Even Realities' G2 smart glasses prioritize productivity over recording

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Multiple tech executives have suggested that glasses could be the next big interface for consumer hardware. However, today's smart glasses, including Even Realities' G2, rely heavily on phone connectivity, which can be unreliable and frustrating. Even Realities takes a different approach to smart glasses than players like Meta.

Their devices have a monochrome heads-up display that shows text and information in green, giving it the look of a neon board. There are no cameras or speakers, and that is by design. The company wants to focus on productivity rather than recording, so the people around you don't have to worry about being filmed.

The G2 is the second pair of smart glasses from Even Realities and an improvement over the G1 released a few years ago. The G2 has a brighter 1,200-nit display, four mics, and a 75% larger display area than its predecessor. The new display also has a better 60Hz refresh rate, compared with 20Hz on the G1.

In the few months I've used the G2, the connectivity with the phone has improved tremendously. Early on, the glasses would disconnect from the app so frequently that I nearly gave up on them. But after a few app updates, that issue got better.

The glasses are targeted at people who might be constantly in meetings, giving presentations, and traveling to countries where different languages are spoken. The glasses, which come in two frame designs, are very light at 35 grams. The frame is made out of magnesium alloy, and the temples are made out of titanium alloy.

In terms of weight and fit, the glasses were comfortable to wear. The company claims that, based on typical usage, G2's battery can last up to two days on a single charge. The glasses come with a protective case that can recharge them up to seven times before needing to be plugged in itself.

The glasses act as your companion for schedules, reminders, and access to notes. You can wake them up by tapping on the stem-based controls. If you double-tap on the control pad on the stem, you will see a dashboard with information like your upcoming meetings, stocks, and top news.

The G2 can also show real-time phone notifications, but the pop-ups weren't always reliable. Long-pressing the temple control opens a menu with several functions: a notifications tray, Translate, Conversate, Teleprompt, a to-do list, and Navigate. The Even AI assistant often misunderstood my to-do list requests, and for general questions, the answers were often long paragraphs that streamed across the screen with no way to interrupt or skip ahead.

Despite having four mics, Even AI often failed to activate, or misheard me, when I was outside. Even launched a companion ring called the R1 alongside the G2. The idea is to control the glasses through a touch surface on the ring instead of the glasses' own touch controls.