8 hours ago
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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- The RayNeo X3 Pro astute glasses volition beryllium disposable December 17th for $1,099, with trade-in offers.
- The colour displays look great, the UI is casual to learn, and the glasses are comfortable.
- Battery beingness is poor, the glasses are thick, and the smartphone connectivity is spotty astatine this aboriginal signifier of development.
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Regular readers cognize that I americium a regular idiosyncratic of XR glasses due to the fact that they widen my azygous laptop show into aggregate ample virtual monitors. I precocious purchased the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, and they've been 1 of my favourite pairs for their quality to bring precocious features to the signifier factor.
But for the past month, I've been investigating RayNeo's mentation of astute glasses with heads-up displays: the RayNeo X3 Pro astute glasses, and they're similar looking into the aboriginal (despite not being perfect).
Also: I tried the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, and they got maine excited for the post-smartphone era
The RayNeo X3 Pro see afloat colour microLED displays successful each oculus and 3,500 nits of brightness. Add to that a 76 gram weight, dual-camera imaging system, and 38-minute accelerated complaint via USB-C, and you've got a promising product.
Looking astatine hardware, the colour displays are wide and agleam successful each lighting conditions and I haven't had immoderate issues seeing them. The glasses are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset, which is powerful, but unluckily hasn't resulted successful precise bully artillery life.
I've been getting astir 1 to 2 hours of artillery life, but it's besides highly babelike connected however progressive you are with the OS. It's bully that they complaint up quickly, but dissimilar my Meta astute glasses, determination is nary artillery successful the lawsuit to complaint the glasses up connected the go. This has been beauteous disappointing, but support successful caput that I've been investigating an aboriginal mentation of the model.
Physically speaking, the glasses are reasonably lightweight and precise comfy to wear. There is ample flex successful the sides of the glasses truthful determination is nary unit connected your head, and they besides don't measurement down connected the span of your nose.
However, the frames are inactive alternatively heavy and the cameras are evidently centered connected the front, truthful I bash basal retired a spot portion wearing them connected the bid and successful the office. Physics and disposable abstraction for exertion components volition beryllium a large situation for astute glasses arsenic they effort to go much commonplace.
On the underside of the close broadside of the glasses, there's a fastener to crook connected the show erstwhile it goes into standby mode. Taps, treble taps, and swipes connected the close broadside interaction country assistance you determination astir done notifications, the location screen, and app launcher. There is besides a fastener connected the apical right, the enactment button, that supports taps and agelong presses for AI recording, to-do list, camera, and translation options.
The camera app is good done with a tiny thumbnail showing what volition beryllium captured erstwhile you pat to instrumentality a photograph oregon video. Viewing photos and videos close connected the glasses is besides an awesome acquisition with wide colorful presumption and bully audio erstwhile viewing videos. The camera is besides utilized with the RayNeo AI relation to assistance archer you astir objects successful presumption of the camera.
In summation to the camera and gallery, apps that are portion of the RayNeo OS see AI recordings, to-do list, media subordinate (controls euphony playing from your connected smartphone), 14-language translator, representation app for navigation, and phone. These are stand-alone apps, however, and they bash not link to smartphone apps.
You tin usage ADB and side-load Android apps to the glasses, but I person not yet made that other effort arsenic I americium trying to recognize and admit the default UI.
I person besides not been capable to get immoderate of the AI recordings, images, oregon videos synced implicit to my Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max truthful they tin besides beryllium accessed connected the glasses astatine this time. Import buttons are contiguous and WiFi Direct connections are started, but past the import times retired each azygous time.
The camera has been utile for capturing things connected the go, and I person recovered inferior with RayNeo AI, powered by Gemini, maps, and the teleprompter. The maps app supports navigation via biking oregon walking and portion not tied to Google Maps, Apple Maps, oregon different smartphone apps, it is casual to hunt for a destination and past person the glasses springiness you heads-up directions. The maps are provided by Here and successful my constricted testing, person been accurate.
The teleprompter app projects words successful the glasses, moving them up higher than the UI truthful that you tin look consecutive up and work the script. Simply usage the RayNeo AR smartphone app to participate substance into a record successful the teleprompter inferior and past sync the publication to the glasses.
The awesome portion of this app is that the intelligent algorithms successful the glasses determination done your publication automatically, adjacent if you skip a connection present and there, truthful you don't person to lucifer a definite timing oregon advancement your publication manually. I program to grounds immoderate of my YouTube videos utilizing the RayNeo X3 Pro alternatively than a large iPad teleprompter rig hooked up to my Sony camera with a controller to manually beforehand my scripts.
The RayNeo property accusation mentions an Apple Watch app to assistance power the glasses and I look guardant to investigating that out, but during my archetypal look signifier that app was not yet available.
ZDNET's buying advice
The RayNeo X3 Pro glasses supply a bully glimpse of the aboriginal of astute glasses, but they are chiefly for aboriginal adopters consenting to wage a precocious terms for a fewer prime apps. It is encouraging to spot the dual show exertion successful enactment with fantabulous clarity, vibrant colors, and immoderate utile tech demonstrations specified arsenic the RayNeo AI and astute teleprompter app.
I look guardant to the aboriginal with amended styling, longer artillery life, and improved cross-platform exertion support, and would beryllium blessed to urge them astatine that time.
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