I’m no tech futurist, but it seems pretty clear on where we’re going in terms of daily devices. We won’t always be holding these screens in our hands, will we? Smart glasses seem like the obvious next step.

We’re definitely hearing about them more and more. Some of my favorite street style Instagram accounts consistently film on them. But data from Counterpoint Research suggests the category is still in its early stages. The tech market research firm reported that the smart glasses market grew 139% year-over-year in the second half of 2025, compared with 2024. And Meta’s AI smart glasses portfolio gets credit for the growth.

And the desire for more isn't expected to stop. Counterpoint says smart glasses shipments are expected to continue strong growth this year, with plans for new brands and for others to expand. CNET editors are big fans of the Meta AI glasses for reasons beyond the AI capabilities. The Ray-Ban Gen 2 glasses are appreciated for their improved battery life and video quality and for maintaining the same shape as earlier generations, so you can use the old lens if you'd like.

But they’re not without their concerns. With an always-on camera attached to one’s face, is it any surprise that they’re something of a privacy nightmare? With footage of naked people, sensitive information, and violent acts captured and seen by Meta’s AI and an army of employees … people are a little put off.

As The Verge’s Victoria Song notes, even though smart glasses “aren’t inherently evil,” the Ray-Bans are automatically suspicious due to Meta’s established history of carelessness and ongoing demonstration of its totally demagnetized moral compass. And now, Name Tag is a new feature that uses facial recognition to identify people you see in real life through the glasses.

The Verge further points out that just because you are outside of your home doesn’t mean you have “consented to having a random bozo collect your face and your name, the latter of which can enable them to search for your digital presence or even home address.” The act of existing in public should not carry those risks. Some might not want Name Tag to haunt you just outside of say, your synagogue, gay bar or abortion clinic, for example.

Five days in, the Iran War is raging on and spiraling out, and though President Donald Trump has said the U.S. operation may only last weeks, there’s no way of knowing how long the widening conflict will last, or how far the political and economic fallout will reach. Top Trump administration officials told lawmakers in classified briefings Tuesday to expect an “overwhelming” and bigger wave of military strikes on Iran in the coming days.

Israel has sent troops into southern Lebanon and warned residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate as the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said it was ready for an “open war” with Israel in the wake of the recent strikes. And two more American service members have been killed in the war, U.S. military officials said. That brings the number of dead troops so far to six.

The conflict continued to escalate as Iranian missile and drone attacks targeted U.S. bases and embassies in the region, as well as Gulf nations. However, Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said Iran’s ability “to hit us and our partners is declining.” He added that the U.S. “severely degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers and drones.” The New York Times’s Farnaz Fassihi reports that according to three Iranian officials, senior clerics in Iran are close to naming Mojtaba Khamenei, the late supreme leader’s reclusive 56-year-old son, as the country’s next supreme leader.

After years of fan requests, McDonald’s has finally brought an international favorite to American menus. The Big Arch burger is officially available starting today for a limited time at most U.S. locations. The double-decker burger features two Quarter Pounder patties, three slices of white cheddar, raw and crispy onions, and a new Big Arch sauce on a sesame-and-poppy-seed bun.

The Big Arch’s stateside rollout has already generated serious hype and, thanks to a viral video from the chain’s CEO, some controversy too. But how does the burger actually taste? Delish offered a first-hand experience and found it to be a big burger that requires two hands. The sauce has “similar mustard and pickle notes” of a Big Mac, “but with a more noticeable ketchup-forward tang.” And using white cheddar instead of classic American “doesn’t just change the color—it also adds a slightly sharper flavor.”

It seems everything is bigger on this burger. Big flavor. Big calorie counts to satisfy the “extra hungry” and a big price tag. The burger alone ranges from $8.59 (in a market like Cincinnati) and $10.19 (in big city locations like New York and Los Angeles).

Peru, Bhutan and Cambodia. That’s where Intrepid, the world’s largest adventure travel company, has launched three new Women’s Expeditions.

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Trek the lesser-known Chinchero to Urquillos route in the Peruvian Andes with an all-female crew. Discover Cambodia’s street food scene on a women-run tuk tuk tour. Unwind with a traditional herbal hot stone bath at a women-owned farmhouse in Bhutan.

Every trip is led by an expert female guide and built around meaningful, immersive experiences.

Explore Women’s Expeditions