Today's holidays are becoming more tech-focused. Take millennial and Gen Z travellers: over 57% of them use social media to decide where to go and what to do, and prefer booking their flights online. You can also use travel tech for navigation, cashless payments, language translations, and more.

These benefits are especially more pronounced in wearable technology. Smartwatches, for example, have built-in GPS features and can easily provide access to planes and hotel rooms in lieu of key cards and boarding passes. When it comes to more recent innovations, though, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) make smart glasses stand out above the rest.

Smart glasses are becoming a more popular travel accessory because they take most of the important functionalities of the smartphone and allow you to use them hands-free. Here's more on what they can offer on your next holiday.

Photo and video capture

Our post Tips for Capturing Unforgettable Travel Moments notes that setting the scene, getting creative with movement, and embracing natural light can all help you get the perfect holiday photos. Instead of spending time struggling with the settings and experimenting with the angles you can take using a professional or smartphone camera, you can take advantage of the convenience offered by more intelligent specs. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses exemplify how they can easily capture photos and video. Ultra-wide 12MP cameras and a five-mic system mean you can take shots from your own unique perspective hands-free via voice command. You can even upload them to social media afterwards, which ultimately shows how smart glasses can provide a more immersive and hands-free way to capture and share travel keepsakes.

Entertainment on the go

If you've ever been bored in the air, you've probably brought gadgets like tablets and e-readers to entertain yourself on flights—in 2022, one Brit even went as far as bringing an entire XBox console on a 12-hour trip to Bangkok. However, this can be be a hassle for travellers who want to pack light on their next holiday. Smart glasses can be a lightweight and more portable means of entertainment. The Viture One XR Glasses, lauded by CNN as one of the best wearable accessories for travellers, shows why. They boast a massive 120-inch virtual display, a surround-sound system, and native 3D support, which means you can enjoy immersive streaming and gaming experiences wherever you are. You can even share that virtual display with other wearers, making smart glasses perfect for passing the time on a long-haul flight with a partner, friend, or family member.

Visual navigation

Though exploring new destinations is one of the best things about travelling, it can arguably be frustrating to have to keep looking down at your phone just to review GPS directions and see if you're still on the right track. That's where smart glasses offer visual, hands-free navigation. The TCL Rayneo X2 glasses use simultaneous localisation and mapping or SLAM technology, the same used by self-driving cars, to provide an innovative, 3D GPS system. You can view it using an immersive AR digital display that goes on top of your real-world surroundings without obstructing it, and you can easily navigate the system via gestures. You can even use it to recognise major landmarks and recommended locations, showing how smart glasses can enhance your explorations and even facilitate self-guided tours in the destination of your choice.

Seamless language translation

If you're not travelling locally or to some of the best countries for English speakers, like Croatia and Denmark, you're likely to run into language barriers. Smart glasses can make your next holiday easier by using seamless translation features to break them down. Models like the Solos AirGo 3 use proprietary software along with OpenAI's ChatGPT model to translate languages in real time, meaning you can use them while holding conversations to better communicate with locals. Speech from the person you talk to will be discreetly played back to you via the glasses' built-in speakers for privacy, as can any signs or menus you wish to read on your travels. You can even try Group Mode for conversations involving more than two people—opening up an easier way for you to navigate unfamiliar environments, immerse yourself in local culture, and find hidden gems not listed on most travel sites.

Travel Technology: What Smart Glasses Have to Offer

Photo and video capture

Entertainment on the go

Visual navigation

Seamless language translation