00:04I've spent the past couple of months with the Rokid AI glasses style and at first glance they
00:09should be nothing but a slam dunk. These AI glasses run ChatGPT5 for insightful answers
00:14to your questions, boast a solid 12 megapixel camera for first-person shots, have real-time
00:20translation of 12 languages including Chinese, Korean, French and German, and will last you
00:25around five or six hours of regular use on a single charge. But the sense they nickel and dime you
00:30with added costs, including for basic clear lenses and for a charging case, coupled with an ugly design
00:37means they're tougher to recommend than they really should be. Here's my full review.
00:44You can pick up the Rokid AI glasses in the US, they also ship to Canada, the UK and the
00:49EU,
00:50from Rokid's own store for $379, though they're seemingly always on sale for $299.
00:56This price doesn't tell you the full story however. Firstly, lenses cost extra,
01:00and I'm not just talking about prescription lenses. Glare lenses are $59, shaded lenses are $89,
01:07while polarised options will set you back $109, and photochromic lenses that can swap between
01:13clear and shaded are $109 too. There's additional costs for various extra coatings like anti-glare,
01:19and then you'll also need to pay more for a charging case if you want one. It sets you back
01:23at $99. This added cost approach is a major feel-bad when going through the online store,
01:28and a generally terrible initial impression. Though if you do splash out on these specs,
01:32get the case and photochromic lenses. They're incredibly useful for getting the most out of
01:37your glasses, especially when it comes to the lenses. The always shaded glasses I've been testing
01:42aren't ideal for using in late winter, early spring in the UK, where it's rarely bright enough for
01:47sunglasses. And those are the conditions I've been testing them in, and it's just not been a heck
01:52of a lot of fun. At a distance, the Rokid AI glasses style follow the Wayfarer shape that many smart
02:01specs adopt. Though ironically, when you consider their name, upon closer inspection they miss the
02:06mark style-wise. The black plastic frame and flat lenses adopted by Rokid's specs remind me of movie
02:12theatre 3D glasses, not a premium fashion accessory you'd be proud to be caught wearing in public.
02:18As much a fashion accessory as a useful gadget, the design of smart glasses is crucial, something
02:23rivals like Mercer has realised with its Ray-Ban and Oakley designs, and Google with its upcoming
02:28Warby Parker and Gentle Monster designs. Meanwhile, Rokid has really missed the mark here. I also don't
02:35love that there isn't a physical power switch on the glasses' frame itself. When I say,
02:39go to the bathroom while wearing my smart glasses, knowing that I have physically toggled them off
02:44puts my mind at ease that I am indeed conducting my business in private. Without this switch,
02:49I have to trust that the Rokid glasses aren't watching, and while I know Rokid will say the
02:53specs aren't spying, I still feel entirely uncomfortable. Moving on to the battery life,
02:58while Rokid promises 12 hours of use per charge, my experience of using them for regularly calling
03:03people, taking photos, asking the AI questions, and playing music means that they last closer to
03:085 or 6 hours. That's not bad in fairness, and as I've noticed with smart glasses in the past,
03:15at least when they do run out of charge, you still have a handy pair of shades on hand.
03:19Rounding off this section with a more positive note, the nose pads help to improve the comfort
03:24and secure fit of these specs, and I wish my Ray-Bans had something similar. I have a large pair,
03:30and in the summer, when my face is covered in a mixture of sweat and sun cream,
03:34I constantly have to re-adjust my Ray-Bans to sit on my face properly. With these Rokid glasses,
03:40I could leave them in place for a whole day with no trouble.
03:47Now, if the Rokid AI glasses struggle in terms of design and price, performance is where they
03:52solidly hit the mark. Rokid's AI assistant is powered by ChatGPT5, which I found meant the specs
03:58were able to provide useful, insightful info on a range of topics. They even helped me find a new
04:03restaurant to try in Brighton's Lanes after I asked for food recommendations. As someone who
04:07regularly uses my smart glasses as a tourist, they were more than capable of being my personal guide
04:13in a familiar and unfamiliar place. I can't speak for the full quality of their translation abilities,
04:18though tests at trade shows have proven that they have a solid grasp of Chinese,
04:21and the 12 long list of supported languages, which includes English as well as essential and
04:26European dialects, does put the glasses ahead of some key rivals, with a more limited selection.
04:32Read Meta's specs.
04:33The microphones pick up clear audio and AI commands even in windier conditions.
04:38Navigation is handy when it works properly. It sometimes misheard me and wanted to send me
04:43to Nottingham train station rather than my nearest train station in Brighton,
04:47and making voice notes is super easy. All of these tools can be activated hands-free using just voice
04:53commands, but you can find recordings, photos, and additional information like a route map in the
04:58high Rokid app on your smartphone. Speaking of photos, the Rokid AI glasses camera is, in a word,
05:04fine. The 12 megapixel snapper is a little better for video, but it can be handy for taking a quick
05:10first person shot, especially if you haven't got the hands to take your phone out of your pocket.
05:14The audio is also fine. The bass likes oomph and tracks feel noticeably emptier than they would with
05:19headphones, and at medium to louder volumes there's noticeable sound leakage if people are near to you.
05:25But for casual tunes while you explore a city, these specs will serve you fine with open-air audio
05:30that won't take you out of the moment you're in.
05:36So I've scored the Rokid AI glasses three stars out of five, so my advice for whether you should
05:41buy them over the current market front-runner, Meta's AI smart glasses, depends on your needs.
05:47If you hate Meta, want the arguably better smart glasses in terms of AI tools, and don't care about
05:53serious design deficiencies, Rokid specs are the ones for you. But if you want glasses that are
05:58still incredibly useful and also incredibly fashionable, the Meta specs are the right pick,
06:03and they're what I'd buy if I was you. Whichever you're picking, the Ray-Ban Meta glasses or the
06:08Rokid AI glasses style, you can find links to the best places to buy a pair in the description below,
06:13and be sure to subscribe to TechRadar for more excellent tech videos.
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