These AR Smart Glasses Tested My Patience in a Big Way

Let me tell you, I was really trying to like these AR smart glasses. I wanted to understand them, be fair in my assessment, and even just breathe normally while wearing them! But right off the bat, it was clear that the Inmo Air 3 were going to be a struggle.

Honestly, you shouldn't have to work so hard to justify wearing AR glasses. If they don't just seamlessly integrate into your life, they're pretty much dead on arrival, at least in my opinion. I crave that futuristic AR experience, but with the Inmo Air 3, priced at $900, "trying" was the best I could manage. And that's a major letdown.

First Impressions and Discomfort

So, Inmo, a Chinese company, launched the Air 3 on Kickstarter, promising some cool features. A full-color 1080p screen and a smart ring for navigation caught my eye. The ability to run any 2D app from the Google Play Store sounded like a winning combination.

Sadly, this gadget falls into the "complete whiff" category. The problems started right out of the box. While the packaging and included accessories were impressive, like a touch-sensitive ring and attachable shades, the positive feelings ended there. I literally couldn't see anything properly when I first put them on!

It turned out the issue wasn't the display itself, but how the glasses sat on my face. Because of my prominent nose (I have to wear glasses higher up), I couldn't see two-thirds of the screen in a comfortable position. To see the full display, I had to push them down, pinching my nostrils and making it difficult to breathe. Not fun at all! And believe me, you can't adjust a single screen on your face. My colleagues agreed that the screen was faint and difficult to make out. One even said they hurt his eyes.

The Ring of Disappointment

I was excited about the smart ring for controlling the UI, but it was a nightmare. The Ring 3, connected via Bluetooth, had noticeable lag, making it imprecise and frustrating. And wouldn't you know it, while trying to resize the plastic band, it started to break! So, I switched to the touch-sensitive surface on the glasses and a cheap-feeling remote. The touchpad worked, but required multiple taps to register clicks.

Once I got the Inmo Air 3 online (a pain involving painstakingly entering my Wi-Fi password with the remote), I downloaded some apps. YouTube was decent, though the nose-crushing was distracting. TikTok was okay, but not better than using my phone. The screen is sharp, but the brightness isn't great. While Meta's Ray-Ban Display hits 5,000 nits, the Inmo Air 3 only reaches 600. Even in my sunny office, the contrast suffered.

Size and Battery Woes

The Inmo Air 3 are bulky. The thick frames and weight made me feel a bit silly wearing them. Plus, the battery life isn't impressive. I got maybe 1.5 to 2 hours of continuous use. Also, the 16-megapixel camera takes surprisingly poor-quality pictures, worse than Meta's Ray-Bans, even though they have a lower megapixel count.

Inmo's Air 3 feel stuck between basic smart glasses and full-fledged AR devices. They're marketed as wearable, but the battery life, size, and lack of convenience make them more of a stay-at-home gadget. Style isn't their strong suit, to say the least.

I wanted to test cloud gaming and the multi-window mode, but the glasses didn't sit right on my face, and the ring was broken. It's a shame, because there are some cool ideas here. A functional ring, the ability to download any app, and a comfortable design could make these glasses amazing.

Unfortunately, the Inmo Air 3 are just too much trouble. At $900 (early bird price, $1,100 MSRP), the lack of polish is unacceptable. It makes you appreciate the refinement of something like the Meta Ray-Ban Display. So, while I can't recommend these, sometimes knowing how bad things can be is its own reward. I suffered so you don't have to.