We’ve all heard about the new smart glasses that enable you to augment your current reality, overlaying information onto our real view. Google made an attempt, Apple introduced Vision Pro, and Meta launched smart glasses with Ray-Ban priced at $200-500. The idea is to make life feel connected, and more efficient with the digital overlays. But are these glasses practical and here for good or just a hype?
Companies are beginning to make use of Augmented Reality, like the airline industry (e.g., Chinese Southern Airlines) and automotive industry. Porsche, for example, is implementing the “Tech Live Look” smart glasses designed to improve technical services in North American dealerships (Li, 2022, Porsche, n.d.). These smart glasses can be used for car repairs and inspections, supporting the mechanic by displaying diagnostics, errors, and components directly on the physical machine and allowing for a seamless interaction. For industries where efficiency and precision is critical to operations, AR glasses can add genuine value.
What are its use cases in everyday life? The promise is that it can be implemented in many ways, like paying with sight, reading reviews in coffee shops, and snapping moments by simply tapping the glasses. The Ray-Ban smart glasses Gen 2, among others, are the current version, offering AI functionalities in a classic wearable pair of Ray-Bans (Gibbs, 2025).
Responses to AR glasses indicate public skepticism about the practicality of the product. Issues such as increased cognitive load, overreliance, and redundancy, as the iPhone has many of these functionalities.
I think that this technology can be very beneficial for more niche situations, like mechanics, healthcare, as well as field jobs in farming. But, the adoption for day-to-day use should be further evaluated to understand where the true value lies and whether there is a willingness-to-pay. It feels like it’s a solution in search of a problem.
References
Porsche introduces “Tech live look” augmented reality smart glasses. Porsche Newsroom. (n.d.). https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/porsche-tech-live-look-augmented-reality-smart-glasses-north-america-dealerships-technology-high-tech-software-14517.html
Gibbs, S. (2025, September 18). Meta announces first Ray-Ban Smart glasses with in-built augmented reality display. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/17/meta-ray-ban-smart-glasses
Ting Li, Wang, J., & Fei Wu. (2022). How One Airline Is Using AR to Improve Operations. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 1–6.
