Copyright 9to5Mac
During the chaos of CES 2025, I came across one product that gave me the “I need to have that” feeling. It was at a small booth in the smart wearables area. They were the Even Realities G1 glasses. They were the first smart glasses I came across that I actually wanted to wear purely based on the look. When I finally got my hands on them, they mostly lived up to my internal hype. These G1 glasses were amazingly well made, had some great functionality that I used a lot, like the teleprompter feature, and seemed to be heading in the direction that I thought most smart glasses should take. However, it was still a first-generation product, so some kinks needed to be ironed out. Fast forward to today, and Even Realities introduced their new G2 glasses and the R1 bright ring, and now it feels like a whole different beast. Here is what you should know. New design and battery life My biggest worry about a new version was that they would change the design too much, because the design of the G1 was my favorite part. I was pleased to see that they mostly retained the design while also making them lighter, weighing in at just 36 grams; for comparison, the Meta Ray-Bans are about 50 grams. They slightly flattened the top portion of the lens frame, which I did not mind. The most important change was the input method on the glasses themselves. On each temple tip, they replace the current unsatisfying touch nub with a more sophisticated yet easy-to-use touch pad control system. It’s very reminiscent of the camera control button on the modern iPhones. You can swipe, slide, scroll, tap, double-tap, and long-press to interact with the UI and features in different ways. It also hides behind your ear, so it is not visible to most people. When it comes to other input methods, similar to the G1 glasses, these have no cameras, no speakers, no flashing lights. Just well-built, high-end eyewear that happens to be smart. That decision makes them feel much more socially acceptable. Battery life is also best in class for smart glasses, giving you two days on a single charge, and the case provides an additional 6-7 charges. So you can technically go two full weeks without plugging them in. Display tech So if these have no camera, no speakers, no light indicators, what makes these smart? It’s the display. Each lens has a display on it that gives you anything from simple notifications to a teleprompter, to live translation to stock information. The display in this green matrix style font is throughout the entire system. So no color aside from the green. They improved this optical engine with the G2, but introduced the HAO 2.0 (Holistic Adaptive Optics), which essentially sharpens, brightens, and makes the visuals more natural-looking, even when you’re in motion. It utilizes a new 3D spatial display that separates information into layers: quick AI prompts or messages are displayed in front, while items such as notes or navigation are positioned in the background. It feels intuitive, like having a small layer of practical context floating in your vision rather than staring at another screen. The new UI also makes it seem more natural when using the new input system on the tymple tips (which are on both sides. Smart features At its most basic level, I basically tell people that it’s an Apple Watch for your eyes. You get subtle notifications that cross your eye line. But it’s brief and does not distract from what you are doing in the moment, which I love. I actually prefer it to notifications on my wrist because if my wrist buzzes, it makes me want to break concentration on what I am doing to look down at my wrist. At the same time, the Even Realities allow you to not break concentration on the task at hand. They also have an abundance of smart tools. The ones I used the most were the Teleprompt feature, which allows you to import a script or take points, and you can read them off the display in the lenses. The other feature is Maps. You can use the glasses to navigate without needing to check your phone. Some other tools that are included are: Conversate is the newest feature, a real-time AI assistant that can subtly help you during conversations Translate supports 29 languages for instant two-way communication. QuickList and Dashboard keep your to-dos and calendar items always within view. And the new Even AI engine runs three times faster, making everything feel instant. One important thing to note here is that all the processing is done on the App and on your smartphone. None of the action is actually taking place on the glasses. This allows the glasses to remain sleek, light and thin. The R1 smart ring One of my biggest gripes with the G1 glasses is that there was no clear way to interact with the information displayed. You could speak to the Even AI but that was it. You also had the touch nubs at the end of the tymple, but again, I was not a fan of that at all. That is where this new R1 ring comes into play. While the new touch panels on the G2 glasses are great and responsive, it does require you to touch the glasses physically. The R1 ring is like a mouse for your glasses. It’s made from zirconia ceramic and stainless steel, feels premium, and connects directly to the G2. You place it on your index finger and it has this touch-sensitive panel that allows you to do all the same actions that the touch panel on the G2 glasses does. So you can swipe, tap, long press all to move around the new G2 HAO 2 interface. I thought this was a genius idea. You can double-tap to bring up the display or put it to sleep, you can scroll through your information. Just makes it a more pleasant experience. It also tracks your wellness using biometric sensors and introduces a feature called a Productivity Score, which provides you with small nudges throughout the day to stay balanced. I will say the health metrics just seem like an easy add-on. There isn’t anything in-depth when it comes to your health data, but I guess it’s nice to have. You can also view the data on your glasses as well. I want to clarify that you do not need the R1 ring to use the G2 glasses. Final thoughts For a Gen 2 product, I think Even Realities nailed it. They took the feedback the original customers had and implemented it without sacrificing what already made them great. They remained light and well-built while becoming even smarter. I also appreciate this approach to smart glasses more then some of the competition. This is taking the Apple Watch approach. It’s a passive wearable. You do not need to be actively using it to receive the benefits of this device. The only thing I do wish they were able to add was a small speaker on one side but purely to speak to the Even AI assistant. I don’t need it to take phone calls or to play music, I just personally like interacting with AI with audio feedback. Currently, you can speak to it, but you receive answers via text on the lenses, possibly for a G3 version. Pricing & availability The Even G2 Smart Glasses and Even R1 Smart Ring are available now on the Even Realities site. For a limited time, buyers can get the R1 and other accessories 50% off when they purchase the G2. The G2 comes in three colors: grey, brown and green. The G2 starts at $599 and the R1 starts at $249. What do you think of these? What do you think of the current state of wearables? 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