I wore these obnoxious, travel-focused smart glasses for a week on vacation and learned more than I’d bargained for about the stony steps of Santorini

L'Atitude 52°N smart glasses: one-minute review A new smart specs maker has arrived on the scene, and it’s looking to arrive with a bang.

The L'Atitude 52°N Smart Glasses are loud and proud, and after L'Atitude dispatched a slightly rocky first batch of review units to tech publications (including ourselves), I’ve been putting the newer, more production-ready glasses through their paces over the past month.

Let’s first unpack the selling points, which I discussed with L'Atitude’s founders (including ex-OnePlus engineer Gary Chen) in the weeks before my review.

Made in Europe and unapologetically Euro-coded, with Berlin-inspired and, coming soon, Milan frame designs, these won’t be the glasses for everyone, and that’s okay, the team says; but they are for adventurers.

On board, you’ll find Goya AI (named after the Spanish painter, Francisco Goya), a dulcet-toned Southern California male voice assistant who’s eager to help you explore the world with features like AI Tour Guide, Live Translation, and the usual retinue of camera-laden smart-glasses features.

At least, that’s the pitch.

On vacation with my lovely mom on the Greek island of Santorini, I put these supersized specs to the test, and although I can see them shaping up to be terrific travel companions, right now they’re dogged by big problems.

From spotty software to an entirely unclear future in terms of how much its AI features will cost when the subscription plan kicks in sometime in the next year, it’s hard to recommend L’Atitude’s bold frames from a value perspective, at least for now. (Image credit: Future) L'Atitude 52°N review: price and availability List price : starts at $465.00 (about £345) Availability : US, with UK availability expected soon.

The L’Atitude Berlin glasses start at $465, which converts to about £345, increasing to $520 if you opt for photochromic lenses.

At the time of writing, they’re exclusively available in the US and EU, with UK availability to follow soon.

You can choose from Obsidian (black) and Dune (greige) frames as well as grey gradient, orange, and photochromic lenses.

These prices apply to both the currently available Berlin frames, as well as the upcoming Milan model, which offer a more delicate design.

Already, that’s a lofty list price, especially when compared to the comparatively expensive Meta Ray-Ban (Gen 2) , which start at $379 / £379 / AU$689.

And it gets worse.