These camera-free smart glasses made me feel like Tony Stark
7 min read
Summary
Xgimi, the Chinese company known for its all-in-one smart projectors, is expanding its portfolio with a new line of screen-equipped smart glasses that first debuted at CES 2026. Unlike AR glasses from companies like Meta and Snap, Xgimi’s new privacy-focused MemoMind One skip cameras for a lighter and more discreet design that helps hide their AI-powered smart functionality. After testing them for a week, I’m completely sold on the idea of having a screen floating in front of my eyes constantly feeding me useful information that no one else can see, but the MemoMind One don’t entirely deliver on my Tony Stark fantasies just yet. There’s some unique functionality I can’t get from my smart watch or phone, but I’m going to need a little more to justify dropping a half-grand (or more) on another smart wearable.
These camera-free smart glasses made me feel like Tony Stark
The MemoMind One make smart glasses more discreet but their AI-powered features are limited and privacy concerns persist.
The MemoMind One make smart glasses more discreet but their AI-powered features are limited and privacy concerns persist.
Xgimi is launching a Kickstarter for the glasses today, and the company plans to start shipping them in late July. There are three styles to choose from, and while full pricing will be 599,or879 with prescription lenses, backing the Kickstarter discounts them to 399/499. You can also customize the appearance of some of the styles with different colors, but that increases the price to 699/879, which is discounted to 449/499.
I tested a beta version with beta software and a buggy mobile app that’s missing features. So while I can’t weigh in on what the final experience will be like, after a week I was impressed with some features and frustrated with others.
Similar to the [800MetaRay−BanDisplayglasses](/tech/779566/meta−ray−ban−display−hands−on−smart−glasses−price−battery−specs),theMemoMindOneuseapairofmicro−LEDprojectorsandtransparent(butnoticeable)waveguideprismsineachlenstocreateadisplayonlyyoucansee.WhiletheRay−BanDisplaygoesfullcolor,theMemoMindOne’sscreenisbrightgreen.ItremindsmeoftheAppleIIcomputersIusedingradeschool,butitdoesn’tfeellikeI’musingdatedtechnologybecausetheexperienceofstaringataprivatescreenhanginginmidairstillfeelskindafuturistic.Youcanadjustthedistance,position,andbrightnessofthedisplay,andwhilethebrightgreencolorhelpsitpopandremainalwaysvisibleindoors,itwashardtoseeoutsideonasunnydayifIwasn’tlookingatsomethingdarkinthebackgroundtocreatemorecontrast.Ataround47grams,theMemoMindOneareheavierthanmyreadingglassesbutstillfeellightweightandcomfortable,evenwiththeoversizedendpiecesoneacharmstuffedwithbatteriesgoodforupto16hoursofuse,chargingcontacts,HarmanKardonspeakers,andotherelectronics.MostpeopleIworethemaroundhadnoideatheyhadanysmartfeatures—unlessIwaslisteningtosomething.AsmuchasIwanttousetheMemoMindOneasearbudalternatives,peoplearoundmecouldeasilyhearwhatwasplayingthroughtheirspeakersevenatthelowestvolume,includingphonecallsthatwerefarfromprivate.Raisingyourheadorpressingtheglasses’singlebuttonneartherighthingeactivatestheMemoMindOne’shomescreen,whichshowsthetime,batterylevel,date,andweatherontheleftwithcustomizableinfoontheright.Throughtheappyoucanchooseuptofourdifferentsectionssuchasstocks,newsheadlinesfrompredefinedsources(youcan’taddyourownRSSfeeds),upcomingcalendareventssyncedfromyourphone,ato−dolist,andnotifications.IwasmostexcitedtousetheMemoMindOneasadiscreetalternativetoconstantlyglancingdownatmyAppleWatchtochecknotificationsorquicklyrespondtotextmessages,buttheglassesaredefinitelynotasmartwatch.Mostofthenotificationsfromyourphonewillpopupontheglasses’displaywithacondensedversionofthemessagesoyougetgistofwhatthey’reabout.Butthere’snowaytoreadmorethanwhat’sinthebriefnotification,andyoucan’trespondtomessagesoremailsthroughtheglasses.Pressingandholdingtheglasses’buttonorsaying“hi,Memo”letsyouinteractwiththeMemoMindOne’sAIassistantthroughvoicecommandswhileresponsesaredisplayedastextwiththeoptiontohavethemreadbacktoyou.Responsestypicallytookaboutfourorfiveseconds,andIfoundmyselfusingtheassistantquitefrequentlyinsteadofthecurrentversionofSirionmywatch.ButI’lladmitIwasdisappointedthere’snowaytoprivatelyasktheAIassistantquestionstomakemyselfseemsmarterthanIreallyam.Double−pressingtheglasses’buttonbringsupaQuickLaunchsectionthatcanbecustomizedwithaccesstothreedifferentfunctions.Thesecanincludeateleprompterthatwilldisplayandscrollascriptthatkeepsupwithyourspeakingcadence,captionsgeneratedontheflywhileyou’rewatchingsomething,andavoicerecorderthatshowsanearreal−timetranscriptionofwhatglassescanhearwhilethemobileappcanAI−generatesummaries.AsaCanadianlivingclosetoQuebecwithabysmalFrenchskills,IwaseagertotesttheMemoMindOne’slivetranslationfeature.ADialogModeforback−and−forthconversationsispromised,butfornowIwasonlyabletotesttheglasses’Listen−inMode,whichgeneratestranslatedtranscriptionsonthedisplay.Thespeedandaccuracyisgood,butit’sverymuchdependentonhowclearlytheglasses’microphonepicksuptheotherperson.TestingitwithmywifespeakingFrenchfromacrosstheroomrequiredhertoraisehervoiceaboveanormalvolumewhilebackgroundnoiseslikemusicplayingeasilytrippeditup.Havingquickaccesstothefeatureisconvenient,butthetranslatorcan’trecognizethelanguagebeingspoken,soyouhavetofirstopenthemobileappandselectwhatlanguagesthetoolistranslatingbetween.IwassimilarlyfrustratedwhentryingtousetheMemoMindOne’smappingfeature.Glasseswithaheads−updisplayguidingyoutoalocationisaneatidea,butyoucan’tasktheAItorouteyoutoadestination.Youneedtoopenthemobileapp,andthefeatureiscurrentlylimitedtowalkingandcyclingdirections.Xgimiisheavilypromotingtheprivacyaspectofthecamera−freeMemoMindOne,butanoptionalfeaturecalledMomentsisanythingbut.Theglassesconstantlyrecordeverythingandeveryonearoundyoutogenerateafrequentlyinaccuratesummaryofyourday.It’ssupposedtoserveasasortofauto−generatedjournalhighlightingimportantmoments,butitgetsalotofdetailswrongandfrequentlyconfuseswhatyouactuallydidsinceit’srelyingsolelyonaudio.Xgimiplanstocharge19.99/month for the premium feature, but a better upgrade is to keep Moments turned off.
I’ve no doubt glasses with screens will be a big part of our future, but I’m not yet convinced the MemoMind One’s features will make me want to wear them all day long. While they offer a few very useful features, they feel too dependent on the mobile app. If I’m going to the trouble of pulling out my phone, I’ll just use it to complete a given task. But there’s some exciting potential here in a design that doesn’t look obnoxious to wear, and I’m eager to revisit the MemoMind One once Xgimi has finalized and polished its software and features.
Photography by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
