The Smart Glasses Deal I Found on Black Friday Is Somehow Even Better Now

I’ve been covering AR smart glasses since they started evolving from niche enterprise and industrial roles into general-purpose tools anyone can use. Smart glasses are still developing as wear-anywhere devices, but I regularly use them to watch movies or get work done when I’m away from my desk or TV. Black Friday weekend is a great time to pick up a pair for yourself, and my top budget-friendly pick, the RayNeo Air 3s Pro, just dropped to an even lower price for Black Friday. These glasses are usually $299, but you can get them for $234 while this deal lasts.

What to Know About AR Smart Glasses

Smart glasses fall into several distinct categories, making it challenging to distinguish between them. The models in this story are generally known as augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, but that isn’t an entirely accurate term, and I prefer to call them display smart glasses, specifically prism display smart glasses. They use tiny projectors built into the frames that bounce off prism-shaped lenses to display a large, sharp, and colorful picture before your eyes. They’re great for watching video, working, and even playing video games while you’re sitting down, but they aren’t suited for walking around. That’s because the lens assemblies can obscure some of your vision, and these glasses require a wired connection to a device, such as a phone or computer, that can output video over USB-C. They mirror the device’s screen on a private display that appears, to your eyes, like a large theater. They’re a vital part of my travel gear because they allow me to enjoy media and work on projects privately, with a much bigger view than my phone or laptop screens can offer.

Wireless AI-powered smart glasses are a very different beast. They’re more lightweight and designed to resemble ordinary glasses or sunglasses, allowing you to wear them comfortably when you’re out and about. They usually focus on AI features and voice control, allowing you to ask a virtual assistant like Meta AI or ChatGPT questions, make calls, listen to music, and take pictures. With some models, you can even ask the AI for information about what you’re looking at. AI smart glasses may not have any visual functionality at all and can be an audio-only option, such as the Oakley Meta HSTN.

Wireless AI models that feature displays, such as the Meta Ray-Ban Display and Rokid Glasses, utilize a waveguide etched pattern on a single, flat lens to redirect light from a micro-projector to the user’s eyes. The advantage of this technology is that glasses can be much lighter and thinner than prism-equipped models, and you can see through the lenses just as easily as you can with non-smart glasses. However, waveguide displays have much smaller fields of view than prism displays. They’re only able to display information in a comparatively tiny rectangle in your vision, instead of a huge screen, and they’re also much lower in resolution. The displays in these glasses are designed to show you text, symbols, and limited graphics, such as maps and photos. This category of smart glasses is still in its infancy, and every pair I’ve tested has offered rough experiences with awkward interfaces and less-than-reliable features.

The deals here? They’re for AR/prism glasses.

RayNeo Air 3s Pro Deal

The RayNeo Air 3s Pro earned our Editors’ Choice for budget prism display smart glasses by offering a bright, colorful, sharp picture for just $299. That’s dirt-cheap compared with most other smart glasses in this category. The price doesn’t mean the Air 3s Pro skimps on picture quality, though. Its 1080p display is one of the brightest available with a peak output of 1,200 nits, and it’s incredibly vibrant, covering 145% of the sRGB color space. Those numbers are in line with the $499 Viture Luma Pro (1,250 nits) and even better than the $649 Editors’ Choice XReal One Pro (700 nits and not quite as saturated). Its field of view is slightly narrower at 46 degrees, compared with the Luma Pro and One Pro, which are 52 and 57 degrees, respectively, but it’s still wide enough to view comfortably.

Don’t expect many frills with the Air 3s Pro, as it foregoes a lot of extras to keep its price low. It doesn’t have dimmable exterior lenses like the Luma Pro or the One Pro. Moreover, it doesn’t have focus dials like the Luma Pro, so if you’re nearsighted, you’ll have to spend extra for prescription lens inserts. It also lacks built-in head tracking, a feature that enables the One Pro to offer a much more immersive experience and an incredibly useful ultrawide (3,840 by 1,080) view. It’s significantly cheaper than both the Viture and XReal models, though, and it still works great, which is why I recommend it for anyone interested in trying AR smart glasses without making a substantial investment.

Unlock Exclusive Cyber Week Savings!

Get Early Access to the Best Black Friday Deals

Stay ahead of the sales! Sign up to the Tech Deals newsletter for the best holiday tech bargains.

Stay ahead of the sales! Sign up to the Tech Deals newsletter for the best holiday tech bargains.

By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy
Policy.

Thanks for signing up!

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!

More XReal Black Friday Deals

If you’re interested in a more high-end experience, XReal also has some sales for Black Friday. The One Pro is $50 off at $599, which isn’t a huge price drop, but it’s still a nice discount. The less advanced XReal One is discounted to $399, 20% off its usual price of $499. The XReal One isn’t quite as bright (600 nits), its field of view is only 50 degrees, and it doesn’t have the ultrawide mode I’ve found vital for getting work done, but it’s also $200 less and still has head-tracking to really make the virtual screen you’re watching feel like it’s in front of you.

Check out our in-depth coverage of all the Black Friday deals, steals, sales, and discounts that we’ve found so far!

FAQs

What Can I Use AR Smart Glasses With?

Prism display AR smart glasses, such as the RayNeo Air 3s Pro and XReal One Pro, require a wired connection to a video source to function. They can accept any video output via DisplayPort over USB-C, which means most Macs, PCs, and Android phones, as well as iPads and iPhones with USB-C ports, can be used with them. The biggest exceptions are the Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2. While they connect to docks over USB-C, their ports don’t output a standard video signal. RayNeo, Viture, and XReal all offer separate docks that let you connect your Switch or Switch 2 to the glasses. While they cost extra, RayNeo offers the Air 3s Pro in a bundle with its JoyDock accessory for $319, down from $379.

When Will AI Smart Glasses With Waveguide Displays Be Ready?

That’s a very good question, and I don’t have a firm answer. The Meta Ray-Ban Display is the most promising pair I’ve tried, but I haven’t fully tested them yet. According to my colleague Scott Stein at , it seems to have some wrinkles to iron out. Considering it’s $799 and you need to schedule a demo at a physical store before placing an order, you should probably wait. Other, less expensive waveguide smart glasses, such as the Rokid Glasses I reviewed and the Even Realities G2 I’m currently testing, are promising for specific tasks, but they’re also more limited devices with monochrome green screens instead of the Meta Ray-Ban Display’s color display. These can be very useful for text-focused tasks, such as language translation, and are especially helpful for users who are hard of hearing, thanks to their ability to display live captions. They’re still pricey, though, and have pretty significant learning curves.

We’ll probably see some advancements in this type of smart glasses at CES 2026 and in the coming year, and Google’s new Android XR platform could be the unifying ecosystem the category has been lacking.

Stop Overpaying: Track Prices Before You Buy on Black Friday

About Our Expert

Will Greenwald

Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

---

Experience

I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I’ve served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.

Read Full Bio