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Ranking the Best Smart Glasses: Meta, Viture, & More (2026)
The idea of smart glasses has been around for decades, but the technology is finally catching up. The best smart glasses let you listen to music, answer texts hands-free, or teach you about the world, even as you're looking at it. And they're getting more popular: Meta and Ray-Ban sold more than 7 million pairs of smart glasses in 2025. Google, Samsung, and Apple are releasing their own versions soon. Even better than helpful smart glasses becoming more available is that these specs can also make you look fabulous.
Before you pick your pair, you should know that smart glasses are hugely varied, even more so than many other product categories that we test. Some are glorified headphones for everyday wear; others have very specific use cases, like for sports, gaming, or working. They also come in a wide variety of designs, with varying specs and price points.
The WIRED team has tested just about every pair of smart glasses on the market. In addition to our recommendations, I also explain what you need to know about this category and give a quick history lesson about the space. Think you might need something else instead? Don't forget to check out the rest of our buying guides, including the Best Meta Glasses and the Best Virtual Reality Headsets.
Updated August 2026: I updated product information and added a FAQ section. Specs, prices, and links were also updated.
I am currently testing the Lucyd Reebok Optical frames.
Arguably, the success of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses is what spurred the current AI glasses boom. These are the updated version of the OG Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers that were the category's first certified hit. As the sales numbers reinforce, these are the best and most popular smart glasses available.
Why WIRED recommends: The second-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses let you choose different frames, including the Wayfarer ones, and lenses (including prescription lenses), and they look the most like regular glasses. They don’t have any virtual screen—instead, you get a 12-MP camera, open-ear speakers, and five microphones. There’s 32 GB of storage, and they run for around eight hours when fully charged, with a case that can add another 48 hours. They have an IPX4 water resistance rating, so they'll be OK in light rain. The photo quality can’t match the latest phones, and videos are limited to one minute in length, but the quality is much better than what the originals offered, enabling you to record in up to 3K at 30 frames per second. You also get a host of AI features, including live language translation and the ability to ask about what you're seeing. But using these features requires you to connect to a smartphone, plus Meta AI also needs an internet connection.
The trade-offs: If you go to any outdoor or sporting event, you will undoubtedly see people wearing these to record snippets for TikTok or Instagram. The glasses have given rise to a new term, “pervert glasses”. More than 70 organizations have formed a coalition to demand that Meta kill face recognition, an upcoming feature dubbed “Name Tag” in Meta's house. If you’re OK with all this, you're not alone—millions of people are as well! I like these glasses, but only with a lot of precautions, like disabling the Vibes videos and keeping my photos and videos off the Meta AI cloud. Smart glasses with cameras can also provide audio descriptions and answer questions about what you are seeing, which may be useful for folks with vision loss. The glasses also have an integrated Be My Eyes service that doesn't rely on AI. —Adrienne So
Viture Beast's 2026 model has a screen that's bigger, brighter, and with a wider field of view than our previous winner for best virtual screen, the Xreal One Pro. I spent a week using the Beast for work, watching movies with my 2024 MacBook Pro and my iPhone 16, and fighting with my family to take turns playing Tears of the Kingdom in 3D using my Nintendo Switch 2. I'm excited to take the Beast traveling with me this year and e