The RayNeo X3 Professional AI+AR smartglasses look nerdy, however are fairly dope

At CES 2026, I lastly obtained my fingers on TCL’s RayNeo X3 Professional AI+AR good glasses. These smartglasses are already obtainable in the marketplace at US$1,299  (C$1,800) — although they’re presently on sale for $1,099 (C$1,523) — however we sadly haven’t gotten the possibility to check out them till now.

In my ten-minute session with the machine, I might completely see the enchantment, and I loved the expertise. Up to now, I’ve performed round with the Meta Show and used an Android XR idea machine, and the RayNeo X3 has a fairly large distinction from these different two smartglasses, as they characteristic a visible show on each lenses as an alternative of only one lens just like the Show. TCL says that that is higher for the consumer and places much less stress on the consumer’s eyes. I haven’t worn the opposite smartglasses lengthy sufficient to expertise eye pressure, however talking to different media, it does appear to be an annoyance. I discovered the show on each lenses fairly snug, although.

The RayNeo X3 Professional’s show space is centred, and barely under your eyeline, which implies it doesn’t actually get in the way in which while you’re trying round. I like how vivid the glasses’ UI can get at as much as 6,000 nits. In the dead of night room I used to be in, I undoubtedly didn’t have to pump up the brightness in any respect; in truth, pushing it to the max was somewhat too vivid, however possibly if I had been outdoor in vivid daylight, this may be needed.

The RayNeo X3 Professional has contact controls on the correct aspect, letting you swipe left, proper, up or down. It took me a couple of minutes to get used to them, however as soon as I obtained the cling of them, they had been intuitive. I believe the machine wants a devoted dwelling button or dwelling gesture, however moreover that, the controls had been strong.

The house display screen is fairly primary and doesn’t have quite a lot of bloat, fortunately. You’ll be able to see some fast settings, like Wi-Fi connection and Bluetooth, and you’ve got entry to your RayNeo assistant. A swipe to the left brings up your notifications. A swipe to the correct, you’ll discover all of your apps. You faucet as soon as to pick an app, however it’s type of while you carry your finger off the touchpad that the app truly will get chosen. And actually, this was the a part of the navigation that took me the longest to get the cling of. It took me a couple of tries to get the cling of it. While you double-tap, it goes again to the display screen earlier than, and holding down on the touchpad brings you to your Fast Settings to regulate connectivity and brightness.

There are additionally bodily buttons on the correct arm, one on the prime for taking photographs or movies and the opposite for turning the display screen on or off. You can too select to have the highest button carry out different actions, like instantly turning on a translation characteristic. The left arm additionally has a touch-sensitive space for media controls. You can too management the machine out of your cellphone with the RayNeo app, and even join it to your Apple Watch — I can’t wait to attempt that out.

Sadly, the room the place I used to be utilizing the machine didn’t have good Wi-Fi connectivity (like quite a lot of locations at CES), so I couldn’t attempt any of the net functionalities, like the interpretation characteristic or use the RayNeo assistant. Nevertheless, the RayNeo Assistant is powered by Google Gemini 2.5, so that you’re in a position to ask it the climate or just about something you’d ask Gemini. The machine makes use of its personal RayNeo AI working system, which appeared odd at first since Android XR is true there, however I’m guessing it’s as a result of that enables the RayNeo X3 Professional to connect with each Android and iOS gadgets — good transfer on their half. You can too obtain different apps, however this expertise is rather a lot simpler on Android, as you’ll have to sideload APKs. This isn’t not possible on iOS, however you’ll want to make use of your Mac and observe a bunch of different steps.

The RayNeo X3 Professional is heavier than my Meta Ray Ban 2, however that’s not stunning contemplating the Meta Ray Bans don’t have screens. Nevertheless, I discovered them fairly snug to put on throughout my 10-minute demo — even a bit extra snug than my glasses due to the arms.

They give the impression of being fairly techy with the cameras within the center. Usually, individuals don’t discover that I’m carrying smartglasses with the Meta Ray Bans, however that’s undoubtedly not going to be the case with the RayNeo X3 Professional. Not saying they appear dangerous, however it’s undoubtedly not as discreet because the Metas. Nevertheless, that may be a bonus for some individuals, as some individuals discover the Metas a bit creepy.

You can too play video games on the machine. I attempted the glasses’ model of Pong, and it’s surprisingly enjoyable because it requires you to maneuver your head round to hit the ball. It’s foolish, and I can’t think about myself doing this rather a lot, however possibly if I’m bored on a protracted commute, this might suck up 5 minutes — particularly since I used to be fairly dangerous and I hate dropping too many occasions.

Different specs embrace a show decision of 640 x 480 pixels, 12-megapixel cameras, the Snapdragon AR1 processor, a full-colour map for navigation and the power to translate as much as 14 languages.

I’ve to place the RayNeo X3 Professional by way of its paces earlier than saying something concrete concerning the machine, however it appears like the subsequent period of smartglasses is unquestionably on the horizon.