Halliday Glasses review: Ambitious smart glasses with frustrating flaws

Every now and then, you review a product you can’t get along with in any way, shape or form. Sometimes, it’s about the quality of the hardware, but more often it’s about the philosophy of its makers. Imagine trying to review a toilet built by, and for, aliens from the planet Zog: You can appreciate the intention behind it, but you’ll never be able to praise it. That’s the issue I’ve had with Halliday’s smart glasses, because almost every design decision made by its creators feels, to me, like the wrong one. Cofounder Carter Hou conceded that some people love Halliday’s approach and others haven’t taken to it anywhere near as much. Sadly, I’ve found myself in the latter category.

Halliday announced itself to the world at CES in January, dragging behind it a truckload...