Features · 2026
What do smart glasses do? A job-by-job answer.
Every maker describes its glasses in its own words, and the words hide the fact that different glasses do different jobs. This guide lists the jobs one at a time: photos, video, calls, music, an assistant, translation, directions and a display. For each one it says which kind of glasses does it, with the claim tied to the maker's own page, and where OXIVUE frames stop.
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1. What smart glasses do: the jobs, in one table
“Smart glasses” covers three different kinds of hardware. Camera glasses put a camera, speakers and microphones in an ordinary-looking frame. Display glasses project a small image into the lens and often leave the camera out. Audio glasses are speakers and microphones only. If you want the categories defined properly, read AI glasses vs smart glasses; this page takes the other route and goes job by job. The table is the summary, and each row below says where the figures come from.
| Job | Camera glasses (Meta · OXIVUE) | Display glasses (Even G1 · Meta Display) | Audio-only glasses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos | Yes. Meta: 12 MP wide-angle. OXIVUE: 8 MP, started by a touch on the temple | Even G1 lists no camera | No |
| Video | Yes. Meta: up to 3K at 30 fps. OXIVUE: video from the same 8 MP camera | Even G1 lists no camera | No |
| Calls | Yes, through open-ear speakers and microphones, over your phone | Varies; Even G1 lists two microphones and no speakers | Yes |
| Music, podcasts | Yes. Meta lists Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Audible and Shazam integration. OXIVUE plays whatever the phone plays | Even G1 lists no speakers | Yes |
| Voice assistant | Yes. Meta: voice control. OXIVUE: “Hey Cyan” on the M02C describes what you look at | Varies by model | Yes. Meta Clubmaster (Audio): voice control |
| Translation | OXIVUE: 40+ languages (139 on the M14) via the app, heard by the wearer only | Even G1: translated text in the lens | Only if the phone app does it |
| Directions | Audio prompts from the phone’s map app in your ear | Even G1: “hands-free directions” shown in the lens | Audio prompts |
| Display | None (Meta compare page: “No display”; OXIVUE: none) | Yes; that is the point of the category | None |
| Prescription lenses | Meta: Rx range listed. OXIVUE: none on any model | Even G1: yes | Varies |
| Price | Meta from $224 (Gen 3 Wayfarer $449). OXIVUE $99 to $149 at checkout | Meta Ray-Ban Display from $799; Even G1 price not on its page | Meta Clubmaster (Audio) from $349 |
Meta figures are from meta.com’s compare page and product pages, Even G1 figures from evenrealities.com, all checked October 7, 2026. OXIVUE prices checked 2026-10-07; checkout price may change.
2. Taking photos and video from where you are looking
This is the job most people mean when they ask what smart glasses do. A camera sits in the corner of the frame, pointed where your face points, so the picture is what you were looking at when you took it, with both hands still on the handlebars, the fishing rod or the pushchair.
Meta’s compare page lists a wide-angle 12 MP camera and video up to 3K at 30 frames per second on its camera frames (checked October 7, 2026). OXIVUE frames use an 8 MP camera: the M02C and M14 carry a Sony IMX219 sensor, the M02C with dual stabilisation for walking and running, and the M08 an 8 MP sensor whose maker we do not publish. All three take photos and video clips. They go to the free HeyCyan app on your phone, where you save or share them; there is no screen on the glasses to review them.
Two things to know before you buy for this job. First, nothing records on its own: on OXIVUE a capture starts with a visible touch on the temple, and if you do not touch it, nothing is saved. Second, recording people has rules. In public you are generally in the same position as someone holding up a phone, but private venues set their own rules and some US states require everyone in a conversation to agree to audio recording. Ask before you record someone, and read smart glasses recording laws by state if you plan to use the camera around other people.
3. Taking calls and playing music without earbuds
The second job is audio. Small open-ear speakers in the arms of the frame sit just above your ears and play into them without sealing the ear canal, so you hear the call or the playlist and still hear the room, the traffic or the person next to you. Microphones in the frame pick up your voice for the other end of the call.
Every camera frame on Meta’s compare page lists “discreet open-ear speakers with adaptive volume”, a 6-mic array and integration with Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Audible and Shazam (checked October 7, 2026). OXIVUE frames have open-ear directional speakers and microphones and play whatever your phone sends over Bluetooth 5.4: any music app, any podcast app, any call. Rated audio time is 7 hours of listening or 4 hours of calls on the M08 and M02C, and the other way round on the M14: 4 hours of listening or 7 hours of calls, with dual microphones built for calls in wind on a bike or a ski lift.
The honest limit is the same for every open-ear design: at high volume some sound leaks to people nearby, and the speakers will not block a loud train the way sealed earbuds do. Audio-only frames, such as the Ray-Ban Meta Clubmaster (Audio) listed from $349 on meta.com, do this one job without a camera; if calls and music are all you want, see phone calls on smart glasses and smart glasses vs earbuds.
4. Asking an assistant, including about what you are looking at
The “AI” in AI glasses is mostly this job. You say a wake word, ask a question, and the answer plays in your ear. Meta’s compare page lists voice control on all of its frames. On OXIVUE, the M02C answers to “Hey Cyan” and can describe what you are looking at. On the M08 and M14 the assistant lives in the HeyCyan app on your phone. Of all the jobs on this page, this is the one that depends most on your phone having a connection, because the thinking happens there, not in the glasses. How do AI glasses work walks through exactly what runs on the frame and what runs on the phone.
5. Translating a conversation into your ear
Translation is the job most often misunderstood before purchase, so here is exactly what happens on OXIVUE frames. You open translation in the HeyCyan app, choose the two languages, and speak. The other person’s sentence is translated and played through the open-ear speakers, heard by you only. Your reply is translated and shown as text on your phone screen, which you hold up for them to read. Translation pauses after each sentence; it is turn-taking, not a simultaneous interpreter. It needs your phone nearby and connected.
The M08, M02C and M08C cover 40+ languages; the M14 covers 139. Display glasses do the same job differently: the Even Realities G1 lists a Translate feature that turns the other person’s words into text in the lens, with no speakers listed (evenrealities.com, checked October 7, 2026). If you want the other person to hear a spoken reply from the glasses, no OXIVUE frame does that. The translation page and glasses that translate languages go deeper.
6. Directions: audio prompts, or arrows in the lens
Camera and audio glasses do not have maps of their own. What they do is play the turn prompts from the map app already running on your phone through the open-ear speakers, so you walk or cycle with the phone in a pocket and the street in your ears. OXIVUE frames do this with any navigation app that speaks its directions. Display glasses go a step further: the Even Realities G1 page says “hands-free directions help you see where to go”, meaning the next turn appears in the lens (checked October 7, 2026). If directions are the main reason you are shopping, smart glasses for navigation compares the two approaches in more detail.
7. Seeing things in the lens: what display glasses do
The job that gets the most attention and the fewest buyers. A display model projects a small image into one lens: notifications, a message, a translated line, a teleprompter script, a turn arrow. The Even Realities G1 lists a green Micro LED display at 640 by 200 with a 25-degree field of view and up to 1.5 days of battery, and offers prescription lenses (evenrealities.com, checked October 7, 2026). Meta’s Ray-Ban Display, listed from $799 on meta.com, pairs a “private in-lens display” for messages and alerts with a Neural Band worn on the wrist to control it.
Everything else on this page, Meta’s camera frames included, has no display; Meta’s own compare page says so for each of the three frames it compares. OXIVUE frames have none either. Nothing appears in your view; you hear answers and you capture photos and video. If a display is the job, read smart glasses with display and skip our frames.
8. What smart glasses do not do
Three things belong in an explainer rather than a footnote. Smart glasses are not a phone replacement: the glasses carry the camera, speakers, microphones and a battery, and the phone carries the connection, the maps, the music and the translation engine, which is why almost every job needs the phone. They are not always-on recorders: a capture starts when you start it. And on OXIVUE they are not prescription glasses: no model takes corrective lenses, so if you need vision correction all day, our frames cannot replace the pair you already wear.
Water is the other honest line. The M02C is rated IP65 (dust-tight and protected against water jets, not immersion), the M14 IPX4 (splash and rain), and the M08 has no published water rating. None of them is for swimming.
9. Which kind of smart glasses for which job
Match the hardware to the job you will actually do most weeks, not the longest feature list. If the job is a message or a map arrow in your eye, buy display glasses and expect to pay for it. If it is calls and music alone, audio frames do it for less and weigh less. If it is capturing what you see, hearing calls and directions, and getting through a conversation in another language, camera glasses are the category, and that is where OXIVUE sits.
- Everyday, hiking, driving, fishing: the M08 at $99 at checkout (listed $149), about 42 g, with a sun, photochromic or clear lens.
- The same, plus rain, a steadier camera and the visual assistant: the M02Cat $109 at checkout (listed $159), about 41 g, IP65, Sony IMX219 with dual stabilisation, “Hey Cyan”, magnetic charging.
- Cycling and skiing, and the widest translation list: the M14 at $149 at checkout (listed $199), a 52 g one-piece wrap shield in four colourways that cannot be swapped for a clear or photochromic lens, IPX4, 139 languages, 7 hours of calls.
- The office or the golf course: the M08C at $119 at checkout (listed $169), the M08 with gold or silver metal trim.
Two or more pairs in one order are 50% off all eyewear. Every model is laid out side by side on the comparison page, and if the question is really “what do Meta glasses do”, that guidegoes through Meta’s pages feature by feature.
Shipping, refunds and warranty. Free shipping from $99. US orders typically arrive in 5–9 business days; international orders take 9–14 business days. OXIVUE does not offer refunds except for an order damaged in transit, which is replaced or refunded. Faults after delivery are covered by the 2-year warranty through repair or replacement. None of our frames take prescription lenses. Details on the shipping policy and refund policy pages.
Frequently asked questions
Do AI glasses record video?
Most camera-equipped smart glasses do. Meta's compare page lists up to 3K video at 30 frames per second on its camera frames (checked October 7, 2026). OXIVUE frames record from an 8 MP camera set in the corner of the frame, and a clip starts only when you touch the temple; nothing records on its own. Display glasses such as the Even Realities G1 list no camera at all, and audio-only frames have none. Check the exact model, not the category.
What can smart glasses do that a phone cannot?
Nothing a phone cannot do in principle; the difference is that your hands and eyes stay free. The camera captures what you are looking at while you hold a bag, a bike or a child. Open-ear speakers put calls, music and navigation prompts in your ears without blocking the street. Translation plays into your ear while you keep looking at the person. The phone still does the heavy lifting in the background.
How do you use smart glasses?
Pair them with your phone over Bluetooth through the maker's app, then use the controls on the frame. On OXIVUE, a touch on the temple takes a photo or starts a clip, the open-ear speakers play whatever your phone sends them, and translation, the assistant and your files live in the free HeyCyan app. There is no display, so you never look at the glasses; you listen to them.
Are smart glasses good for you?
They are ordinary frames with electronics in the arms, worn the way you would wear any sunglasses or clear glasses. Open-ear speakers sit above the ear and leave the ear canal open, so you still hear traffic and people around you. The honest trade-offs are weight (41 to 52 g for OXIVUE frames), batteries that need charging, and, on display glasses, a small image projected in your view. This is general information, not medical advice.
Can smart glasses be prescription?
Some can and some cannot. Meta's compare page lists prescription ranges for the frames it compares, up to -12.00 to +6.00, and Even Realities offers prescription lenses for the G1 (both checked October 7, 2026). OXIVUE frames take no prescription lenses on any model. If you need vision correction all day, that rules our frames out, and we would rather say so here than after you order.
What do smart glasses cost?
On meta.com on October 7, 2026, Meta's AI glasses started at $224, the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Gen 2 was listed at $379, the Gen 3 at $449 and the Meta Ray-Ban Display from $799. OXIVUE camera glasses are $99 (M08), $109 (M02C), $119 (M08C) and $149 (M14) for one pair at checkout, and two or more pairs in one order are 50% off all eyewear. Prices checked 2026-10-07; checkout price may change.
Do smart glasses need a phone?
For almost every job, yes. The glasses carry the camera, speakers, microphones and a battery; the phone carries the connection, the maps, the music and the translation engine. OXIVUE frames need the phone nearby and connected for translation, calls, music and the assistant. Photos and clips are taken on the glasses and move to the app afterwards. Our guide to whether smart glasses need a phone goes through each feature.
How fast do OXIVUE glasses ship, and what if something is wrong?
US orders typically arrive in 5 to 9 business days and international orders in 9 to 14 business days after shipment, to 39 countries, with free shipping from $99, so every single pair qualifies. No refunds except transit damage (replaced or refunded); faults are repaired or replaced under the 2-year warranty; change of mind and unmet expectations are not refundable.
What these frames won’t do
- No prescription lenses yet, on any model. If you need vision correction all day, these can't replace your glasses.
- No display. Nothing appears in your view; you hear answers and capture photos and video.
- Open-ear speakers leak some sound at high volume and won't block out a loud train or a windy road the way sealed earbuds do.
- Translation, music, calls and the assistant need your phone nearby and connected. Translation pauses after each sentence, and only you hear the translated audio; the other person reads the reply on your phone.
- M02C: IP65 resists dust and water jets, not immersion. No swimming, no saltwater.
- M08: no published water rating, so keep it out of heavy rain and spray.
- M14: one-piece shield, so the lens can't be swapped for clear or photochromic.
- M14: IPX4 covers splash, spray and rain only, and at 52 g it is heavier than the 41–42 g frames.
Check these before you order: see the warranty and refund policy.