Treat yourself: the best smart glasses to buy with your Christmas gift money

Although smart glasses have been around for a while, the technology advances every year, so much so that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, claims wearables will replace smartphones over the next decade (although many people disagree, of course).

Smart glasses are no longer just a futuristic gadget: they have become practical tools that people use to communicate, navigate, track their fitness, watch movies, enjoy immersive games, and much more.

Whether you’re looking to get yourself a pair, buy one as a gift, or simply explore what’s available on the market today, we’ve put together a list of the coolest options. This list includes smart glasses with and without screens, designed for everyday use, sports, work and games.

We’ve also highlighted upcoming launches to watch out for as the smart glasses market heats up.

What’s good about Ray-Ban Meta Glasses is that they look like regular glasses, which is ideal for people who don’t want to compromise on aesthetics. Smart glasses come in many styles, so you can choose a pair based on your personal style.

The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 glasses feature a 12-megapixel camera, open speakers and five microphones. They offer twice the battery life of their predecessor, lasting up to eight hours under normal use. They can charge to 50% in just 20 minutes, and you can buy a case that provides an additional 48 hours of battery life.

The glasses feature 3K Ultra HD video capture, twice as many pixels as the previous generation. They feature 32GB of storage and an IPX4 water resistance rating, meaning they’re protected in light rain.

They also have plenty of AI features, including the ability to say “Hey Meta” to get information and set reminders, as well as real-time translation, hands-free photo and video capture, the ability to ask questions about what you see, and more.

The glasses cost $379.

Viture Luma Pro

THE Viture Luma Pro The glasses offer one of the best displays on smart glasses available today. They feature Sony’s micro-OLED panels to deliver a sharp 1,200p image on a 152-inch virtual display, with a 120Hz refresh rate, a wide 52-degree field of view, and up to 1,000 nits of perceived brightness. (Nits measure screen brightness: higher numbers mean you can see the screen more clearly in bright environments.)

You can plug the Luma Pro XR glasses into many phones, tablets, handhelds, and laptops with USB-C to mirror their screen. This makes it a great option for people who want to game on a large, immersive screen, whether they’re on the go or the TV is in use. They’re also useful for frequent travelers and people who want a virtual, multi-monitor setup for their work.

They feature built-in mild myopia support, allowing users with myopia down to -4.0 diopters to experience a clear virtual display without the need for corrective lenses.

In terms of aesthetics, they are a bit big, but not too bulky.

They cost $499 (currently on sale for $449).

Xreal One Pro

THE Xreal One Pro The smart glasses are currently one of the most premium models available on the market, with a price tag of $649. They’re a good choice for people who are already familiar with smart glasses and want an upgrade.

The flat prism design of the glasses allows for a sleek and comfortable fit. They feature a virtual screen of up to 171 inches, with a resolution of 1080p, a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and a field of view of 57 degrees.

The Xreal One Pro smart glasses feature built-in Bose speakers and 700 nits of brightness, allowing use in brighter environments.

They are built on Xreal’s custom X1 chip, which allows 3DoF (three degrees of freedom). This means that the glasses follow the rotational movements of your head, keeping virtual content pinned in space relative to your head. In short, if you turn your head, the virtual screen stays in place rather than moving with you.

They have a set of built-in buttons that allow you to quickly change your screen size, distance, color temperature, and more.

THE Oakley Meta Vanguard Smart Glasses are the best option for outdoor enthusiasts and athletes because they have been specially designed for them. The glasses can capture video in up to 3K resolution and feature a 12-megapixel camera with a 122-degree wide-angle lens.

The Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses feature a programmable button that can trigger a custom AI prompt, which you can configure using the Meta AI app. All goggle buttons are located underneath to allow athletes to comfortably wear their headset while using them.

They offer up to nine hours of battery life or up to six hours of continuous music playback.

The glasses come with a charging case that can provide an additional 36 hours of charge on the go. Additionally, you can charge the glasses to 50% in 20 minutes via the charging case.

They also have a set of five microphones optimized to reduce wind noise when calling, messaging, or using Meta AI with your voice. The glasses have an IP67 dust and water resistance rating for use during intense workouts (this rating means they can withstand submersion in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes).

The Oakley Meta Vanguard Smart Glasses cost $499.

RayNeo Air 3s

THE RayNeo Air 3s are a great budget-friendly choice for anyone getting started with smart glasses. They offer impressive visuals and features for the price and are perfect for light gaming or watching content on long trips.

They feature micro‑OLED displays that create a 201‑inch virtual screen at 1080p resolution, with a 120Hz refresh rate, 46‑degree field of view, and approximately 650 nits of perceived brightness.

Although the field of view is narrower than some high-end models and they don’t have head tracking, they’re a good option for people who just want an external display on the go without breaking the bank.

The glasses use a “HueView” micro‑OLED display with eye-protective features such as 3,840Hz hybrid dimming and low blue light certification to reduce eye strain during prolonged use.

The RayNeo Air 3s cost $269 (currently on sale for $219).

Upcoming launches to watch out for

Project Aura: Google and Xreal collaborate on a pair of glasses running Android XR which are equipped with a 70-degree field of view and optical transparency technology. The glasses can function as an extended workspace or entertainment device, allowing the user to use Google’s suite of products or stream video as they would with a more advanced headset. The glasses will be launched next year.

Snapshot Specs: Snap is ready to release a lightweight consumer version of its AR glasses in 2026, bringing many of the same augmented reality and AI features found in Spectacles 5 aimed at developers. The new glasses are expected to be smaller and lighter, making them more discreet and comfortable to wear in public compared to their bulky predecessors.

Apple AI Smart Glasses: Apple has reportedly put aside its project to redesign its Vision Pro headset to focus on the development of AI. smart glasses which can compete with Meta’s products. They will have many of the same features available on the social media giant’s current smart glasses. The glasses are expected to debut in 2026.