I was looking at “spy earbuds” but they just don’t seem too practical, even the real expensive ones I found are still disposable batteries only and I just don’t wanna drop that kind of money. I do however wear glasses and looking online I see they average about $30 for a pair of bluetooth enabled ones. My only question is, has anyone tried these? How are they, can you get them in prescription and how discreet is the audio playback?
My friend has the Razer Anzu which you can get prescription lenses for and he loves them because he really, really hates wearing headphones.
However, I sadly cannot comment on whether or not others can hear the audio from the glasses, because unfortunately… my friend is a bit of a shut-in and lives five states away, so almost all my interaction with him is online, I can’t really go get a taste in person.
Our main complaint/takeaway is that it is very unlikely with how these are built that you would be able to replace the battery that powers them, so the bluetooth capability will eventually degrade until it has to be plugged in at all times to work. At that point, they will still function well enough as glasses, but that’s kind of a moot point because the whole reason you bought them was for the bluetooth. He’s had his for over a year and the battery is fine, it’s just something to consider long-term.
https://www.amazon.com/Razer-Anzu-Smart-Glasses-Built/dp/B08ZC78GWJ
I have them. They aren’t half bad, but it is possible at louder volumes for others to hear.
Perhaps OP should get bone conduction buds, but that may make it hard to wear the glasses.
From the reviews on the product page
- The sound output is on the outside of the glasses arms, not against your ears. Maybe all of these smart glasses are like this, but I find this odd. So at maximum to near maximum volume, people within 20 feet can hear it, which can make for quite the annoyance to others.
That is interesting because I just heard back from my friend and he claims they make hardly any sound when he takes them off his head, and he thinks its unlikely others could hear it.
Of course, as a shut-in, he doesn’t have tons of noise around him so maybe he uses a lower volume than you would need say, on the street in New York City.
I think if you want a model that outputs sound in a way that only you can hear it, your best bet will be bone conduction.
Example (not tested by me, just the first search hit): https://vocalskull.com/products/vocalskull-bone-conduction-sport-glasses-headphones-with-mic-matte-black-frame
Just to piggyback, this is a common way to deliver audio and is discrete but it drives some people nuts. There are lots of inexpensive bt headsets that use this. I’d try one before I spent a lot of money.
Drives some people nuts how? I’m wondering if it tickles? Song-playing lollipops were a brief fad when I was a kid, which worked through bone conduction too but through your mouth. I could barely keep it in my mouth from how much the vibration tickled.
Imagine that feeling on your temple. Some people get mild headaches. I can tolerate it but it kind of feels sore after 30 minutes or so. Personal preference, I guess.
I love mine. Tried giving my dad a pair, but he wasn’t a fan of the vibration on his temple. I think his hearing isn’t quite what it once was, so he probably has the volume a few notches higher whereas I tend to have it so low it’s really more like a small speaker tuned to run next to the ear. Longer stretches at higher volume may be another story for me.
(OpenRun Pro by Shokz, for what it’s worth)
It’s a shame it looks so… Clunky, was kind of hoping they would look like normal glasses if not thick armed
I saw a yt vid a while back at some developer conference and they all seemed to be developing foss huds etc ive been keeping an eye on it but none of them seem to be selling them publicly only to industry etc etc. Ohh and rhey are about $900 so a bit pricy.
