A stunning variety of startups and established corporations are promoting or engaged on good glasses.
We frequently report on the Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta glasses, Google’s introduced plans to take them on, and Apple’s reported work by itself good glasses. These US tech giants have precedence entry to key parts like the newest chipsets, and may leverage their current machine and communications ecosystems, in addition to first-party AI fashions, to bolster the attraction of their merchandise.
However the work of smaller corporations within the good glasses house is notable too, and on this article we need to make you conscious of what they’re doing. Some entrants are comparatively latest, equivalent to HTC launching Vive Eagle in Taiwan, whereas others have been out there since earlier than Fb and EssilorLuxottica launched the Ray-Ban Tales.
Ray-Ban Meta weren’t the primary good glasses with a digital camera. Fb itself launched the unsuccessful Ray-Ban Tales two years earlier, and 9 years earlier than that, a startup known as Pivothead launched glasses with a 1080p digital camera within the heart.
The primary mostly-regular-looking digital camera glasses had been Epiphany Eyewear, shipped by a startup known as Vergence Labs in 2013. Snap, the corporate behind Snapchat, acquired Vergence Labs a 12 months later, and used its know-how to ship the primary three generations of Spectacles, from 2016 to 2019, which had been displayless digital camera glasses.
Epiphany Eyewear (2013) and Snap Spectacles (2017)
Pivothead, Epiphany, and Spectacles had been all simply digital camera glasses, although, and lacked audio system or significant onboard compute.
Then again, since 2019 for invite-only early adopters and 2020 for mainstream customers, Amazon has been delivery Echo Frames, which have audio system and microphones for music/audiobooks/podcasts and interacting with the Alexa assistant. However Echo Frames lack any sort of digital camera.
It was Meta and EssilorLuxottica that first mixed cameras, audio system, and microphones in regular-looking glasses for customers, with the Ray-Ban Tales in 2021. And it was additionally these two corporations that first delivered voice-requested multimodal AI in good glasses, with a firmware replace shortly after the launch of Ray-Ban Meta in 2023. That is now the first marketed function of just about all displayless good glasses.
Amazon Echo Frames and Ray-Ban Tales (2021)
Immediately, there are dozens of Chinese language startups promoting Ray-Ban Meta clones, in addition to corporations around the globe delivering their very own tackle displayless good glasses.
Listed below are among the key displayless good glasses competing with Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta HSTN:
Solos AirGo V2
Solos is a 2019 spinoff of Kopin, a microdisplay firm that primarily provides militaries. Final 12 months it launched AirGo Imaginative and prescient to immediately tackle Ray-Ban Meta, however with GPT-4o, and this 12 months it is launching a successor, AirGo V2.
- AI Fashions: ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini / DeepSeek
- Value: $300
- Launch: This autumn 2025
- Availability: World
Xiaomi AI Glasses
Xiaomi is a Chinese language client tech large that makes every thing from telephones to robotic vacuums to now electrical automobiles.
Xiaomi additionally manufactured Oculus Go, Fb’s first standalone VR headset.
- AI Fashions: XiaoAI
- Value: ~$300
- Launch: July 2025
- Availability: China solely (for now)
HTC Vive Eagle
Whereas HTC has primarily targeted on enterprise within the VR market lately, for the good glasses market it is focusing on customers in its residence turf of Taiwan.
- AI Fashions: Gemini / ChatGPT
- Value: ~$550
- Launch: September 2025
- Availability: Taiwan solely
Mentra Reside
Uniquely amongst displayless good glasses, Mentra Reside has an open-source OS and SDK, permitting any developer to freely and simply develop apps for it.
- Value: $300 ($250 for preorders)
- Launch: December 2025
- Availability: United States solely
Waves Digital camera Glasses
The important thing marketed “function” of Waves is that it lacks a digital camera LED, so folks will not know if you’re recording. This has led to controversy.
- Value: $300-$500
- Launch: 2026
- Availability: World
JioFrames
Jio is India’s largest cell community, and is reportedly contemplating delivery an affordable Horizon OS headset within the nation too.
- Value: TBA
- Launch: “Quickly”
- Availability: India solely
There’s quite a lot of hype across the upcoming launch of Meta’s monocular heads-up show (HUD) glasses with an sEMG wristband, codenamed Hypernova, however there are already a number of good glasses with a HUD.
By HUD, we imply a small, fixed-position show that may supply contextual data equivalent to notifications, turn-by-turn instructions, AI output, or translations, usually (however not at all times) delivered by a waveguide.
We aren’t together with digital monitor glasses like Xreal and Viture right here, as their “birdbath” optics sit a lot additional out out of your eyes than actual glasses and dim your actual world view, so cannot be used as your all-day eyewear or sun shades.
| Full-Coloration | Binocular | |
| Meta’s (Reportedly) | ✅ | ❌ |
| North Focals | ✅ | ❌ |
| Even G1 | ❌ | ✅ |
| Good Labs Halo | ✅ | ❌ |
| Rokid Glasses | ❌ | ✅ |
| XRAI AR2 | ❌ | ✅ |
| INMO GO 2 | ❌ | ✅ |
| Halliday Glasses | ❌ | ❌ |
| Amazon’s (Reportedly) | ✅ | ❌ |
North Focals (Discontinued)
North was the primary firm to ship regular-looking client HUD glasses, all the way in which again in 2019, known as Focals, for $600.
North Focals’ show was full coloration however monocular, that means it offered a full coloration picture, however solely to at least one eye, like Meta’s upcoming HUD glasses.
North Focals have a considerably cult following in our trade, and had been inarguably very forward of their time.
Google Acquires North’s Focals Smartglasses Enterprise
Google confirmed it acquired North and its Focals smartglasses platform. Experiences had been circulating in latest days that an acquisition was within the works and now Google formally confirmed the transfer. “Immediately we’re asserting that Google has acquired North, a pioneer in human laptop interfaces and good glasses. They’
In 2020 North was acquired by Google, and Focals 2.0 was canceled. North’s DNA exists right this moment in Google and Samsung’s reference design monocular HUD glasses, proven off at I/O 2025. No particular Google or Google-powered product with a HUD has been introduced but, although.
Even G1
Even Realities is a Chinese language startup with a German subsidiary. Earlier this 12 months it shipped G1, the primary actually regular-looking good glasses with a HUD.
G1 is binocular however monochrome, that means it gives a picture to each eyes, however this picture consists of just one coloration, inexperienced.
The 2 Even G1 kinds.
The twin 640×200 green-only microLED shows are magnified over a subject of view of 25 levels, with a brightness of round 1000 nits.
Missing any cameras or audio system, Even G1 is targeted on textual content viewing use instances like performing as a teleprompter, translating and offering subtitles for real-world speech, and displaying turn-by-turn navigation.
The 2 Even G1 kinds, worn.
Even G1 weighs simply 40 grams, and begins at $600 within the US. Two completely different kinds can be found, one with round lenses and the opposite with a extra rectangular design.
Good Labs Halo
Good Labs is a Singapore-based startup that is already onto its third product.
Its first in 2023, known as Monocle, was a thick however mild lens that connected to your current glasses. Its second, known as Body, arrived final 12 months, with a coloration monocular HUD that was externally very seen on the lens. Final month it revealed and opened preorders for its third, known as Halo.
Good Labs Halo
Halo’s show is full coloration however monocular, that means it gives a full coloration picture, however solely to at least one eye. You possibly can externally clearly see the show module above the correct lens, and it has diopter adjustment.
Good Labs Halo has bone conduction audio system for personal audio, two microphones with audio exercise detection, and a “low-power optical sensor” designed for vision-capable AI fashions, moderately than capturing pictures and movies.
Out of the field, Halo can discuss to an AI known as Noa, and it has an SDK for apps on related Bluetooth units, equivalent to smartphones, to leverage its microphone, audio system, and picture sensor, in addition to the power to run restricted Lua scripts on-device. The working system can also be open supply, like Mentra Reside.
The Noa AI additionally has a “vibe mode”, whereby you’ll be able to create an app with out coding by describing what you need it to do.
Good Labs Halo
Halo weighs simply 40 grams, and is out there to preorder for $300, and may ship in This autumn of this 12 months.
Halliday Glasses
Halliday Glasses shipped in restricted portions early this 12 months.
They’re each monocular and monochrome, that means they present solely the colour inexperienced to at least one eye.
Halliday Glasses are usually priced at $500, with some early consumers given decrease costs.
Rokid Glasses
China-based Rokid has been making Xreal-style show glasses for years now, and just lately introduced its first regular-looking HUD glasses.
Rokid Glasses are binocular however monochrome, that means they supply a picture to each eyes, however this picture consists of just one coloration, inexperienced.
Rokid Glasses are priced at $600, and may begin delivery in September.
Amazon (Reportedly)
Earlier this week, The Info reported that Amazon is engaged on monocular HUD glasses too.
Based on the report, Amazon is engaged on two HUD glasses fashions, one for customers and one other for its supply drivers.
Amazon Reportedly Working On Echo HUD Glasses
Amazon plans to launch its personal monocular HUD glasses, The Info stories, hoping to ship in late 2026 or early 2027.
The supply driver HUD glasses will likely be bulkier and have a monochrome show, the report says, whereas the patron HUD glasses will likely be glossy and the show will likely be full coloration.
Amazon hopes to ship the supply driver glasses in mid 2026, based on the report, with an preliminary manufacturing run of round 100,000 items. The patron glasses ought to then observe in both late 2026 or early 2027.
Within the West, there are at the moment no true AR glasses, that means glasses that look considerably common and may place digital objects in actual house, on the patron market.
Whereas you should buy 6DoF (positionally tracked) digital monitor glasses like Xreal and Viture, as talked about earlier than, these “birdbath” optics sit a lot additional out out of your eyes than actual glasses and dim your actual world view, so cannot be used as your all-day eyewear or sun shades.
RayNeo X3 Professional (China Solely)
In China startups like TCL-backed RayNeo have been delivery true AR glasses for round a 12 months now.
We reviewed the RayNeo X2, and located that whereas it’s technically a pair of true AR glasses, its very slim 25-degree subject of view and very poor positional monitoring means it simply is not a severe AR product.
RayNeo X2 Overview: Are The First AR Glasses Any Good?
RayNeo X2 is technically the primary standalone AR machine in true glasses kind issue, a word for the historical past books. However is it any good? Learn our overview to seek out out.
Since then, RayNeo has launched a successor known as X3 Professional. Whereas we have not had the possibility to strive X3 Professional but, it has the identical slim subject of view, however reportedly has higher positional monitoring.
The glasses, which weigh round 80 grams, have been delivery in China since Might, for the equal of round $1300.
Snap Specs (2026)
Snap, the corporate behind Snapchat, introduced in June that it plans to launch totally standalone client AR glasses, known as Specs.
It is set to be the end result of a decade of the corporate’s work on good glasses. Snap publicly offered three generations of non-AR digital camera glasses between 2016 and 2019, years earlier than the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, and lately has launched two AR glasses improvement kits, known as Spectacles.
Snap Says It Will Launch Client AR Glasses, Known as Specs, In 2026
The corporate behind Snapchat says it’ll launch totally standalone client AR glasses, known as Specs, subsequent 12 months.
The primary AR Spectacles improvement equipment, made accessible to pick out builders from 2021, had a tiny 26-degree subject of view, 30 minute battery life, and weighed 134 grams. The second technology AR Spectacles dev equipment launched in September for any builders to lease for $100/month, boosting the sphere of view to 46 levels and the battery life to 45 minutes, but in addition rising the burden to 226 grams and introducing a bulkier design that pushes the boundaries of what could be described as a real glasses kind issue.
Each AR Spectacles improvement kits function hand monitoring and run Snap OS, a light-weight customized OS constructed particularly for AR that runs apps known as ‘Lenses’, developed utilizing Snap’s Lens Studio software program for Home windows and macOS.
In comparison with the present improvement equipment, Spiegel claims the Specs releasing as a product in 2026 could have “a a lot smaller kind issue, at a fraction of the burden, with a ton extra functionality”, whereas working all the identical Lenses developed up to now.
