Today's smart glasses are in the shadow of Android XR

Smart glasses are a technological dream that we have been pursuing for years; Finally Get there. Better displays, improved hardware, and an ever-growing list of smart glasses platforms were all on display at CES 2026, and I can’t help but look at them with an eye on what’s coming next.

It feels like the whole idea of smart glasses has accelerated incredibly quickly, especially in the last few years. In just the last couple of years, the market has moved from a variety of proof-of-concepts and half-baked options to incredibly sophisticated smart glasses.

CES 2026, now of It goes without saying that it’s a place to showcase new technology, and it’s been full of smart glasses for years, and they’ll continue to be common at shows. As our team crisscrossed Las Vegas this year, it seemed like we were seeing new smart glasses from brands we’d never heard of literally everywhere. There are two things in particular that caught my attention.

First up is XREAL. However, these aren’t really what you imagine when you think of the term “smart glasses,” and XREAL splits the difference between VR headsets and glasses with a display. company This week they launched new XREAL 1S glasses for $450really good! I tried out Mario Kart World and was pretty impressed with how natural the experience felt. XREAL also provided us with a quick demo of the new hand tracking features in the XREAL One Pro. It worked very well at allowing you to control your Android phone’s display using a simple pinch gesture, but it’s certainly not as sophisticated as what you’d find on a Meta, Apple, or Samsung headset. Partnership between XREAL and Asus ROG The ultra-smooth 240Hz display also caught my eye. Frankly speaking, I didn’t have any complaints about the XREAL 1S’s refresh rate either, but a higher refresh rate indicates better display technology. quickly.

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XREAL tantalizingly had its first Android XR product, Project Aura, on display at CES, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to use it or even see the hardware from under the cover.

Another one that stood out was Even Realities G2, which launched last year. We also got a quick demo of the new smart glasses, which are more than you’d expect from the product. The thin glasses have a display that appears in front of your eyes and can show information such as notifications, tasks, calendar, and news.

The display is monochrome with only a green outline, but it works very well. Text is easy to read, and Even’s new 3D layers add literal depth to the experience. Using the touchpad on the back feels natural, but the software doesn’t really do it for you. lack of customizability and Any The integration with the phone app makes it especially annoying to have to open Google Maps for things like navigation instead of the companion app on the smart glasses. Notifications are also very annoying.

However, there’s still a lot to say about Even Realities G2. Stay tuned for more information from Andrew Romero soon.

So while smart glasses are clearly progressing rapidly, we’re not quite there yet. I have a hard time getting excited or invested in today’s smart glasses when they are literally around the corner. of Tomorrow’s smart glasses.

It’s a dream, at this point, promise Android XR development is just too exciting, both in the software and hardware departments. As our own Abner Lee has experienced and can relate, Google’s smart glasses prototype goes beyond what most people think is technically possible, and the software includes so many features. Between deeper app integration with the phone Gemini and a wide-open future for third-party apps, Android XR is much more than what it is today. Perhaps that’s why XREAL has announced plans to build its future product roadmap around Google’s platform.

We still have to wait and see how Android XR lands, but we’re officially at the finish line.

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