Lumus received a major boost in brand recognition when one of its references was chosen to be used in the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses. But that already sounds like old technology now because at CES 2026, the company brought some of its latest components to the show and based on what I saw, they seem ready to significantly raise the visual quality of the next wave of high-end smart glasses.
When the Meta Ray-Ban Displays glasses came out, they surprised users as they were (and still are) one of the few smart glasses to feature a full color lens display with at least a 20-degree field of view. But according to the specs on Lumus’ new waveguides, we’re set for a big improvement in terms of future capabilities.
If you look closely, you can see where the light from the waveguide spreads to one of the smart glass lenses. (Sam Rutherford of Engadget)
The first model I tried features Lumus eZ-30 waveguides, which not only offer a 30-degree FOV, are 30 percent lighter and 40 percent thinner than previous generations. In addition, Lumus claims that they are very efficient with wavelengths that can hit more than 8,000 nits per watt. This is a big deal because smart glasses are currently limited by the size of the batteries they can use, especially if you want to make them small and light enough to wear all day. When I tried them out, I was surprised by both the brightness and sharpness I saw on the Z-30s despite being limited to 720 x 720 resolution. Not only did the increase in FOV feel much greater than 10 degrees, the colors were much richer, including white, which is often one of the most difficult shades to reproduce well.
I had to take a picture of one of Lumus’ obsolete smart glasses with the company’s 70-degree FOV waveguide, because two of the three working ones were already broken and the last one I used was held together with tape. (Sam Rutherford of Engadget)
However, even after seeing how good that first model was, I wasn’t quite ready for the waves of Lumus’ 70-degree FOV. I was able to watch some videos and a few test photos and I was completely shocked at how much space it covered. It was basically the entire central part of the lens, with only small unused areas in the corners. And while I noticed pincushion distortion on the sides of the waveguide display, the Lumus representative told me that it would be possible to fix that in the final retail units. But make no mistake, these waves have undoubtedly produced some of the sharpest, brightest and best-looking optics I’ve ever seen in any smart glasses, from commercial models or prototypes or. It almost makes me question how wide a FOV these types of gadgets really need, though clearly, I don’t think we’ve reached the point of diminishing returns yet.
This is one of Lumus’ thinnest waveguides measuring just 0.8mm. (Sam Rutherford of Engadget)
Other advantages of Lumus’s geometric reflective waveguides include better overall efficiency than their reflective counterparts and the ability to optically integrate reflectors into smart glass lenses. That means that unlike many competitors, Lumus waveguides can be paired with replacement lenses instead of needing to resort to clip-on glass attachments when you’re out and about. Lumus also claims its designs simplify the manufacturing process, resulting in smaller wavelengths (as small as 0.8mm) and more frequent yields.
Unfortunately, taking high-quality photos of content on smart glasses displays is incredibly challenging, especially when you’re using very delicate prototypes, so you’ll have to take my word for it for now. But with Lumus in the process of ramping up production of its new wave with help from partners including Quanta and SCHOTT, it sounds like there will be plenty of smart glasses makers clamoring for these parts as momentum continues to build around the industry’s choice of the next “big” thing.
