AI in Your Pocket: Testing the First AI-Powered Smart Glasses

Hey Joytriiip readers,It’s official—we’ve crossed into the age of wearable intelligence. AI isn’t just living in your browser tabs or phone apps anymore. It’s now sitting on your face.In this week’s edition, I test-drive one of the most talked-about gadgets of 2025: AI-powered smart glasses. Between Ray-Ban Meta, Xreal Air 2 Ultra, and Solos AirGo Vision, we’re witnessing the birth of a new computing era—where AI doesn’t just assist, it follows you around in real-time.So what’s it like to wear a pair of glasses that sees, hears, and thinks? Is it the future of hands-free living—or just another tech gimmick?Let’s break it down.

May 27, 2025

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🕶️ What Are AI-Powered Smart Glasses?

Smart glasses aren’t a brand-new idea. We’ve had experiments like Google Glass (RIP) and Snap Spectacles. But 2025’s smart glasses are different. They’re AI-native, meaning they’re designed from the ground up to interact with large language models, voice assistants, computer vision, and even real-time translation.

Today’s top contenders include:

  • Ray-Ban Meta (2nd Gen) – Stylish, social, and now smarter than ever with Meta AI built in.

  • Solos AirGo Vision – A modular, voice-first pair of glasses with ChatGPT integration.

  • Xreal Air 2 Ultra – More AR than AI, but great for immersive use cases.

  • Rokid Max / Rokid Station – Strong in media and assistant capabilities.

Each has its own strength, but they all share a vision: put AI in your daily line of sight.

🔬 My Test Subject: Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses (Gen 2)

For this newsletter, I went hands-on (or rather, heads-on) with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, co-developed by Meta and EssilorLuxottica. Think Ray-Ban Wayfarers—but with cameras, microphones, speakers, and an onboard AI assistant.

📦 First Impressions

  • Classic Ray-Ban look. No clunky sci-fi vibes.

  • Surprisingly light and comfortable.

  • Comes with a charging case (think AirPods for your face).

🧠 Features I Tested:

  • Live voice commands via Meta AI

  • Photo and video capture

  • Smart speaker + calls

  • "Look and ask" object recognition

  • Instagram Story integration

🤯 The Coolest Feature: “Look and Ask”

This is the real game-changer.

You tap the side of your glasses and say something like:

“Hey Meta, what building is this?”

...and within seconds, it tells you:

“That’s the Chrysler Building. It was completed in 1930 and is known for its Art Deco architecture.”

Or:

“Hey Meta, translate that sign for me.”

It scans, recognizes, and replies—all hands-free.

This is AI + computer vision in real-time. It felt like having Google Lens and ChatGPT built into your sunglasses. A kind of magic, honestly.

📸 Everyday Use: What It’s Like

Here’s what a day with AI glasses looked like for me:

Time

Use Case

9:00 AM

Asked the glasses to play a podcast while making coffee.

11:00 AM

Walked through a park and snapped photos with just a voice command.

1:30 PM

Got restaurant recommendations by asking “What’s good to eat around here?”

3:00 PM

Translated a menu from Japanese to English with a single glance.

6:00 PM

Took a call, hands-free, while biking.

9:00 PM

Used voice notes to record ideas while walking.

Total times I touched my phone: maybe 3.
Total times I said “Wow”: way more than that.

⚖️ Pros & Cons

✅ What I Loved:

  • Truly hands-free interaction: Feels futuristic and natural.

  • Discrete and stylish: Doesn’t scream “tech nerd.”

  • Meta AI is fast: Especially for local information and object ID.

  • Perfect for travel: Translation, navigation, and spontaneous photography on the go.

❌ What Needs Work:

  • Battery life: About 4 hours of active use.

  • Limited app integrations: You can’t run third-party apps (yet).

  • No visual display: You hear responses, but don’t see them in your field of view (unlike true AR glasses).

  • Always-listening mic concerns: Privacy-conscious users might hesitate.

🧠 How Smart Is the AI?

Meta’s assistant is surprisingly conversational—closer to ChatGPT than Siri. It remembers recent queries in a session and can handle follow-ups like:

“Who designed this?” → “That’s by Zaha Hadid.”

“What’s the weather like tomorrow?” → “Expect 72°F with light rain.”

It’s not perfect, but it’s smart enough to be useful—especially when you’re on the move.

📈 Bigger Picture: What This Means for the Future

AI glasses today are where smartphones were around 2007—cool but niche. Yet the direction is clear:

  • Ambient computing: You won’t just use AI. You’ll live with it.

  • Post-phone interfaces: Smart glasses, voice, and wearables could start to replace phones for many tasks.

  • AI that sees what you see: Context-aware assistants are the next frontier.

If this tech matures (and battery life improves), we’re looking at a world where checking your phone feels outdated.

🧪 Use Cases You Can Try

Here are some real things people are already using AI glasses for:

Use Case

Description

Travel Assistant

Navigate cities, translate signs, get local tips.

Personal Photographer

Capture moments without interrupting the moment.

Live Coach

Ask for confidence tips, posture checks, or interview help.

Accessibility Tool

Help users with visual impairments “see” objects or read text.

Fitness Companion

Get workout cues, pace feedback, or motivational prompts while running.

💬 Final Verdict

Should you get a pair of AI smart glasses in 2025?

If you love being an early adopter and want a glimpse into the future—yes. The Ray-Ban Meta and other models are the first truly usable AI wearables. They're not perfect, but they offer something your phone can't: real-time, eyes-up, voice-first interaction with the world.

If you travel, create content, or just want to experiment with hands-free AI, it’s worth a try.

📍 Wrap-Up

AI is no longer locked in servers or screens. It's stepping into your daily life—through your voice, your eyes, and your surroundings.

Smart glasses aren’t just a gadget. They're a philosophy shift: from AI as a tool, to AI as a companion.

This isn’t the end of smartphones. But it might just be the beginning of something better.

Until next time,
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