day wear.”

These new Blayzer and Scriber Optics shapes support “nearly all prescriptions” at launch (-6 to +6, with support for folks with astigmatism too) and according to Meta, they’re the company’s most comfortable AI glasses yet with overextension hinges, interchangeable nose pads, and optician-adjustable temple tips which will all allow you get a more tailored fit from your smart specs.

I already think the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses I own are comfy, but I do have a couple of fit tweaks I would make if I could — the changeable nose pads, for example, would be a big help for making my specs fit better. The only downside is that these new glasses are a fair bit pricier than Meta’s standard Ray-Ban smart glasses

The glasses are available right now in the US starting at $499, while in the UK and Australia, they’ll launch on April 14 for £429 / AU$709. Oh, and that’s before you pay extra for your prescription lenses (which cost different amounts based on how strong your corrective lenses need to be), and for add-ons like them being transition lenses that go shaded when you’re in bright light.

By choosing all of the most expensive options, I found a pair costing $1,024 on the US preorder page — though it did seem you could get a pair in the $599 to $799 range if you don’t go all-out and have less severe vision correction needs.

But hey, at least you get a unique Dark Brown charging case — a change from the tan and limited edition black cases we’ve seen previously.

If you’d rather splurge on Meta’s other glasses, a few new lens and frame options are on the way to those.

The Oakley Meta Vanguards are getting their first transition lenses, which is a massive win for the glasses, since their always shaded options weren’t ideal for darker days. They’re being joined by Black and Rose Gold lenses too.

Meanwhile, the Oakley HSTN specs are getting Dark Golf and clear-to-brown transition lens options for you to choose from.

• Rec Room is shutting down in June
• The popular metaverse platform struggled to turn its success into profit
• Snap is reportedly buying up some Rec Room assets

Rec Room — a popular VR multiplayer platform that reached over 150 million players during its lifetime — is shutting down in June as the company explains, "Our costs always ended up overwhelming the revenue we brought in." But it might live on in AR.

This follows the semi-shutdown of Meta’s Horizon Worlds metaverse. That title will live on in full on mobile, and will be playable in VR — but the once-flagship immersive experience on Quest headsets won’t receive updates or new content, as Meta shifts its focus to smartphones and glasses.

For Rec Room, a similar shift seems to be on the cards too.

While not much is revealed in the School’s Out for Rec Room blog post, which details the final days for the platform — such as 80% discounts, the removal of some RR+ membership exclusivity for certain items and for cashing out tokens, and the ability to download your created rooms as a standalone Unity app (only via the Steam PC build) — it’s being reported that the team’s efforts may be reborn in a form under Snap.

The Snapchat and AR glasses-maker has reportedly acquired some Rec Room Inc. assets, including a few employees, according to Geek Wire. It hasn’t been confirmed what they’ll be doing, but based on my experience with Snapchat’s specs, I have an educated guess that these former Rec Room developers will help make Snap’s AR software the virtual playground I’m dreaming of.

The metaverse’s AR future?

I’ve loved VR multiplayer, but having experienced AR multiplayer with Snap’s Spectacles, the in-person digital experience is a cut above, even in my admittedly limited demo.

Peridot multiplayer let a group of us see and interact with each other’s virtual pets, we could draw and create 3D art together in the room, and while not a game per se, multi-person AR translation with floating subtitles under each speaker felt like magic.

Even though the actual gameplay of these apps wasn’t mindblowing, the virtual and real blended experience was a delight — and my mind was racing with what the future could hold.

With a pair of AR smart specs, you could turn a park into an AR paintball arena for you and your friends, turn your living room into a jungle adventure, or your back garden into a tennis court — the list goes on.

An AR version of Rec Room, with its blend of premade and user-generated content, could be a killer AR app. Rather than waiting for someone to make the AR game you’ve been wishing for, you’d have the tools to simply build it yourself.

Now, there’s no promise that this is what Snap has planned, but from my conversations and demos with the team there, it’s clear the company has lofty AR aspirations — so this kind of move wouldn’t be out of the question. We’ll just have to wait and see what it has up its sleeve when its glasses debut later this year.

• Engo has revealed the engo3 smart glasses, with an AR heads-up display
• Designed to display vital stats in your lens as if they were floating 3m in front, the smart glasses don't capture content or play music
• The glasses are compatible with Apple and Garmin watches, among others

Engo has revealed the engo3 smart glasses, a device designed to show you an augmented-reality view of your vital stats during a run.

Using Engo's 'light AR technology', the engo3 specs use a custom interface to take data from smartphones and wearables — which exact models, we're not sure, but we know the list includes Apple and the best Garmin watches — and show the data as if it were hovering around 3 meters in front of you. The info displayed includes 'heart rate, pace, cadence and more' as well as cues for customisable structured workouts such as interval training.

While they do share a similar outward design to Meta's Oakley Meta Vanguard specs, their functionalities are very, very different. The Vanguard glasses can takes information from Garmin watches, but will either read it out to you via the in-built speakers or overlay it on top of footage taken by the onboard camera. You never see it as a heads-up display.

On the other hand, the engo3 glasses don't have an onboard AI assistant and can't play music, serve you notifications or capture content like the Vanguards do. They're purely about workout guidance.

The engo3 press release addressed this as a deliberate choice, stating: 'ENGO's approach focuses on the following: to optimize weight, the user experience, and battery life. This means no camera, no sound, and no superfluous features that could add weight or distract the user.

'This choice goes against the grain of many smart glasses that offer a multitude of additional options, often a source of distraction.'

The engo3 offers up to 20 hours of battery life. Available now, they cost $399 USD / £299 (around AU$575).

Analysis: What I wanted out of the Oakley Meta Vanguards

When I first unboxed the Oakley Meta Vanguards, I was telling another runner friend about the Garmin integration. Initially excited at the prospect of seeing her stats in the glasses, I had to let her down and tell her it's only overlaid on the footage the Vanguards take.

The engo3 specs, which eschew the other smart glasses frippery in favor of the Iron Man-style heads-up display, is much more like what people have in mind when they think of futuristic smart glasses. I'm excited to try them.

We reviewed the Engo 2 smart glasses back in 2023 and found them clever, but underbaked — here's hoping now, in the age of smart glasses, tech has evolved and the sequel has succeeded where its predecessor couldn't.

The Samsung Galaxy Glasses, as leaks are calling them, aren’t 100% official, but Samsung has teased the arrival of Android XR specs for later "this year," according to Jay Kim (Samsung's executive vice president of mobile). When they land, they'll sit alongside its Galaxy XR headset — and rumors have started filling in the juicy details.

I expect we’re still at least a few months from a full-on reveal, given we only just had the launch of its Samsung S26 line-up, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung keeps us waiting until much later in the year. But who says we can't start building up our excitement now?

Here I’ve rounded up several leaks related to the Samsung Galaxy Glasses’ apps, display, battery, and more to clue you into what the smart specs might include at launch.

1. They’ll boast a display

According to a new leak via SamMobile, the Samsung Galaxy Glasses will boast a 245mAh battery which is almost identical to the battery capacity of the Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses. This suggests Samsung’s specs will also boast a screen, something that matches the prototype Samsung glasses we tried last year.

Previous leaks have teased a smaller battery capacity, however, which could hint at two pairs — a Galaxy Glasses standard model and a Galaxy Glasses Ultra that comes without or with a display, respectively. This is supported by the two leaks giving the glasses similar but different model numbers: SM-0200P and EB-0200.

2. Transition lenses are included

I’ve tested several AI smart glasses, and if I’m honest, you shouldn’t be getting a pair without transition lenses.

Why? Clear lenses are great for when you’re inside or are wearing your specs on mildly sunny or darker days outside, while shaded lenses are ideal when it’s the height of summer and days are bright outside, but neither is ideal in some conditions.

Transition lenses give you the benefits of both in one pair of glasses, maximizing the amount of use you can get out of your tech. Imagine if you could only use your phone on some days of the week — that would be frustrating — and without transition lenses, that’s how it would feel to use your smart glasses, so this rumor that Samsung’s Galaxy Glasses come with transition lenses is one I’m hoping is correct.

3. They have an in-built camera

A camera may seem to be a smart glasses standard, given it’s a key feature of the Ray-Ban Meta specs, but there are plenty of smart glasses that ditch the camera for simpler audio-only AI interactions. So it wasn’t a given Samsung would include one. Thankfully, it apparently will.

Rumored to be a 12MP snapper (the usual resolution for glasses), this thing is likely less than ideal for capturing photos, as — from my experience with other smart glasses models — it’s hard to line up a shot, and if you wear a cap like me, it always gets in the way.

But for first-person video or those moments where your phone isn’t accessible, a camera in your specs is a superb tool and solid alternative to the best action cams — especially when you factor in the other benefits glasses offer.

It’s also handy for providing context for your AI, being able to ask it to analyse what you can see in your environment. This is the AI tool I most often use with my Meta Ray-Ban specs, and it’s a must-have tool for all smart specs. So expect to see this and other AI tricks on Samsung’s tech.

4. They’ll support XR-optimized apps

This next one comes via some hidden Spotify code, and the Android XR developer page, which tease Android apps will get XR integration.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watches already do something similar with wristwear-optimized versions of phone applications, but a big difference is that those apps run directly on your watch — meaning you don’t need your phone. Your glasses would instead receive projected data from your connected phone, which would free up computing power and help the specs conserve battery.

This may change, but for now, leaks also suggest that the Samsung Galaxy Glasses won’t come with data connectivity — something they’d need to be more standalone — hinting at this first iteration being an accessory to your existing Samsung smartphone. Sorry, AI phone.

• Meta's CTO says Horizon Worlds will live on in VR, for now
• You won't be able to make new worlds, but can enjoy existing games
• He says it will remain live in VR in this way for the "forseeable future"

It seems reports of Horizon Worlds' death were greatly exaggerated — Meta has announced it won’t be killing the VR version of its metaverse after all.

Earlier this week, Meta announced that it would be ending support for the VR version of Horizon Worlds and making it into a mobile-only app, sending out an email to all Quest users that they only had until June 15 to enjoy their favorite created worlds before they’d be gone forever.

Now, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth has said they’ll be keeping the app live for VR users in a limited capacity after all. In response to someone saying they were “heartbroken” about the closure, Bosworth said in an Instagram AMA, “I have a little bit of good news here for you.”

“We have decided, just today in fact, that we will keep Horizon Worlds working in VR for existing games,” he revealed, though Bosworth added that new games won’t arrive in VR, and said that, for Meta, “most of our energy is going towards mobile” because “that’s where most of the consumer and creator energy already was.”

He ended the segment by explaining that this limited version of Horizon Worlds will be live for “the foreseeable future.”

Best of both (Horizon) Worlds

For me, even as someone who never liked Horizon Worlds, this is the ideal scenario.

As I outlined when the cancellation was announced, even if Horizon Worlds was never massively popular, there will be plenty of folks who have crafted their perfect VR worlds, or curated a list of their favorite VR games and hangout spots, who were now having that ripped away from them.

These users will still have access to all of that content now, though, thanks to this U-turn. Meanwhile, those of us who hated having Horizon Worlds shoved down our throats won’t be faced with Meta’s constant over-promotion in VR.

Though I wouldn’t be surprised if Horizon Worlds doesn’t survive even in mobile phone for much longer. Maybe my perception is wrong, but against mammoth titles (Roblox and Fortnite) with similar custom game design elements, is there space for Meta’s platform to win over a significant number of users?

I’m unconvinced, simply from the perspective that I never hear anyone talking about Horizon Worlds — this cancellation story is the most buzz it has had in years — meanwhile, I can’t escape references to Roblox or Fortnite in the gaming space, and I have never even touched Roblox; it’s just a gaming behemoth.

We’ll need to wait and see how Horizon Worlds develops, but at least for now, VR players will be able to cling onto their worlds for a little longer.

• Meta's smart glasses are getting update v23
• It will bring new snow sports stats to users with a Garmin watch
• Other upgrades improve conversational and translation abilities

Meta’s smart glasses are getting their v23 update right now, and the standout upgrade would have been perfect at the Winter Olympics — it's too bad that it's landed just a little too late. Nifty translation and conversational improvements are on the way too.

The standout upgrade is new snow sports integration. As a Meta article explains, with the aid of a Garmin device your glasses will be able to tell you about your current skiing or snowboarding excursion — such as how far you’ve travelled, your last run’s max speed, the steepness of the slope, and your personal records.

As with the running integration you can also create shareable auto-captures which overlay interesting data from key moments onto clips your smart specs capture automatically.

As with Meta’s glasses’ other fitness features, you’ll need to pair your specs with a compatible Garmin watch — so if you rely on a different brand of smart band or don’t own one at all you’re out of luck. You’ll also want to have your phone in your pocket with the Meta AI app installed, and make sure it’s paired with both your watch and specs.

With all that ready to go, when you next hit the slopes you’ll just need to start a snow sport activity on your Garmin device, and it’ll start capturing all the data you need and creating a neat auto-capture — just note that colder weather will drain your glasses’ battery more quickly than you might normally expect.

New translation tools are headed to the glasses too — if you’re in the early access program that is. These are Hindi, Arabic, Russian, Swedish, and Finnish, with Meta promising more to come.

Meta’s translation is arguably its glasses least impressive AI feature compared to rivals — not because of inaccuracies but because the language selection is much less broad compared to other specs.

This update should help to alleviate those ongoing woes somewhat; I just wish it was coming to everybody and not just a select few.

Lastly there’s the promise of a more conversational Meta AI. Once you engage with 'Hey Meta' you won’t need to keep saying the wake word to keep the conversation flowing — but at the moment this is only if you live in the US or Canada.

Overall this update is more minor — especially as the biggest upgrade requires you to own a Garmin device on top of your smart glasses — but hopefully Meta’s renewed AR / AI focus will mean we see bigger improvements down the line.

• Meta just announced that Horizon Worlds VR is shutting down on June 15
• The platform will still be live for mobile users
• Fans have mixed feelings about the announcement

Meta’s VR scale-back is heading into phase two as the company has revealed its timeline for the full closure of its Meta Horizon Worlds metaverse. At least the VR version of it.

In an email sent out to Meta account holders — this writer included — Meta revealed that starting on June 15, 2026, we’ll no longer be able to build, publish or update VR worlds. What’s more, we won’t be able to access Meta Horizon Worlds using VR headsets; instead, the spaces will be exclusive to the Meta Horizon mobile app.

That is, provided they’ve been optimized for mobile.

What’s more, starting on March 31, Horizon Worlds and Events won’t appear in the Quest Store, and Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju, and Bobber Bay will no longer be available to enjoy in VR.

On the one hand, this move is being cheered by many VR fans. Horizon Worlds has never been overly popular, and its increasing prominence in Meta Quest feeds — pushing out third-party software many would rather see — has been a major criticism amongst many.

As one Reddit user put it under a post about the announcement, “So that means that those world thingies won't be mixed up with my games anymore? I see that as a win.” They are far from the only person with that mentality.

Good? Maybe not

At the same time, I can’t help but agree with others who share this positivity but feel a twinge of sadness, with comments like “I'm glad it's gone but I'm worried about what it means for Quest and VR as a whole” summing up this sentiment succinctly.

For a start, this is a major VR shutdown. While Horizon Worlds might not have been the most popular, it was a major platform from arguably the most important company in the space: Meta — as its headsets make up the vast majority of those in the hands of VR users.

This is therefore a serious reversal of its VR approach, and while Meta has said it’s still dedicated to the medium, it does feel like the end of an era.

I also feel sorry for this title’s loyal base, folks who would have spent hours crafting their perfect VR hangout space and have now lost that work, as exploring on mobile just won’t be the same.

Maybe there are only dozens of those people, but if your favorite VR software just shutdown you’d be upset — while I’m not a fan, there will be plenty of people out there who adored Meta Horizon Worlds and who seriously don’t want to see it go.

• A London judge says a claimant used smart glasses to cheat in court
• The claimant was being fed answers in real-time from the smart glasses
• The evidence was dismissed for being "unreliable and untruthful"

It sounds like a deleted scene from Suits, but a judge in a London High Court case has revealed that a claimant recently used smart glasses to get real-time coaching on their answers — and then later blamed ChatGPT.

The insolvency case, which centered around the liquidation of a Lithuanian company co-owned by Laimonas Jakstys, took place in January, but was recently reported by Legal Futures (via 404 Media) when the judgment was published. And it's full of fascinating, if slightly comical, clashes between a courtroom and new technology.

The judge first noticed something was awry when Jakstys started pausing before answers. "Right at the start of his cross examination, he seemed to pause quite a bit before replying to the questions being asked," Judge Agnello KC noted in the judgement.

After this happened a few times, the defense lawyer, Sarah Walker, said she could "hear interference coming from around Mr Jakstys," and this was backed up by the interpreter. The judge asked the claimant to remove the glasses before continuing with the cross-examination, but that was just the start of a comical turn of events.

While the interpreter was later translating a question, Mr. Jakstys' mobile phone apparently "started broadcasting out loud with the voice of someone talking", the judgment notes. "There was clearly someone on the mobile phone talking to Mr. Jakstys. He then removed his mobile phone from his inner jacket pocket. At my direction, the smart glasses and his mobile were placed into the hands of his solicitor," wrote Judge Agnello KC.

Amusingly, Jakstys turned up to court wearing the glasses the following day, but was then told to turn them off. "When asked, Mr. Jakstys denied that he was using the smart glasses to receive the answers that he was to give in court to the questions being asked. He also denied that his smart glasses were linked to his mobile phone at the time that he was giving evidence before me," the judge added.

Unfortunately, the evidence didn't back this up. According to Jakstys' call log, he'd called and received calls from someone marked on his phone as "abra kadabra", including one just before he went into the witness box. When pressed on the identity of "abra kadabra", Jakstys claimed it was a taxi driver. But the judge understandably wasn't convinced.

'A career first for me'

The smart glasses, the pausing before answers, and the mysterious "abra kadabra" contact — this case has all the ingredients of a CSI-style Netflix documentary. But there was one final twist.

When asked about the voice blaring out from his phone when his smart glasses had been removed, "his explanation was that he thought it was ChatGPT". Understandably, Judge Agnello KC concluded that this "lacks any credibility".

Jakstys also seemed to mysteriously struggle without his glasses. "Once Mr Jakstys was [sic] no longer had his smart glasses, he hesitated quite a bit before providing answers to questions. Frequently, he was asked a question and he would pause for some time before asking for the question to be repeated or he would say he did not understand the question. This occurred frequently when it was clear to me he simply did not know what his reply should be," concluded Judge Agnello KC.

The inevitable result was that Jakstys' evidence was rejected "in its entirety". Summing up the testimony, the judge concluded "he was untruthful in relation to his use about the smart glasses and in being coached through the smart glasses".

But the case naturally also raises broader questions about the clash between our longstanding institutions and technology that's quickly overtaking them. As the barrister Saara Idelbi noted about the case on LinkedIn, "This time it was a human coach. Next time, it will be AI. This case shows us how dangerous smart wearables can be.”

The defense lawyer Sarah Walker also told Legal Futures: “This was a career first for me but, with technological advances, may well be something that litigators have to deal with much more frequently in the coming years."

• Spotify could be developing a smart glasses version of its app
• Its interface could include a 'Now Playing' screen as well as synced lyrics
• As it's early days, you'll still need to have your smartphone nearby

Out of all the best music streaming services, Spotify has launched pretty much every feature you can imagine, but now it could be taking its streaming experience even further — into the world of smart glasses.

You read that right. A smart glasses version of the audio streaming platform could be on the horizon, which is perfect timing as we know Google and Samsung are currently working on their own XR wearables.

There’s also evidence to support this. In a teardown conducted by Android Authority, new lines of code were spotted in the latest beta of the Spotify app for Android, heavily suggesting that Spotify has started working on developing the foundation for its own smart glasses app. As per the teardown, it appears that Spotify for smart glasses will have two of its most-used features from the standard mobile app.

Firstly, this includes the ‘Now Playing’ screen that displays the current song and its details, a tool that’s crucial to the Spotify experience. Lyrics are also integral to how music listeners engage with Spotify, and the teardown suggests that this will also make its way to the Spotify smart glasses interface — which is by far the more exciting of the two. It’s one way to take your solo karaoke sessions to the next level.

As it stands, it looks as though Spotify is starting small with its venture into smart glasses. Right now there’s no indication that you’ll be able to manage Your Library, create playlists, or browse for music, podcasts, and audiobooks using the headset itself. As for tap functions for volume control, and skipping and pausing songs, this isn’t set in stone so it’s best to take it with a pinch of salt — which brings me to the main caveat.

If Spotify does go ahead with its smart glasses launch, it’s likely that you’ll still need to have your smartphone on hand to use Spotify. On Google’s Android XR developer page, the company explains this further in the following statement:

“The AI glasses experience is built on the existing Android Activity framework API and includes additional concepts to support the unique aspects of AI glasses. Unlike XR headsets that run a full APK on the device, AI glasses use a dedicated activity that runs within your phone's existing app. This activity is projected from the host device to the AI glasses.”

We don’t know how long it will be before you’ll be able to use Spotify in its full capacity on smart glasses, but with that in mind, it makes sense that the audio streaming giant is starting small. By focusing on two of its most-used features first, it gives the company a chance to gauge consumer takeaways following the launch, and build up accordingly.

We all know that Spotify prides itself on new product features (it’s just rolled out a new Taste Profile tool and has plenty more in the pipeline), so if I were to put money on it, I’d guess that Spotify would want to mirror the very best parts of its mobile experience in its smart glasses app sooner rather than later, in order to be ready to fully embrace a new era of wearable tech.

In the marketing for every VR headset and pair of XR glasses released you'll almost definitely see someone using the device on an airplane, because when you're crammed into a metal box thousands of feet above the Earth it's nice to imagine you're somewhere else – exploring some far-off place or enjoying a movie on a giant virtual screen many times larger than the one built into the seat in front of you.

So tech testers like me always love to try these things out on planes. After giving Meta, Xreal, RayNeo, and a few other XR gadgets a crack while I'm in the air, I thought it only fair I give the Nintendo Virtual Boy its turn.

Turns out that the headset is awful on the ground, and even more terrible at 30,000ft.

The Virtual Boy made its debut in 1995, and it is famously terrible. Nintendo is a company of big swings in the gaming console space, resulting in major wins like the Wii, Switch, and Game Boy, but also flops like the Wii U and GameCube. While those ‘failed’ machines have plenty of silver linings, however (I adore my GameCube), the Virtual Boy stands alone as uniquely and wholeheartedly shit.

Decades ahead of its time, the Virtual Boy was bulky, expensive, lacking in software, and, to top it all off, headache-inducing.

I'm not testing the original; however, I gave the new and not at all improved version a whirl in the air — it's a Nintendo Switch 2 accessory for Switch Online members to enjoy the new Virtual Boy virtual console collection.

Before I rag on the hardware too much, let's start with my first (and singular) kind word on the Switch 2's Virtual Boy: it works offline. With the app installed, I could play the complete VR collection without a WiFi connection, which is ideal given how expensive and slow the signal can be on a flight. Game streaming over the internet would be a non-starter.

Not cleared to fly

Now for the negatives. Strap in.

Or, ironically, don't. That's because my first gripe is how you wear the headset, or more accurately, how you don’t wear it. Far too bulky to be comfortably strapped to a head, the original Virtual Boy perched on a stand so you could peer into its lenses, and while the new model is much lighter, it still relies on a stand.

Resting it on my tray table, the headset's height is quite low, forcing me to hunch over in my seat to see what's going on. It's uncomfortable, and I look even more like a weirdo than VR headset users usually do.

Then there's the game selection. Much like the original, there aren't many (at launch, there are seven), and to make matters worse, they're not all that fun either. Galactic Pinball and Warioland are okay, and there's a charm to Red Alarm, but generally, I wasn't enthused to be spending my time in VR.

The airplane became the escape.

The games also gave me a headache, which didn't help the titles in the entertainment department — quite the opposite. And I say that as someone who regularly uses VR and XR tech who is generally fine with motion sickness and not feeling ill in XR, especially for more mild experiences like these.

Maybe it's all the red, which is generated by a colored filter placed over the games by the Virtual Boy add-on. Imagine if everything were a vivid primary red all the time, you'd probably get cranky too.

That's to say nothing of the space it took up in my carry-on, which could have been spared for something more useful. Oh, and to top it off, I got stopped at security and had to fully unpack my bag because of the stand.

While testing it, I also had one inescapable realisation: I could just be playing on my Nintendo Switch 2. I have to bring the console with me to use the Virtual Boy, and instead of this terrible experience, I could instead enjoy the likes of Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, Pokémon Legends Z-A, or Super Mario Wonder, among others.

All that's to say: leave the Virtual Boy at home. Heck, leave it on the store shelf unless you're a major VR fanatic or have an affinity for weird 90s tech. This Switch 2 Virtual Boy is a novelty, peaking at shelf decoration, not a flight-ready gadget.