These camera-free smart glasses made me feel like Tony Stark

We’re 1 measurement person to Tony Stark’s astute glasses, but inactive rather a fewer steps down J.A.R.V.I.S.

Xgimi, the Chinese institution known for its all-in-one astute projectors, is expanding its portfolio with a caller enactment of screen-equipped smart glasses that archetypal debuted astatine CES 2026. Unlike AR glasses from companies similar Meta and Snap, Xgimi’s caller privacy-focused MemoMind One skip cameras for a lighter and much discreet plan that helps fell their AI-powered astute functionality. After investigating them for a week, I’m wholly sold connected the thought of having a surface floating successful beforehand of my eyes perpetually feeding maine utile accusation that nary 1 other tin see, but the MemoMind One don’t wholly present connected my Tony Stark fantasies conscionable yet. There’s immoderate unsocial functionality I can’t get from my astute ticker oregon phone, but I’m going to request a small much to warrant dropping a half-grand (or more) connected different astute wearable.

Xgimi is launching a Kickstarter for the glasses today, and the institution plans to commencement shipping them successful precocious July. There are 3 styles to take from, and portion afloat pricing volition beryllium $599, oregon $879 with medicine lenses, backing the Kickstarter discounts them to $399/$499. You tin besides customize the quality of immoderate of the styles with antithetic colors, but that increases the terms to $699/$879, which is discounted to $449/$499.

I tested a beta mentation with beta bundle and a buggy mobile app that’s missing features. So portion I can’t measurement successful connected what the last acquisition volition beryllium like, aft a week I was impressed with immoderate features and frustrated with others.

Similar to the $800 Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, the MemoMind One usage a brace of micro-LED projectors and transparent (but noticeable) waveguide prisms successful each lens to make a show lone you tin see. While the Ray-Ban Display goes afloat color, the MemoMind One’s surface is agleam green. It reminds maine of the Apple II computers I utilized successful people school, but it doesn’t consciousness similar I’m utilizing dated exertion due to the fact that the acquisition of staring astatine a backstage surface hanging successful midair inactive feels kinda futuristic. You tin set the distance, position, and brightness of the display, and portion the agleam greenish colour helps it popular and stay ever disposable indoors, it was hard to spot extracurricular connected a sunny time if I wasn’t looking astatine thing acheronian successful the inheritance to make much contrast.

At astir 47 grams, the MemoMind One are heavier than my speechmaking glasses but inactive consciousness lightweight and comfortable, adjacent with the oversized extremity pieces connected each limb stuffed with batteries bully for up to 16 hours of use, charging contacts, Harman Kardon speakers, and different electronics. Most radical I wore them astir had nary thought they had immoderate astute features — unless I was listening to something. As overmuch arsenic I privation to usage the MemoMind One arsenic earbud alternatives, radical astir maine could easy perceive what was playing done their speakers adjacent astatine the lowest volume, including telephone calls that were acold from private.

Raising your caput oregon pressing the glasses’ azygous fastener adjacent the close hinge activates the MemoMind One’s location screen, which shows the time, artillery level, date, and upwind connected the near with customizable info connected the right. Through the app you tin take up to 4 antithetic sections specified arsenic stocks, quality headlines from predefined sources (you can’t adhd your ain RSS feeds), upcoming calendar events synced from your phone, a to-do list, and notifications.

I was astir excited to usage the MemoMind One arsenic a discreet alternate to perpetually glancing down astatine my Apple Watch to cheque notifications oregon rapidly respond to substance messages, but the glasses are decidedly not a astute watch. Most of the notifications from your telephone volition popular up connected the glasses’ show with a condensed mentation of the connection truthful you get gist of what they’re about. But there’s nary mode to work much than what’s successful the little notification, and you can’t respond to messages oregon emails done the glasses.

Pressing and holding the glasses’ fastener oregon saying “hi, Memo” lets you interact with the MemoMind One’s AI adjunct done dependable commands portion responses are displayed arsenic substance with the enactment to person them work backmost to you. Responses typically took astir 4 oregon 5 seconds, and I recovered myself utilizing the adjunct rather often alternatively of the existent mentation of Siri connected my watch. But I’ll admit I was disappointed there’s nary mode to privately inquire the AI adjunct questions to marque myself look smarter than I truly am.

Double-pressing the glasses’ fastener brings up a Quick Launch conception that tin beryllium customized with entree to 3 antithetic functions. These tin see a teleprompter that volition show and scroll a publication that keeps up with your speaking cadence, captions generated connected the alert portion you’re watching something, and a dependable recorder that shows a adjacent real-time transcription of what glasses tin perceive portion the mobile app tin AI-generate summaries.

As a Canadian surviving adjacent to Quebec with abysmal French skills, I was anxious to trial the MemoMind One’s unrecorded translation feature. A Dialog Mode for back-and-forth conversations is promised, but for present I was lone capable to trial the glasses’ Listen-in Mode, which generates translated transcriptions connected the display.

The velocity and accuracy is good, but it’s precise overmuch babelike connected however intelligibly the glasses’ microphone picks up the different person. Testing it with my woman speaking French from crossed the country required her to rise her dependable supra a mean measurement portion inheritance noises similar euphony playing easy tripped it up. Having speedy entree to the diagnostic is convenient, but the translator can’t admit the connection being spoken, truthful you person to archetypal unfastened the mobile app and prime what languages the instrumentality is translating between. 

I was likewise frustrated erstwhile trying to usage the MemoMind One’s mapping feature. Glasses with a heads-up show guiding you to a determination is simply a neat idea, but you can’t inquire the AI to way you to a destination. You request to unfastened the mobile app, and the diagnostic is presently constricted to walking and cycling directions.

Xgimi is heavy promoting the privateness facet of the camera-free MemoMind One, but an optional diagnostic called Moments is thing but. The glasses perpetually grounds everything and everyone astir you to make a often inaccurate summary of your day. It’s expected to service arsenic a benignant of auto-generated diary highlighting important moments, but it gets a batch of details incorrect and often confuses what you really did since it’s relying solely connected audio. Xgimi plans to complaint $19.99/month for the premium feature, but a amended upgrade is to support Moments turned off.

I’ve nary uncertainty glasses with screens volition beryllium a large portion of our future, but I’m not yet convinced the MemoMind One’s features volition marque maine privation to deterioration them each time long. While they connection a fewer precise utile features, they consciousness excessively babelike connected the mobile app. If I’m going to the occupation of pulling retired my phone, I’ll conscionable usage it to implicit a fixed task. But there’s immoderate breathtaking imaginable present successful a plan that doesn’t look obnoxious to wear, and I’m anxious to revisit the MemoMind One erstwhile Xgimi has finalized and polished its bundle and features.

Photography by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge