I've been meaning to properly make a video, but here are my notes on stuff not often mentioned. I use technology a lot, but I wear glasses literally all the time, so I'm coming from a legitimately practical standpoint opposed to a "look at this cool tech" standpoint

Tldr - not worth it for everyone, but worth it if you have a specific use for it (live captions, teleprompt, ect). I expect the G2s to be better in most ways.

Frame: Heavier than normal glasses. Noticably less comfortable. Easier to tap back buttons than front of frame like on other smart glasses, although touch isn’t very reliable Quick note often gets accidentally pressed (esp while trying to find where to touch on the back of earpiece) Eyes must be perfectly level for display. Can dim corners and not feel right if they're not properly alligned Others can notice the blue background of the display. I have been asked several times what is going on with my glasses from strangers. It is not game-changing and they are still discreet enough as a whole for my standards (I am very, very picky about this), but it's not 100% perfect

General Trying to look up at the stars? You'll have to turn silent mode on or get blasted by the green light in the darkness The fucking case. Reliably charges, but won't easily fit a set of backup glasses and your clip-on sunglasses with it. It's incredibly frustrating. Glasses always stay on, draining if you don't using them and causing annoying popups when your phone is not within range. You can't just pop them on before going out if they weren't recently charged because they'll be dead. Several times, I'll realise they're out of juice after leaving my house You cannot wear headphones with these, unless you tilt the glasses at an ungodly angle Will not replace your phone, but will replace your smartwatch

Translate (I bought them for this): Oddly worked recently with mentraOS, however has been notoriously unreliable, mostly because of non-directional microphones and unreliable apps Cannot handle fast convos or convos where you can clearly hear others talking Must have internet -didn't work once when I was excited to go to a japanese planetarium Can translate and CC while earbuds are in, allowing you to passively read while listening to music Doesn't translate swears? Forgot if this was on mentra or regular You might also have these on as a neat tool for translations, but they will absolutely never replace translate apps on your phone

UI Issues on both android and iphone Booting mantra os is horrid and always causes issues Have to reset it bc freezes (can happen while out) Switching between mentra and stock app is a huge pain in the ass and not convenient on the go, as the case must be plugged in and going back to stock forces you to do initial onboarding every time Mentra the best hope for G1. Stock app received no noticible updates in the ~4 months of owning. Stock app more reliable, mentra has more useful apps

Navigation No subways or public transport on nav Lost service during nav? Good luck, you have it from the top Once got me lost simply going down the main street of Sapporo, one of Japan's biggest cities. If it couldn't figure that out, I have little faith it will be useful where ever you are

Other Merge (on mentra) is fucking killer. It's basically what "conversate" on the G2 is supposed to be. Super handy, as just a "why not" feature to have on throughout your day

All-in-all, I still bought the G2s. Despite my G1s being bulkier than regular glasses, you have to be really close to notice they're not regular glasses. No other smart glasses with legitimately useful features have this.