The glasses’ audio guide and translation struggled at first, but the device still proved valuable for navigating the Vatican’s complex layout and for discreet photo/video capture and messaging without pulling out a phone.

Battery life, bulk, and the occasional need to use a phone remain significant drawbacks, indicating AR glasses aren’t a smartphone replacement but can handle niche, time-limited travel tasks.

In other travel contexts like Pompeii and walking directions, the glasses proved more useful for hands-free experiences, underscoring a practical ‘tourist mode’ use case.

The evaluation took place in Rome, specifically at the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, to test live translation and AR capabilities in a real-world tourist setting.

The piece envisions a potential rental model for such devices at specific events or travel occasions, rather than universal ownership, while noting broader industry privacy and adoption challenges.

Using the glasses, the author counts architectural details like cherubim on the Sistine Chapel ceiling and narrates experiences, highlighting a blend of novelty with privacy concerns about being filmed or watched while wearing them.

Live translation in crowded tourist environments was unreliable, with garbled audio and a reliance on staff switching to English, limiting usefulness for group tours or public spaces.