Best smart glasses and AR specs: We test Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley, and more
Meta's latest announcement has altered the glasses and AR landscape—stay up to date with this buyer's guide
The smart glasses landscape has exploded in 2025. What was once a niche, experimental corner of the wearables world has become one of its most exciting frontiers, with new devices launching at a blistering pace. From AI-powered overlays to glasses that act as a personal cinema, the next generation of smart eyewear is here.
The most significant developments in 2025 have come from Meta. Continuing its partnership with EssilorLuxottica, new smart glass models were recently unveiled, including the next-generation Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 and the athlete-focused Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses. This signals a massive investment in the space and sets the stage for a fascinating battle for your face.
This rapid evolution, though, also makes it a tricky time to buy. In addition to providing essential context on the current affairs and the different sub-categories of smart glasses, this guide reflects our in-depth market testing. So, let’s dive in.
At a glance: Best smart glasses
1. Overall best: Ray-Ban Meta 2 (Wayfarer)
2. Best AR smart glasses: VITURE Luma Ultra
3. Best for workouts: Oakley Meta Vanguard
4. Best budget-friendly AR glasses: RayNeo Air 3s Pro
5. Best AR glasses with spatial computing: XREAL Air 2 Ultra
6. Best battery life: Solos AirGo V
7. Best for hearing aid: Nuance Audio
In for testing: Meta’s 2025 glasses & more
The pace of innovation in smart eyewear is relentless, and our team is currently testing the latest and greatest devices. Our complete verdicts and an updated ranking will be published over the next couple of months, but here are the key devices currently in our testing labs:
Meta’s 2025 collection
This includes the direct sequel to our top pick, the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, the high-end Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses, the more affordable Oakley Meta HSTN lifestyle frames, and the innovative Ray-Ban Meta Display glasses, which feature a small heads-up display. We’ll be posting our verdicts on all four as a priority over the coming month or so.
Xreal One Pro
A leading name in display-focused glasses, the One Pro aims to be the ultimate portable screen for productivity and entertainment. Xreal (formerly Nreal) has plenty of pedigree in the industry, and this flagship effort is very likely to come recommended following our full test.
Rokid AR Max 2
Another major player in the AR space, the Max 2 promises a refined virtual display experience and acts as a key competitor to Xreal. We’ve had plenty of hands-on time with previous Rokid glasses and have been thoroughly impressed. We’ll deliver our complete verdict on the brand’s latest effort soon.
Rayneo Air 3s Pro
Although billed as AR glasses, these are more focused on providing a private viewing screen, and we’re testing them to see how they compare to the competition.
Julbo Evad 2 Spectron
Classic Wareable territory, these sports-focused glasses aim to overlay real-time performance metrics for cyclists and runners, with integrations for platforms like Strava.
Brilliant Labs Halo
Following up on their Frame glasses, Brilliant Labs is back with Halo, a single-lens projector designed to bring contextual AI information directly into your line of sight.
Quick overview: The best smart glasses we’ve tested
Here at Wareable, we’re at the forefront of this new wave and have been covering the smart glasses space for nearly a decade. Our team is currently testing all the major new releases, from Meta’s latest lineup to the most promising AR glasses from Xreal, Rokid, and Rayneo. However, the following are the options we’ve completed testing on and recommend considering.
- Ray-Ban Meta 2
- VITURE Luma Ultra
- Oakley Meta Vanguard
- RayNeo Air 3s Pro
- XREAL
- Solos
- Nuance Audio
What are the different types of smart glasses?
As the market evolves, smart glasses are being divided into two distinct categories. Understanding the difference is key to choosing the right pair for you.
Audio, AI, and camera glasses
These are the most common and consumer-friendly type of smart glasses right now. Think of them as super-powered headphones and a camera that you wear on your face.
Their primary functions include playing music and podcasts via open-ear speakers, taking phone calls, using a voice assistant (such as Meta AI), and capturing photos and videos from a first-person perspective. They connect wirelessly to your smartphone to function.
- Examples: Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, Oakley Meta Vanguard
Augmented reality (AR) & display glasses
This category is more advanced and diverse, with fewer options ready for consumer use. These glasses project digital information onto the lenses, overlaying it on the real world. This can range from simple text notifications to creating a vast, virtual cinema screen for watching movies.
Some are 'AR-lite', focusing on projecting a virtual display from a connected device (like a laptop or phone). Others are 'proper' AR glasses, using cameras and sensors to understand your environment and place digital objects within it. This category also includes AI glasses that utilize a display to display information from an assistant.
- Examples: VITURE Luma Ultra, RayNeo Air 3s Pro, XREAL Air 2 Ultra
1. Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2): Overall best smart glasses
Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 key features
- Smart features powered by META AI
- Open-ear speaker design with immersive sound
- Up to 8 hours on typical use
- Can be purchased with prescription lenses
The new Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 glasses are definitely an upgrade from the original Gen 1 glasses that made the smart glasses mainstream. By packing a better camera, dramatically longer battery life, and refined audio into the same iconic Wayfarer frames, Meta and EssilorLuxottica have turned an already great product into the definitive smart eyewear experience.
Let’s be clear: there’s no augmented reality here. These glasses have two core functions: capturing first-person photos and videos and acting as a pair of high-quality open-ear headphones for music and calls. And Gen 2 does both better than ever.
The biggest upgrade is undoubtedly the camera quality. The dual cameras shoot in 3K Ultra HD, a massive leap from the previous 1080p, capturing content that looks good beyond social media. A small LED light illuminates to let people know when you’re recording, addressing some privacy concerns.
Additionally, the battery will now last up to 8 hours on typical use, doubling what you get with the Gen 1 model. In practice, heavy use will reduce it, but it's a major difference from the previous model. The charging case provides up to 48 additional hours of charge.
The ‘smart’ features of Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 are relatively basic. However, by focusing on doing a few things extremely well in a stylish and high-quality package, these glasses set the standard for the entire category. Currently, the frame is priced at $379, with lens prices starting from $20, making them a budget-friendly option in the smart glasses market.
- Check out our Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) summary
| Pros | Cons |
| Great photo and video quality | Higher starting price ($379 vs. Gen 1's $299) |
| Lovely audio | |
| Just a classic pair of Ray-Bans | |
| Charging case is lush |
2. VITURE Luma Ultra: best AR smart glasses
VITURE Luma Ultra key features
- AR-based smart glasses
- Clear HARMAN audio
- 9 brightness levels, up to 1,500-nit brightness
- Adjustable for myopia up to -4.0D
If you are more interested in augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, VITURE Luma Ultra is the most compelling option at its price point. Powered by micro-OLED panels, it projects a massive 152-inch virtual screen with a 1200p resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 1,500 nits of peak brightness.
To project multiple virtual screens, VITURE Luma Ultra can be used with the SpaceWalker and The Beast apps. That versatility makes it equally suited to binge-watching a series on a long-haul flight and to going through spreadsheets on the go. Compatibility is broad, too, with support for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows devices.
If you wear prescription lenses, VITURE Luma offers myopia adjustments to -4.0D. This means that some users with nearsightedness can focus the display for clear vision without additional prescription inserts.
At $599, the VITURE Luma Ultra is a serious investment. But for anyone who wants a taste of spatial computing without strapping a headset to their face, it is one of the most feature-rich pairs of XR glasses you can buy right now.
| Pros | Cons |
| Crisp video quality with impressive 1,500-nit brightness | Doesn’t feature a built-in battery |
| Great for AAA games | Not so budget-friendly |
| Has a built-in camera and microphone | |
| Supports myopia corrections up to -4.oD |
3. Oakley Meta Vanguard: Best for workouts
Oakley Meta Vanguard key features
- Smart features powered by META AI
- 9 hours of use
- Captures 720p video quality
- No prescription lenses option
Aimed at cyclists, runners, and other athletes, Oakley Meta Vanguard are specialized smart glasses for vigorous exercise. Built on the same Meta AI platform as the Ray-Ban Meta, they transplant that tech into a wraparound shield design that stays on for hands-free fitness companionship.
With seamless Garmin integration, you can use these glasses to get real-time information about calories burned, heart rate, elapsed time, speed, and other metrics you may want to keep an eye on during your workout. These glasses feature Prizm™ lenses specifically engineered to enhance vision and improve contrast, providing razor-sharp detail in any lighting condition or weather.
Compared to Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, Oakley Meta Vanguard captures videos in lower quality, 720p, compared to 3K Ultra HD, so there are clear trade-offs if you're buying these primarily as a content capture device. Besides that, they clearly look like workout glasses, so if you're looking for something discreet and casual, look elsewhere.
- Learn more about Oakley Meta Vanguard
| Pros | Cons |
| Solid fit that stays put through even the most punishing workouts | Slightly more expensive than the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, $499 |
| IP67 rating handles sweat, rain, and dust | Clunky design that only works for exercise |
| Impressive audio quality | |
| Light enough at 66 grams |
4. RayNeo Air 3s Pro: Best budget-friendly AR glasses
RayNeo Air 3s Pro key features
- 1,200-nit brightness
- 1080p resolution at 120Hz
- No cameras or spatial tracking, strictly a display device
- Full prescription lens compatibility
Rayneo Air 3s Pro are about giving you a colossal private cinema screen that you can take anywhere. And at $299, they do it for roughly half the price of the top-end competition.
The headline spec is brightness. At 1,200 nits, the Air 3s Pro is among the brightest display glasses on the market, a major step up from XREAL Air 2 Ultra that offers up to 500 nits.
Audio is handled by a quad-speaker system with spatial audio algorithms that deliver surprisingly immersive surround sound for a pair of glasses. A Whisper Mode narrows the sound stage to keep things private in public.
However, with no spatial computing capabilities, RayNeo Air 3s Pro are not as futuristic as its more expensive competitors, such as VITURE Luma Ultra. While marketed as AR, they are technically a bright screen you can take anywhere you go. For travellers, gamers, and anyone who wants a portable screen experience without the bulk or price of the competition, these are very hard to beat.
| Pros | Cons |
| Stunning 1,200-nit brightness at a fraction of the competition's price | No spatial computing as seen in XREAL |
| Lightweight and well-balanced for extended wear |
5. XREAL Air 2 Ultra: Best with spatial computing
XREAL Air 2 Ultra key features
- 1920 x 1080 pixels per eye display
- Spatial computing for AR experience
- Up to 500 nits brightness
- No video or camera capture
If you want a glimpse of the ‘spatial computing’ future that Apple’s Vision Pro promises in a much more accessible form factor, the XREAL Air 2 Ultra is your best bet. These wired glasses don’t offer true, world-altering AR. Instead, they excel at creating a massive, high-quality virtual screen that appears to float in front of you.
Plugged into a compatible smartphone, laptop, or gaming console, the Air 2 Ultra can simulate a display of 100 inches or larger. The clarity is superb, making it a game-changer for watching movies on a plane, enjoying a private and expansive monitor for work, or immersive gaming.
While XREAL’s Nebula platform offers spatial computing features and hand tracking, the core strength of the Air 2 Ultra is its function as a top-tier portable display. They are more technically ambitious than audio glasses, but they also serve a very different purpose. For frequent travellers or anyone craving a bigger screen on the go, they are a powerful and impressive piece of kit.
| Pros | Cons |
| Sharp, vibrant visuals with a convincing, large virtual display feel | The experience “isn’t quite there yet” for everyday consumers |
| Compatible with a wide range of devices | Users report short battery life |
6. Solos AirGo V: Best battery life
Solos AirGo V key features
- Up to 10 hours of use
- Can be purchased with prescription lenses
- Powered by ChatGPT
- Does not capture video; it only takes pictures
The Solos AirGo V aims to challenge the Ray-Ban Meta. The key feature is ChatGPT-4 integration, enabling them to visually analyze the world through their onboard cameras.
At its core, the AirGo V are a solid pair of audio glasses. The open-ear sound quality is good for music and calls, featuring live translation and a Whisper Message mode for reading incoming texts. The new AI integration allows you to snap a photo of a landmark or meal and ask ChatGPT-4 for details, showcasing the potential of contextual AI.
However, the hardware struggles to keep up with these ambitions. The dual 5MP cameras only capture still images, and the quality is inferior to competitors, especially in poor light. The modular design with bulky, removable arms lacks the refined appeal of the Ray-Bans at the same $299 price.
Its key advantage is battery life, which, at over 10 hours of use, far surpasses most rivals. If you prioritize longevity and are intrigued by experimenting with visual AI, the AirGo V is a compelling choice. For most people craving a polished camera and audio experience, however, the Ray-Ban Meta remains the better pick.
- Check out our full Solos AirGo V review
| Pros | Cons |
| Features removable arms and lenses | The arms still feel too bulky |
| Solid open-ear sound quality | Camera quality isn't great, no video capture |
| ChatGPT-4o support is neat | We're still not entirely won over by overall design |
7. Nuance Audio: Best for hearing aid
Nuance Audio key features
- Designed to be used as a hearing aid
- Up to 8 hours of battery life
- Sleek, fashionable design
- Don’t require fitting by an audiologist
A collaboration between EssilorLuxottica and Nuance Audio, these smart glasses address a distinct issue: hearing loss. Disguised within a stylish pair of frames, this device is essentially a sophisticated hearing aid designed to make conversations more straightforward in noisy environments.
Using beamforming technology and an array of hidden microphones, the glasses can identify the person you're speaking to and amplify their voice while filtering out background noise. The idea is to provide a solution for individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss who may not require or prefer a traditional, behind-the-ear hearing aid.
By integrating the technology into a familiar and fashionable object, Nuance Audio aims to remove the stigma associated with hearing assistance devices. They don't require fitting by an audiologist and offer an unobtrusive way to enhance social interactions. It's a powerful example of how smart glasses can provide genuine, life-improving utility beyond notifications and photos.
| Pros | Cons |
| Specialized use case scenario | Not your typical smart glasses |
| Discrete design | Tinny and metallic sounds, lacking natural warmth |
| Can be purchased in installments | Relatively expensive, $699 for the frame |
Bottom line
The smart glasses market is not a one-size-fits-all affair, and the right pair depends entirely on what you want them to do.
If you are looking for glasses to capture everyday moments, Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 remains the gold standard. For AR enthusiasts, VITURE Luma Ultra justifies its $599 price tag if you want more than just a screen. Rayneo Air 3s Pro is the standout value pick for those who just want a portable yet high-quality screen.
