Smart glasses are about the most fashion forward bit of tech you can wear. Obviously, the features themselves are important, but if they look terrible (do we even need to mention the Google Glass horror show from over a decade ago?), they’ll quickly become a novelty rather than a necessity, resigned to gathering dust in the drawer, a graveyard for old iPhone chargers and batteries.
Fortunately, in the case of the new Even Realities G1 smart glasses, aesthetics aren’t an issue. They’re sleek, stylish (if a bit boxy), and most importantly discreet. They come in three colours (green, grey and brown) and two styles: Even G1 A and Even G1 B. The former has circular frames and the G1 B’s are more rectangular and “modern”, according to the website.
What separates the G1 glasses from others on the market is their simplicity, being solely powered by the highly functional and crisp Holistic Adaptive Optical System: a small LED projector that beams up green text onto the lenses. That’s it. No built-in speakers or cameras—as seen on Meta’s collaborations with Ray-Ban. No fuss.
After linking up through Bluetooth to the Even Realities app on your phone, you’ll be able to—occasionally ineffectively—translate languages in real time, use maps without staring down at your phone, and invisibly read from a teleprompter for public speaking. Charging the device is also simple and rarely needed with a 1.5 day battery life.
The most functional aspect of the G1 device is the dashboard feature, where you can see notifications, the time, and other data, whilst going about your day. As a disclaimer, I found it necessary to change the default head-tilt angle required to access the dashboard from the factory setting of 20° to 10°. At 20°, with the more significant head raise required, it looked as though I had adopted a nervous twitch and was more difficult to use.
Unfortunately, the Even AI feature is clunky. In theory, pressing a button on the left arm will allow you to ask the specs anything, but for me the loading speeds were slow and it struggled to understand many of my commands. Despite the G1’s shortcomings and relatively high price point—it’s an extra £125 to add perspective lenses—these could be the most functional smart specs on the market.
Technical Specs
- Material: High quality magnesium and titanium alloys
- Weight: 38g
- Lens size: 41.8 x 47mm
- Display: Micro LED
Pricing
£594 (+£125 for prescription lenses)
Where to buy
Find the on the Even Realities website here
