Smart glasses and wearables gift guide 2026: what to buy at every budget

The cheapest camera glasses you can give this year are the Meta Adventurer at $249, and the cheapest screen glasses in our sources are the $299 VITURE Pro 2 and XREAL a01+. The Even Realities G2, a display pair with no camera, costs $599. Rings, bands and watches cover the rest of the range, from a $99 band to $499 rings, so the right gift depends mostly on budget and on which phone the person uses.

This guide is based on manufacturers' announcements and on Talaya's own product guides, which cite company stores as of Oct. 25, 2026. Every price is a US list price. No page we read showed a holiday discount from a manufacturer, so retailer sales may be lower; check the seller on the day you buy.

Quick picks by budget

Under $100: a screenless band

The Fitbit Air is a band with no screen, listed at $99 in Google's May 7 post. The Google Store shows "From $99.99", so expect a cent or two of difference. It is the only gift in this guide under $100. Our Fitbit Air guide covers what it tracks and what it needs from the phone.

$100 to $250: your first ring, glasses or watch

• RingConn Gen 2 Air, $238. A smart ring with no required subscription, which makes the price you see the price you pay. See smart rings without a subscription.
• Meta Adventurer, from $249. Meta describes it as a black frame with grey lenses and a plug-in case, and says $249 is "our most accessible price yet." Meta announced it on Sept. 23 and said it would go on sale Oct. 23. Our Adventurer lineup guide compares it with the other Meta styles.
• Apple Watch SE 3, from $249. The entry Apple Watch, per Talaya's Apple Watch guide. We could not read Apple's own store for this guide, so confirm the price there.

$250 to $400: the widest choice

This is where most camera glasses, rings and watches start.

Glasses

• Ray-Ban Meta Audio, from $349. The camera-free pair. Meta lists 43 grams and up to 12 hours of battery, plus up to 48 more from the charging case. Meta said pre-orders would ship Oct. 13, so confirm current stock with the seller. Details are in our Ray-Ban Meta Audio guide.
• Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, from $379. The previous generation, still listed in Talaya's price guide.
• Oakley Meta HSTN, from $399. The sport pair; the Vanguard is $499. See the Oakley Meta guide.
• Meta Glasses by Kylie Jenner, from $399, in a new Ivory colorway, per Meta.
• Meta Adventurer LISA Edition and Meta Capri LISA Edition, from $399. Meta says both support prescriptions.
• VITURE Pro 2 and XREAL a01+, $299 each. These are screen glasses for movies and games, not everyday camera glasses. The VITURE weighs 63 grams and plugs into a device; the XREAL a01+ weighs 62 grams and has no camera. See the VITURE and XREAL guides.

Meta also says any pair of its glasses can be customized through its Mix & Match program, at a Meta Lab store or online. It has not listed a price change for that, so ask before promising a custom pair by a date.

Rings and watches

• Samsung Galaxy Ring, from $299.99. No subscription, but it works only with Android 11 or newer, per Talaya's best smart rings guide.
• Oura Ring 5, from $399. According to TechCrunch, the Black and Silver finishes cost $399 and the others $499, and the battery is rated for six to nine days. Most of the app also needs Oura Membership, at $5.99 a month or $69.99 a year in the US with the first month included. Read the Oura guide before gifting.
• Pixel Watch 5, from $399 for the 41 mm and $429 for the 45 mm. The Google Store lists the standard watch from $399.99. See the Pixel Watch guide.
• Galaxy Watch9, from $379.99, or $429.99 with LTE, per Talaya's Galaxy Watch guide. We could not confirm Samsung's current US price, so check it before buying.
• Apple Watch Series 12, from $399, per Talaya's Apple Watch guide; confirm it on Apple's store. Apple announced it Sept. 9 along with the Ultra 4. According to TechCrunch, both add Live Rewind, which Apple describes as "letting you go back up to 15 seconds."

$400 and up: the premium gifts

• Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3, from $449. Meta lists a 12 MP camera, 3K Ultra HD video and a six-microphone array that it says "cuts more than 90% of background noise." Battery is up to nine hours.
• Ultrahuman Ring Pro, $479, charging case included, with no required subscription.
• Oura Ring 5, $499 in the non-Black, non-Silver finishes.
• XREAL One Pro, $539 on XREAL's US store from Oct. 29, per Talaya's XREAL guide.
• Even Realities G2, $599 at launch. A display with no camera, 36 grams. See smart glasses without a camera.
• Meta Ray-Ban Display, $799, with the Meta Neural Band included. It is the in-lens display option from Meta; see the Display guide. No source we read says whether it will be easy to find in stock this season.
• Apple Watch Ultra 4, from $799, and Galaxy Watch Ultra2, $699.99.
• Whoop, sold by membership: One is $199 a year, Peak $239 and Life $359 with Whoop MG, per our Whoop guide.

What to check before you buy

1. The recipient's phone. The Galaxy Ring needs Android 11 or newer. For watches, the Android watch comparison and the Apple Watch Series 12 vs Ultra 4 guide show which phone each expects.
2. A monthly fee. Oura's membership adds up to $69.99 a year. Whoop is the membership. RingConn, Ultrahuman and Samsung list none.
3. Prescription lenses. Meta's LISA editions support prescriptions. Ask any seller how a prescription order is handled if the recipient wants a return.
4. Return window. Sellers set and change their own holiday policies. Our where to buy Ray-Ban Meta guide covers the options for Meta glasses.
5. Release dates. Do not buy a gift that is not out yet; the upcoming smart glasses release dates page tracks what is still coming. Meta has also said Dolby Atmos video is coming to its glasses "later this year," with no date.

If you are shopping for someone who has never owned smart glasses, start with what smart glasses are, and for a wider ranking see best smart glasses 2026 and best smart glasses under $400. If a health account will pay, our HSA and FSA wearables guide explains the rules.

What we could not confirm

No manufacturer page we read showed a holiday discount. We also could not read Apple's, Samsung's and Oura's US store pages, so some prices come from Talaya's Oct. 25 guides or from TechCrunch. For a recent head-to-head of two popular watches, see Galaxy Watch9 vs Apple Watch Series 12.