These Anti-Meta Smart Glasses Are Controlled by a Health-Tracking Smart Ring

If you hate the idea of smart glasses with cameras in them, I have some good news: Even Realities still has your back. The new Even G2 smart glasses retain the company’s camera-less and speaker-less design while adding a whole new piece of hardware to the party—a health-tracking smart ring for input.

The $599 Even G2 smart glasses and $249 Even R1 smart ring are available starting today and mark an evolution of Even Realities’ previous Even G1 glasses, which also notably do not have cameras or speakers. The choice not to include those features may seem odd, given the existence of smart glasses like the Meta Ray-Ban Display, but Even Realities says its decision is intentional.

For one, not having cameras makes its smart glasses a lot more appealing to those who don’t like the privacy implications of walking around with cameras discreetly mounted on their face. Secondly, it also vastly decreases the weight of the Even G2, making them more akin to just wearing regular glasses.

The lack of speakers and cameras also makes the Even G2 (and the Even G1 before it) more about the screen than anything, and on that front, Even Realities says it’s made some improvements over the last generation. In the Even G2, it’s introducing new micro LED projectors that power a display in each lens. The projectors, according to the company, equate to a few improvements over the last generation, including a 75% larger image that’s 50% sharper. Having used the Even G2 briefly for myself, I can attest to the display (which is still a monochrome green) being sharper than I expected. If you wear prescription lenses, the Even G2 supports those as well.

As far as features, the Even G2 has similar functionality to other existing smart glasses on the market. Using a companion app for iOS and Android, the smart glasses can receive notifications for things like email and text messages; they have a navigation feature for turn-by-turn directions, a translation feature, and a live captions feature. And like the Rokid Glasses I tested earlier this year, they have a teleprompter feature that can show digital readouts of your presentation, following along with you as you read the words. Unlike AI glasses from Meta or the Ray-Ban Display, they do not have computer vision capabilities due to the lack of cameras.

Even Realities is advertising a two-day battery life for its Even G2, and the included case has enough charge for a week.

Probably the biggest addition this time around, however, is the Even R1, a smart ring that serves a few different purposes. The main purpose is, like Meta’s Neural Band, for controlling the Even G2. With a touch-sensitive surface on the outside of the ring (which is made of zirconia ceramic), you can scroll through windows and tap to select. On top of that, the Even R1 also doubles as a health tracker, using an LED beam inside the ring to measure your heart rate and a temperature sensor for a thermometer feature. There’s also an accelerometer for counting steps, measuring burned calories, and monitoring your distance travelled. The Even R1 has a four-day battery life and is charged with an included magnetic charger. It’s admittedly a lot to cram into one device, which is why Even Realities is selling the Even R1 separately for $249.

What I’m most curious about isn’t the health tracking stuff; it’s whether Even Realities can deliver on the promise of a smart ring that lets you traverse the smart glasses UI smoothly. Having used other smart rings to control smart glasses in the past, the results can be… unrefined like with the Inmo Air 3. While $249 is a lot of money to spend on top of the $599 smart glasses, Even Realities says it’s offering an “introductory period” where those who purchase the Even G2 can get the Even R1 for 50% off. Is that still a lot of money to spend on a pair of smart glasses? Yes, it is. But in a world where Meta’s Ray-Ban Display is being sold for $800, that’s just the way things are going right now. You can purchase the Even G2 and Even R1 starting now from Even Realities’ website.