Today we’re comparing the Bose Frames smart sunglasses versus the Razer Anzu, to figure
out if the Bose Frames are worth paying $250, compared to the Razer Azu which are on sale
right now for as little as $60 bucks.
We bought a pair of both audio sunglasses so we could compare the style, size and fit,
and put them to the test to see which has better audio quality and microphones.
We’re also doing a giveaway of a pair of smart sunglasses, so be sure to stick around
until the end to find out how to win yourself a pair.
Alright, let’s get right into it.
Looking at the design of the Bose Frames, they have a few different styles available
including the Tenor, Soprano and Tempo, and we picked the Tenor which is the square style.
They are only available in the shiny black finish, and while we would have preferred
a matte option, you can customize the lenses and also have the option for prescription
lenses as well.
The lenses that come standard are black and polarized lenses.
For the design of the Razer Anzu’s, they are available in either square or round and
you can get them in either small or large, and they’re also only available in shiny
black.
We got ours in the square large size, but found them to be too wide, so we switched
them out for the small frames.
The Anzu’s also come with a set of clear lenses in addition to the polarized lenses
- and both feature a blue light filter.
You can pop them off and switch them out pretty easily.
Looking at them side by side, they look very similar with only small differences.
The Razer Anzu has a small gap in between the frame and the arms, which allows the arms
to be more flexible when putting them on, but we prefer the look of the Bose.
For audio, the Bose Frames have plenty of bass and the audio sounds clean and is well
directed towards the ears, while being isolated so people around you can barely hear any of
the audio that’s playing, especially at lower volumes.
Meanwhile, the Razer Anzu’s also have excellent audio quality, and we found them to be very
comparable to the Bose in our testing.
The
only difference is that the Bose did seem to have higher output at full volume.
Controlling the audio, the Bose has a touch sensitive control on the right arm, so you
can swipe to change volume, tap to play, pause and answer calls or skip tracks.
It works really well, without any issues.
Meanwhile, the Razer Anzu also has a touch sensitive control but it doesn’t work very
well and is not super intuitive.
There’s no swipe volume control and pressing too quickly or too long of a tap also doesn’t
seem to register - finding that sweet spot to get the right action can be pretty tricky.
We also noticed that the touch sensitivity only really seems to register around the small
dot on each arm.
Connecting to your phone, both the Bose and Anzu’s have app connectivity and Anzu’s
app has more functionality.
You can tweak the equalizer, check battery life, adjust touch control settings, and also
turn on gaming mode - which we’ll get into a little later.
The amount of customization for the touch control is nice to have - even though the
touch controls are the worst functioning part of these glasses.
Meanwhile the Bose app is pretty basic and you can only control the audio level and see
battery life.
Testing out the microphones, we did a test call while riding a bike on both the sunglasses.
Overall we found the microphones to be pretty comparable, but they both picked up some wind–
so we don’t recommend them for going on high speed bike rides trying to do conference
calls.
(meme)
For water resistance, both the Bose and Anzu’s are IPX4 water resistant, which means they
are splash proof and sweat resistant- making them perfect for going on runs or working
out.
Looking at the carrying cases, the Bose Frames come in a simple case that don’t feature
any built-in charging, so to charge them you need to use the included magnet charger.
Meanwhile the Razer’s also come with a carrying case that doesn’t have built-in charging
but it does have a small compartment inside for the charging cable, so it prevents it
from scratching the glasses.
For battery life, they are pretty similar– the Bose Frames last up to 5.5 hours, while
the Razer Anzu are rated for up to 5 hours.
Charging the glasses, both have a magnet style conductive charging that attaches to the arms.
Finally, the Razer Anzu glasses have an option to jump into “Gaming Mode” which brings
down any audio delay between your phone or PC and the glasses - specifically for gaming.
The difference is slightly noticeable and it’s a nice touch if you’re into mobile
gaming, but most average users probably won’t be using the glasses for gaming.
Overall, we think that both smart sunglasses are very comparable.
However, for the price of the Razer Anzu being on sale between $60-80 bucks on Amazon, they’re
a great deal.
You do lose some functionality at that price, but we think the touch controls issues are
something that you can get used to.
But, the Bose do have a lot more style choices - especially the Tempo’s for athletes, that
also have the ability to quickly swap lenses on the fly - but this does come at the higher
price tag at $250
Alright, now for the giveaway!
We’re giving away a free pair of the Razer Anzu smart glasses.
All you need to do to enter is subscribe to our channel and leave a comment in this video
letting us know what activity you plan on using audio sunglasses for.
Next up, be sure to check out our other reviews and comparisons of different smart sunglasses
including the Ray-Ban Stories.