b-d.io / Devices
Smart glasses SDK comparison: what each pair lets your app do
Not the spec sheet — what a third-party phone app can actually do with each pair, as we measured it.
| Even G2 | RayNeo iO | Meta Ray-Ban Display | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US price | $599 | $499 | $799 |
| Display | Both lenses | Yes | Right lens |
| Your own layout | Yes — 576×288 text canvas | No — template screen | Yes — through Meta's view primitives |
| Update limits | Replace text in place; one update per tick | Captions session; ~0.5 s cadence | We throttle to 0.35 s |
| Mic to your app | Yes — LC3 | Opus 16 kHz; long streams unverified | Experimental only (not for shipping apps) |
| Touch to your app | Yes, with arm source | No | Experimental |
| Camera | No | No | Yes |
| Way in | Community BLE protocol (official: Even Hub SDK in a WebView) | No SDK for iO; own BLE code | Official Wearables Device Access Toolkit |
| Gotchas | Must be bonded or it drops in ~29 s; one connection at a time | Lens must be on; must be bound to the official app first | Not yet tested on physical glasses by us |
Which one should you build on?
- You want full control of the lens (your own layout, scrolling, split screens): Even G2.
- You want a supported, documented API and can live with Meta's primitives: Meta Ray-Ban Display.
- You only need captions on the glasses' own caption screen: RayNeo iO can work.
Prices are US list prices as of October 2026. Missing a device? Tell us what you measured.
Questions developers ask
Which smart glasses can third-party apps draw on?
Of the pairs we tested: Even G2 (a 576×288 text canvas over BLE) and Meta Ray-Ban Display (Meta's official display API). RayNeo iO only exposes its own template caption screen.
Which smart glasses have an official developer SDK?
Meta Ray-Ban Display (Wearables Device Access Toolkit) and Even G2 (Even Hub SDK, which runs inside the Even app). RayNeo iO has no public SDK.
Which smart glasses are best for live captions?
For full control of the layout, Even G2. For an officially supported API, Meta Ray-Ban Display. If you only need the glasses' own caption screen, RayNeo iO works.