I didn’t expect to like the Huawei Eyewear 2 as much as I did. Smart glasses have always felt like one of those fringe ideas in the world of smart living tech – great on paper but rarely convincing in real life. They’re either too clunky, too heavy, or try to do too much. Think of those AR glasses that promise productivity overlays or the ones with built-in cameras that never quite justify their existence. This pair, though – co-designed with Owndays and wrapped in titanium – actually had me intrigued. Not because they did anything groundbreaking, but because they didn’t try to. And maybe that’s exactly why they work.
The Owndays x Huawei Eyewear 2 Titanium Edition looks just like regular specs and are slim, do not have clunky arms and no awkward seams. And when you put them on, they still feel like regular specs: I found them to be light, balanced, and surprisingly comfortable even after a full day of wearing them around the house, through a packed MRT ride, and all the way to a dinner appointment. I almost forgot I had them on, which is a lot more than I can say for most smart living gadgets. No pinching at the nose bridge, no noticeable weight on the ears, and no fuss from me.
I’ve never used the original Huawei Eyewear 2, but from what I can tell, the Owndays version shares the same arms – just with a titanium frame swapped in. So you still get all the essentials discreetly packed into the arms: speakers, microphones, touch controls, Bluetooth 5.3, and the built-in battery. There’s even a wear-detection sensor that pauses your music or videos when you take them off. The titanium frame isn’t just for show either – it helps bring the weight down to just 31.5g. I could wear them through long meetings and desk-bound work without feeling any fatigue.
The Huawei Eyewear 2 is actually more 'smart audio' than 'smart glasses'. Photo: HWZ
It's a shame Owndays or Huawei don't make a matt version of the arms; smudges and finger prints are very obvious. Photo: HWZ
But while the fit is comfortable, expectations around the smart glasses’ tech features should be tempered. They are not meant to replace your AirPods or your favourite earphones, so you won’t get rich or layered audio here – it leans heavily towards the mids and highs, with practically no bass to speak of. If you’re mostly listening to podcasts or watching variety shows where audio fidelity isn’t a priority, the Huawei Eyewear 2 holds up fine. The four directional speakers channel sound towards your ears, and in relatively quiet environments, they do a decent job. But once you’re in noisier territory, they start to struggle. There’s no noise cancellation, and they’re not built to isolate – so when you’re surrounded by ambient chaos, the experience takes a hit.
Audio leakage is surprisingly minimal at lower volumes, though if you crank it up, people next to you – like on the MRT or in the office – will definitely hear something. That makes them more suited for semi-private use, like in a quiet café or your home workspace. I wouldn’t use them at the library. Gesture controls are baked in, and they work... well, most of the time. Swipe to adjust volume, tap to pause or take a call, and so on. It’s intuitive once you get used to the sensitivity, though there were moments when I had to repeat a swipe because it didn’t register. It’s functional, but far from flawless. When it works, it feels slick. When it doesn’t, you end up fiddling around and wondering if it would’ve just been quicker to use your phone.
Call quality, on the other hand, genuinely impressed me. During my walks or even in moderately windy conditions, the dual-mic setup picked up my voice cleanly. The person on the other end could hear me clearly, and I didn’t feel the need to raise my voice. There’s also a built-in feature that adjusts call volume based on surrounding noise, and while it’s not foolproof, it works well enough most of the time.
Apart from some very minor and negligible kinks, I really like this pair of smart (audio) glasses. Photo: HWZ
There has got to be a better way to charge it. Photo: HWZ
Battery life wasn’t something I had to stress about. Huawei claims up to 11 hours of playback or 9 hours of calls on a full charge, and my real-world use lined up fairly closely with that. I charged them twice over a five-day stretch, with moderate daily listening. There’s also a claimed 4-day standby time, and based on my experience, that seems about right. Charging is handled via a proprietary magnetic clip that attaches to contact points on the arms – not ideal at all, and certainly not as convenient as a USB-C port with some sort of rubber sealing to keep it water resistant. And if you lose the cable? Good luck.
What’s arguably the biggest selling point of this pair is the Owndays collaboration. You don’t get lenses by default, but that also means you can walk into any Owndays outlet here, pick a lens package that suits your vision needs, and turn these into your daily prescription specs. That makes them genuinely usable for everyday wear, unlike many other smart glasses that are stuck in fixed designs. You do have to factor in the cost of lenses, of course, and depending on your prescription or lens coating preferences, that can quickly bump up the price beyond the S$438 base cost.
I really like that these smart glasses aren’t trying to do too much – and that they’re upfront about it. Technically, they’re marketed as 'smart audio glasses', which already tells you plenty, but let’s call a spade a spade – they’re still smart glasses. There are no built-in cameras, no AR overlays, no voice assistants or smart notifications. Just glasses that play audio and take calls. But that tight scope also means they’re easy to use. You put them on, they connect, you listen, and that’s it.
Would I recommend them? That depends. If you’re already a glasses wearer and like the idea of discreet, non-invasive audio throughout your day, and more importantly, like these frame designs, then I think the Owndays x Huawei Eyewear 2 is a great choice to consider. If you’re looking for rich audio quality or smart features (such as built-in cameras or AR overlays), then this clearly isn’t it.
The Owndays x Huawei Eyewear 2 Titanium Edition are available in two versions and colours: Full Rim and Half Rim, Dark Gunmetal and Silver, with an SRP of $438. They are available at selected Owndays outlets including Nex, Suntec City, Jurong Point, Waterway Point, Parkway Parade, MBS Premium Concept Store, Takashimaya S.C. Premium Concept Store and online at their official website.
Image: Owndays
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