HTC's Vive Eagle smart glasses are a credible alternative to Meta's offerings, but you'll struggle to find a reason to buy them. Despite weighing just 49 grams and featuring useful controls, the $499 price tag is hard to justify given their inessential functionality and subpar imaging. Like Meta, HTC can't rely on cultural clout or financial muscle to succeed in the smart glasses market.

The device features a Wayfarer-style frame with 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera and AI capabilities, but it fails to offer a compelling argument for why users need these glasses over a phone. HTC needs both a strong value proposition and superior hardware-software experience to compete effectively, which the Eagle doesn't deliver.