Overview

• Reviewers find the $799–$800 smart glasses useful for quick tasks via a right‑eye microdisplay, pairing well with the sEMG‑based Neural Band for accurate, discreet gesture control.
• The latest hands‑on adds a notable twist: Meta demoed an unreleased handwriting gesture that lets users air‑write replies for text input, described as accurate in brief testing.
• Core features include viewing and replying to Instagram DMs, WhatsApp and Messenger, Meta AI informational cards, walking navigation, camera preview with zoom, and live captions/translation.
• Hardware and endurance remain pain points, with chunky 69g frames, monocular 600×600 (~20° FOV) optics, and battery life that can drop well below Meta’s six‑hour claim during display‑heavy use; the Neural Band also needs its own daily charge.
• Early buyers face a thin app ecosystem and retail friction, with no app store, limited third‑party integrations and iOS messaging constraints, plus heightened privacy concerns tied to discreet recording, a subtle indicator light, and Meta account requirements.