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Tom's Guide
6 days ago
- Tom's Guide
I wore the Even Realities G1 for a month — and they're smart glasses I'd actually wear despite their flaws
After being asked to make a speech at a wedding I had only an hour to prepare for, I was in full-blown panic mode. What to say, what stories to bring up and how the heck would I remember it all? Well, that's when the Even Realities G1 smart glasses came in clutch. You see, these AI glasses with a simple HUD come equipped with a handy teleprompt feature that displays text as you speak, right in your field of view. It almost felt like I was cheating, but for all the right reasons — all in a pair of specs that don't look all that "smart." That's just one of the many perks of wearing the G1 smart glasses, which have also helped me navigate around town with seamless directions, translate conversations in different languages and check in with notifications at just a glance. It's like having an unintrusive, simplistic smartphone on your face, one that feels like your regular pair of specs. As smart glasses like the Viture Luma Pro and Xreal One Pro deliver mesmerizing virtual AR displays that can act as a TV screen in chunky frames that scream "these are AR glasses!", the Even Realities G1 scraps all that for a casual, lightweight and comfortable design with an everyday appeal. More so than most these days, these are the smart specs you'd actually reach for to wear daily. And yes, they come with a prescription. But take a look at its $599/£594 price tag and you'll be second-guessing if the G1's features and appeal are worth it. That's a hefty cost, and you won't find any camera or speakers here, unlike the Ray-Ban Meta glasses or Solos AirGo 3 (no camera, but you do get audio). Plus, with its own Even AI, responses to prompts are all over the place. Although the good news is you can switch to ChatGPT or Perplexity. Are these the best smart glasses you can get? Maybe for some, but you'll be paying a pretty penny for them. Price From $599/£594 Display Micro-LED, 640x200 virtual screen, 1000 nits of perceived brightness, 20Hz Field of view (FOV) 25 degrees Dimensions (when open) 5.4 x 5.2 x 1.4 inches Weight 1.5 ounces Everyone is vying for a pair of smart glasses that have that seamless, everyday glasses look, and the Even Realities G1 are the closest I've seen. Having the AR interface and AI capabilities crammed in are what make these specs remarkable. Okay, I didn't end up wearing the G1 smart glasses to make that wedding speech, as I don't tend to wear specs in pictures anyway. But if I did, there wouldn't be many that would bat an eyelid and wonder if these are AI glasses in the first place — unlike the Viture Luma Pro and Xreal One Pro. Think of the G1 as your usual prescription glasses with a touch of AI, featuring larger-than-most temple tips that hide behind the ears. That's how Even Realities gets away with the G1's simplistic yet stylish look, as it puts the majority of its hardware there. That includes the G1's 160 mAh battery, wireless charging tech (when used in the included case with a 2,000 mAh battery capacity), Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and touch controls. There's only one size of the G1, but they do come in two flavors: the more rounded G1 A and the rectangular-framed G1 B, which is what I reviewed. (Circular lenses do not suit me.) These come in either grey or brown, and for an added fee (more on this later), they also come with sunglasses frames. I adore the comfortable, lightweight feel and premium, minimalist look the G1 smart glasses offer, with their magnesium and titanium alloy frames, flexible temples and snug nosepads. I never felt paranoid about wearing them either, as I treated them as glasses I'd usually wear when working or traveling around the city, especially since my astigmatism gives me headaches. Even Realities' mission was to make everyday eyewear smart, and aside from its large temple tips (tech has to be housed somewhere), it's accomplished just that. The Even Realities G1 aren't your alternative 120-inch monitor for watching shows or playing games on the go, like other modern AR glasses, but they are your second display away from an iPhone or Android phone. In fact, it's almost like having a personal in-game HUD system of your daily routine. The lenses sport waveguide optics tech to show a 640x200 resolution display with dot matrix green display. There's no fancy specs here, with a simple 20Hz refresh rate and 25-degree FOV, but there doesn't need to be for what the display shows. You'll see clear, retro-inspired text that suits the style of the smart glasses. Impressively, the G1 display boasts 1000 nits of brightness, just like the Viture Luma Pro, and it's auto-adjustable depending on your environment. It's been incredibly clear in nearly all light settings, although looking straight up at a sunny, clear blue sky will make the interface completely disappear, understandably. Still, even when walking around outside, I was able to see what was on display. Speaking of which, the G1 activate when tilting your head slightly up. This can be adjusted from a 0- to 60-degree angle, with the sweet spot being 20 degrees. It does mean I was randomly looking up from time to time, and I can imagine onlookers would think I'm constantly staring at something random in the sky, but it's nice to be able to adjust this angle to suit the wearer's needs. When looking up, a HeadUp display is triggered instantly, with a dashboard showing the date, time, temperature and any notes or upcoming events I have planned. That alone is handy to have at a glance, and the clear green pixelated text is easy to see and read. It doesn't obstruct my view either, as it only takes up a small portion at the top of the lenses so I can, say, still see where I'm walking without hassle. There are also touch sensors on the tip of the temples, allowing you to kind of interact with the smart glasses. These sensors activate Even AI, put them on silent, and control other features like Teleprompt (more on this soon). I didn't use these all that much, as a lot of what's done is right in the user-friendly Even Realities app on iPhone and Android. Sure, I'd prefer to be able to do everything on the glasses instead, but the G1 isn't a smartphone replacement, and for the most part, they already offer plenty of useful information. Is it simple? Yes, but that's to the Even Realities G1's merit. They're unassuming smart glasses, after all, so adding simplistic "smart" touches works in their favor. Even Realities has put a lot of thought into what users can use smart glasses for, not just for the social media or AI aspects of the Ray-Ban Meta or Solos AirGo 3 specs — and the tools the G1 offer actually come in handy (even if they can be a tad niche). The G1 smart glasses offer live translation, navigation à la Google Maps, QuickNotes to add anything to your agenda and Teleprompt, which can be incredibly useful for presentations and speeches. And I could get notifications from my phone to read texts. Again, you'll have to interact with the app to make all these features work, as the glasses are limited to their Bluetooth connection to a smartphone, but they still work like a charm. I'm a big fan of how the teleprompter isn't just scrolling text, as the G1 hears what you say via its microphones and follows along at your speed as you speak. Anyone who struggles with public speaking or trying to remember what to say can make great use out of this. The navigation tool also comes in handy and works by giving you turn-by-turn directions to reach your destination. It almost reminds me of the green map interface of Fallout 3, although when walking outdoors on a bright day, it can be a struggle to see the display itself, especially when looking up. In practice, however, and maybe it's due to the cloudy nature of London, this didn't cause much issue. I also put the G1's Translate feature to good use, which effectively translated a conversation I had with my pal, speaking French, to English in real time. It's snappy enough, and was able to gauge the conversation without any stumbles. In more complicated, faster talks, though, it may be harder to gauge. The good news is it offers a host of languages, including Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin and more. Regardless, the G1 smart glasses present several use cases that can aid in your day-to-day, akin to the helpfulness of a smartwatch without all the health features, but with more tools that suit glasses. As much as I enjoyed reaching for the Even Realities G1 smart glasses daily, their simplicity comes to a fault considering their hefty price tag. And with that cost, you're not getting other features rival glasses offer, like a camera, speakers and even a useful AI. The G1s are classed as AI and AR smart glasses, but the latter is very minimal. You won't be able to snap shots, have a speech-to-speech conversation with the onboard AI, listen to audio or watch shows on a ridiculously large virtual display here — all you're really getting is green text. It's not meant to deliver the same capabilities as Xreal or Viture AR glasses, but even compared to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which come with cameras and speakers, they don't offer the same level of features. Even the Solos AirGo 3 come with good audio! Dumping all those extras for a cleaner, less techy design is the goal, but the G1 loses out on other features that less expensive AI glasses deliver. The number of times I've brought up Even AI to ask a simple question only to be cut offer near-immediately with a "I'm having trouble understanding your request" has made me stop using the feature outright. I'd barely get a word in before the AI decided that I probably wasn't saying anything, and when I did get it working, the AI would give me the wrong answer. For example, I asked, "what's the best way to get to Euston station?", only for the AI to reply with directions for Houston, Texas. I mean, it should know I'm at least in the U.K., right? Luckily, the app allows you to change LLMs to either ChatGPT or Perplexity, which are far more capable of giving better answers. But there was still a problem with the timing of questions and communication, which I found strange considering the live translation appeared to work without problems. Perhaps further updates are needed, but for now, these AI-driven smart glasses come with AI that's more frustrating than helpful. The Even Realities G1 are among the priciest smart glasses around, and considering their abilities, it's a hard pill to swallow. At $599/£594, not including the added $150 prescription or $100 sunglasses clip, the G1s are a very pricey venture. To put that into perspective, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses start at $299, the Solos AirGo 3 are $249 and even AR-packed glasses like the Viture Luma Pro are $499. Heck, even the RayNeo Air 3s, which feature Micro-OLED displays with a 1080p picture and 120Hz refresh rate, are just $269. It's only outshone in price by the $649 Viture Pro XR and $749 Rokid AR Lite, but these come with premium AR features. Of course, the Even Realities G1 are purposefully light on tech due to them being "everyday" eyewear, but it's a lot of chump change for what you get. The Even Realities G1 are the smart glasses I've always imagined, bringing a touch of tech to casual-looking eyewear. That alone gives them brownie points, as it's actually of pair of smart specs I'd wear while working, traveling and even while reading, watching shows or playing games. That's something many companies are striving toward, and Even Realties also nails the unique features the G1s offer. From the snappy live translations to the handy navigation tool, along with the seamless teleprompter, you're getting a lot out of a simple, easy-to-see AR interface that doesn't obstruct your view. All if you're willing to dish out at least $599/£594, that is. When the competition in other AI smart glasses —especially the Ray-Ban Meta — come with a host of extra specs for half the price, the G1 smart glasses start to look less appealing. Even Realities is on the right track, as the G1s have a lot to offer those who want to give their eyewear a tech upgrade. But when there are cheaper options available that deliver more features, whether it's just a camera or audio, they may not be everyone's go-to choice.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Yahoo
Apple's AR smart glasses may not be dead, after all
It seems Apple's plans for making AR glasses are not dead after all, though it might take some time before the company puts them on the shelves. Bloomberg recently reported that Apple has shelved its AR smart glasses project, just like its doomed car project. Now, the outlet claims that Apple has not entirely given up on that category. 'I'm told that Apple's long-term goal of standalone AR glasses remains intact, and the company will keep working on underlying technology — like screens and silicon — to help make such a device more feasible,' writes Mark Gurman in the latest edition of his PowerOn newsletter. Apple's rumored shelving of the smart glasses project seemed rather odd from the get-go, especially at a time when the form factor is finally catching up steam as a new form of computing. In fact, the smart glasses segment is quite vibrant, even more so than phones and laptops at a foundation level. The likes of RayNeo, Xreal, and TCL are making glasses with a display unit integrated behind the main lens, opening the doors for immersive computing and content consumption. Razer and Amazon make Bluetooth-connected glasses without a display unit, but they connect with phones for handling calls and music playback. Even the more ambitious ideas are coming from upstarts. Take for example the Halliday Glasses, which ditch the conventional display unit concept and use an 'invisible' optical module. Then we have the Even Realities G1 glasses, which integrate the optical and display lenses for an amazingly minimalist way to show information. The big dogs are not too far behind. Meta's Orion smart glasses, which were recently showcased by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, employ holographic glasses capable of overlaying 2D and 3D content in real-time atop a person's world-view. Google has also given us glimpses of its wearable vision over the past couple of years. Apple's own work with smart glasses, which was in development under the codename N107, was apparently no slouch either. 'The N107 device had advanced projectors that could display information, images and video in the field of view for each eye, similar to augmented reality glasses being developed by Meta and others,' as per Bloomberg. The internal development units of the smart glasses were also equipped with lenses that could automatically adjust their tint level. Apple will reportedly continue to work with the underlying tech stack and still aims to create a pair of compelling smart glasses that strike the right balance between comfort, firepower, and immersive capabilities.
