Smart glasses and other forms of wearable tech are the future, and so is artificial intelligence. That's why Solos put those two things together to make the AirGo 3, a pair of smart glasses that aims to bring ChatGPT to your face. When these glasses were originally released, they were one of the first consumer glasses to feature ChatGPT integration. However, flash forward to midway through 2024, and the novelty has slightly worn off. AI chatbots and assistants have made their way to phones, smartwatches, other smart glasses, and standalone devices like the Humane AI Pin or the Rabbit R1. One of those products is the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, which are our favorite pair of smart glasses (without displays) to date.

So, is there a reason to buy the Solos AirGo 3 today? The answer is rather complicated. If you're interested in the AirGo 3 for the ChatGPT functionality, you shouldn't buy it. Before you can chat with AI in your glasses, you need to turn on the Solos Chat toggle in the companion app, and this eliminates any time-saving or convenience factors that might have helped the Solos AirGo 3. My perspective is heavily influenced by the fact that I've worn prescription glasses for nearly all of my waking hours for about 15 years. With that context in mind, I was extremely impressed with how much the AirGo 3 felt like a normal pair of glasses. Add the quality speakers and long battery life, and you've got a pretty compelling package.

It's still a tough sell, especially since Solos couldn't perfect the AirGo 3's main feature. For the right person, the Solos AirGo 3 is a solid pair of smart glasses, with just the speakers alone making it an intriguing option. I'd still recommend the Meta Ray-Bans for most users considering a pair of smart glasses, though.

About this review: Solos provided a pair of AirGo 3 for review. The company had no input in this article, and did not see its contents before publishing.

Pricing and availability

Solos released the AirGo 3 last year, and it comes in a variety of frame styles. I used the Argon 6S style, which is offered in black, blue, and brown colorways. With the glasses' modular design, you can actually use multiple sets of lenses and frames, but those are sold separately. Prices vary, but the Argon 6S style of the AirGo 3 I tested costs about $300. You can buy them directly from Solos' website, and prescription options are available as well.

Specs

What I like

The design, feel, and modularity are all excellent

For me, the highlight of the Solos AirGo 3 is the glasses' design, and it's so good that I want to look past some of the other flaws. Your results may vary a bit depending on which style you choose, and my observations only cover the Argon 6S frames. However, they're clearly the most comfortable pair of smart glasses I've tested. The plastic temples of the glasses are very slim for a pair of smart glasses, and the temple tip is made of stiff rubber wire for added security. They also look the most like regular glasses, even compared to the Meta Ray-Bans.

I wore the Solos AirGo 3 to the Google I/O 2024 conference last month, an event full of keen-eyed developers, Google employees, and tech journalists. It took nearly a full day for someone to notice the AirGo 3 glasses were smart, and even then the person wasn't completely sure.

There's still a case to be made for the Meta Ray-Bans as the best-looking pair of smart glasses. They mimic regular Ray-Ban styles very well, and are more classy than the Solos AirGo 3. If I had to take a guess, I'd say that the "Solos" branding and orange stripe on the side of the AirGo 3 are what gave them away as smart glasses. But as you can see in the photos below, the AirGo 3 has a noticeably smaller footprint.

The last AirGo 3 design perk might be the most important. The Solos AirGo 3 is modular, which is something I never expected to say about a pair of smart glasses. You can pull off the temples easily, and they're connected to the front of the frame with USB-C connectors. Yes, you read that right. The two "connector" sides are on the frame, and the two "port" sides are on the temples. What does this mean for usability? For one, you can swap out the front of the frames for cheap without paying for the smart features twice.

You can also charge the temples through the inbuilt USB-C ports, so you don't always have to use the proprietary connector. This is a game-changer for me, because I've gone on countless trips with dead Meta Ray-Bans because I didn't bring the charging case. Smart glasses are only smart if you can keep them powered on, and with USB-C charging, that shouldn't be a problem with the AirGo 3.

These are loudest speakers on any pair of glasses I've tested

As we'll go over later, the ChatGPT functionality on the Solos AirGo 3 isn't all that useful. So, that leaves the AirGo 3's speakers as the main reason to buy this pair of smart glasses. I was shocked to hear how loud the Solos AirGo 3 sounded while listening to music. The quality can be really hit-or-miss depending on the song you're listening to, but the volume is there. This is definitely something to keep in mind, because people around you will be able to hear what's playing. Still, if you're going on a walk by yourself or if you're alone, the extra volume helps a lot.

The Solos AirGo 3 has a microphone, meaning you can use it for calls. Most people I chatted with through the AirGo 3 thought my audio quality was good overall, and were surprised to hear I was using a pair of smart glasses. The sentiment was that my voice sounded better through the AirGo 3 than the Meta Ray-Bans. This is how I've used the AirGo 3 most — for individual music listening and phone calls when I don't feel like wearing wireless earbuds.

What I don't like

Chatting with AI requires the app — every single time

I was really excited about trying out ChatGPT on the Solos AirGo 3, but I ended up disappointed. I frequently need to look up certain things, like release dates and other product information. With the ChatGPT functionality on the Solos AirGo 3, I was hoping to cut out the need to search Google for these kinds of quick fact checks. First, let's start with what's good. Solos Chat, the ChatGPT wrapper you're interacting with on the AirGo 3, is just as good as ChatGPT. The smart glasses are also excellent at hearing you accurately, and have a live translate feature that supports over 25 languages. Responses times are quick, too, and I usually get a response in a second or two.

Unfortunately, you need to manually flip the toggle for Solos Chat on in the companion app every time you want to use it. You could leave it on, but this will give the Solos app constant access to the glasses' microphone and will drain your battery life quickly. Needing to enable Solos Chat before using ChatGPT on the glasses seriously limits their usefulness. If I'm pulling out my phone to enable Solos Chat, why not go one step further and search Google? I'm sure there will be some situations where Solos Chat is useful, but I was certainly underwhelmed.

The touch controls are really hard to locate and press

The other thing that makes the Solos AirGo 3 tricky to use with ChatGPT is the touch controls. It's tricky to locate the virtual button on the temple, and I still haven't gotten a feel for it after a month of use. To trigger Solos Chat, you need to hold the virtual button, wait for a chime, and continue holding while you speak your request. Being that the virtual button is so integral to the user experience, I wish Solos just included a physical button somewhere instead.

Should you buy the Solos AirGo 3?

You should buy the Solos AirGo 3 if:

• You want ChatGPT in your glasses and don't mind the app limitations
• You don't need a camera
• You want good speakers and great battery life

You should NOT buy the Solos AirGo 3 if:

• You view the Meta Ray-Bans as a more complete package for the same price
• You want true one-touch AI in your glasses
• You need a camera or display in your smart glasses

Now that Meta has supercharged the Meta Ray-Bans with multimodal AI, it would be easy to rule out the Solos AirGo 3. However, after using both pairs of smart glasses extensively, it isn't that simple. The Meta Ray-Bans have a camera, quality speakers, and multimodal AI for $300. But they don't have great battery life, and they require a bulky case for charging. The Meta Ray-Bans also aren't great at actually being glasses, which is often the case with smart glasses. By comparison, the Solos AirGo 3 is the most comfortable and secure pair of glasses I've ever worn — and that includes "dumb" glasses. I don't use the camera much on my Meta Ray-Bans, so for me, the Solos AirGo 3 makes a lot of sense. The modular design, great battery life, and USB-C charging options make the AirGo 3 superior in some ways.

The problem is that Solos can't get its flagship feature right. The whole point of the Solos AirGo 3 is to make ChatGPT accessible from your face, but these smart glasses don't achieve that goal. You need to manually enable Solos Chat in the app on your smartphone whenever you want to talk to ChatGPT, effectively negating the convenience factor. I like the Solos AirGo 3, and they're one of the few pairs of smart glasses I can actually recommend to people who need to wear subscription glasses lately. But there are way too many caveats that come with these glasses for them to be my go-to recommendation for everyone. For the masses, the Meta Ray-Bans are still the best.