You know technology is making breakthroughs when even your eyewear can play music for you. With smart glasses like Razer Anzu and Bose Frames, you don’t have to wear earphones anymore because they’re able to direct sound straight to your ears. This saves you from having to wear two things at a time, plus you can go completely hands-free as you’re going about your errands.
However, is the sound quality of these smart glasses any good? To help you answer this question, here’s an in-depth Razer Anzu vs Bose Frames review. We take a closer look at not just their audio performance but their design and additional features as well.
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Razer Anzu vs Bose Frames Comparison Chart
Design
Both the Razer Anzu and the Bose Frames are stylish but are bulky at the sides.
Both the Razer Anzu and the Bose Frames score a point each for having aesthetically pleasing designs. It’s important that smart glasses look good because after all, one of the reasons we wear shades is to be stylish.
The Razer Anzu are simple yet fashionable, their plastic frames black and glossy. You can get them either with round or rectangular lenses, plus you can choose from small or large depending on what will fit you best. Similarly, the Bose Frames are offered in two shapes. There’s the Alto which look like Ray-ban’s square-framed Wayfarers and the Rondo which have a rounded and retro look. Both models have swappable lenses that can be changed to either prescription or colored ones. However, the Razer Anzu has better durability, equipped with an IPX4 rating while the Bose Frames are only at IPX2.
If you were to look at the Razer Anzu and Bose Frames straight on, you’d never be able to tell they were smart glasses. But it’s a different story if you turn them sideways. Unfortunately, they hold all of their bulkiness at the temples but this is understandable given that the speakers, other electronic parts, and touch controls need to go somewhere.
Audio Quality
The Bose Frames have better audio quality than the Razer Anzu.
Bose is known as a strong leader in the audio industry and this translates to the Bose Frames. What’s impressive is that even though the speakers are outside of your ears, they’re able to deliver a quality performance. Equipped with proprietary technology, the Bose Frames are able to send 99% of the audio straight to your ears with only 1% of the sound leaking. But of course, it would be unfair to expect the same amount of bass and depth as you would get from in-ear Bose earphones. And because they lack bone conduction technology, they tend to struggle in noisy environments.
As for the Razer Anzu, they’re not quite on the same level as the Bose Frames in terms of audio quality. They make use of down-firing drivers which are supposed to direct the sound to your ears. Unfortunately, you’d have to wear the glasses extremely close to your face to make this happen which can cause the lenses to fog when you’re wearing a face mask. If you were to let the glasses slide down your nose, you’ll instantly notice a significant drop in the audio quality. Other problems with the Razer Anzu are sound leakage and lack of noise isolation. This means that the people around you are likely to hear whatever it is you’re listening to. Likewise, external sounds can interfere with your listening experience.
Additional Features
The Bose Frames have more advanced features but the Razer Anzu have a longer battery life.
What’s interesting about the Bose Frames is that they give a glimpse of what the future holds in terms of AR. So far, they’re compatible with six AR apps, most of which are for navigation and entertainment. The Bose Frames are equipped with trackers which work in tandem with your phone’s GPS to figure out your location. But instead of augmented vision, the AR features use the Bose Frame’s audio. If you’re using the golfing app, for example, you’ll be given audio directions as to where the green is, how far away you are from the hole, and which golf club is the most appropriate to use. The Bose Frames are set to be compatible with more apps soon so that’s something to look forward to.
As for the Razer Anzu, it’s not advanced enough for AR. Instead, it’s only compatible with the Razer Audio app which gives you some customization features. You can assign commands to tap gestures, choose between audio presets (there are only three, namely Enhanced Clarity, Treble Boost, and default), and enable the low-latency Game Mode. But that’s about it. But as basic as the Razer Anzu are in terms of features, at least they have a longer battery life than the Bose Frames. They can manage up to five hours of audio playback while the Bose Frames can only do three and a half.
Verdict
The Bose Frames win against the Razer Anzu for having better audio quality and more impressive features.
Razer Anzu
Bose Frames
The Bose Frames are the clear winner of this comparison, able to outperform the Razer Anzu in terms of audio quality and features. The fact that they’re equipped with Bose’s proprietary technology gives them a huge advantage because the audio actually gets directed to your ears and there’s minimal sound leakage. It’s impressive that they have AR abilities as well which can help in various sports and activities. The only redeeming quality of the Razer Anzu is that they have a slightly longer battery life.
If you’re wondering how the Bose Frames fare against other smart glasses, check out our Echo Frames vs Bose Frames review.
FAQs
The Bose Frames aren’t waterproof but they are water resistant. Designed with an IPX2 rating, they can survive light water splashes but no more than that.
The Bose Frames deliver a much stronger audio performance than the Echo Frames. Using proprietary technology, the Bose Frames are able to direct 99% of the sound straight to your ears with only a 1% leakage.
The Razer Anzu’s Gaming Mode delivers low-latency audio so that there are no delays in sound effects as you’re gaming.
Yes, the Razer Anzu has interchangeable lenses which can be swapped out for prescription or colored ones.