Halliday Gen 2 smart glasses improve display and add AI meeting features

Halliday’s Gen 2 smart glasses are a follow-up to the company’s original model, which debuted at CES 2025 and drew criticism for a tiny, movable display that caused eye strain during a short demo. The Gen 2 replaces that design with dual waveguides—one for each eye—delivering a larger, monochrome green display with a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits and a resolution of 600 by 300 pixels per eye. The waveguides are more discreet and easier to view than the predecessor’s display, though reflections can still be visible under certain angles and lighting conditions.

The Gen 2 omits a camera, a deliberate choice aimed at improving battery life and addressing privacy concerns. Halliday positions the device as a tool for work meetings, launching a feature set called Meeting Flow. Meeting Flow uses AI to surface context and facts during conversations without requiring users to look at a laptop or phone. It includes Thread Tracker, which visualizes shifts in meeting topics; Decision Confirmation, which highlights agreed-upon outcomes; and Commitment Check, which verifies assigned action items and deadlines. Post-meeting, the glasses provide transcripts and summaries.

Beyond meeting-specific features, the Gen 2 supports general-use AI capabilities such as real-time captioning, translations in more than 45 languages, phone calls, and a teleprompter/notecard mode for public speakers. Voice control is available via the Halliday AI assistant. The device includes a four-mic array designed to capture voice commands in noisy environments.

The Gen 2 is rated for up to 12 hours of typical use. Preorders opened today with a $10 deposit and a $100 discount, bringing the price to $599 at launch. Shipping is expected in September. Prescription lens support is planned, though Halliday did not specify additional costs for prescription inserts.

The reviewer notes that prior attempts at AI wearables have struggled to reliably surface the right information during conversations, and questions whether the Gen 2’s AI features will prove useful in practice. The $599 price point is also highlighted as steep for general consumers, especially without including prescription lens costs.