The display on these smart glasses takes my eyes away from my watch and the road ahead

Ingo 2 Vive Smart Glasses

ZDNET Highlights

• The Engo 2 Vive Photochromic Glasses are now on sale for $275.
• The Vive model adds new colorways, heart rate data, functions as clear lenses or sunglasses, and has a heads-up display.
• The heads-up technology takes up space in the center of the glasses, and there’s no support for Google Wear OS, Polar, or Coros watches.

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I spent a lot of time running, biking, hiking, and walking this year with a smartwatch, bone conduction headphones, and smart glasses. For the past few weeks, I’ve been racing and riding with the new bike ango 2 vive Smart glasses, and they have quickly become an essential part of my workouts.

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Engo’s limited-edition glasses come in photochromic and high-contrast lens colors for more color options and superior lens technology. I tested the photochromic model – they switch to a clear lens that protects my eyes from cold and rain while the glasses give me a heads-up AR experience.

One of the biggest concerns people have about smart glasses is their battery longevity. The Engo 2 offers up to 12 hours of data on the Vive heads-up display, which is great compared to competitors.

In fact, if the size of the central module (where the battery is stored) could be reduced, I wouldn’t mind halving the battery life. There’s a lot going on in the middle with technology, and after playing with the glasses for a while, you get used to the center pieces. However, I think reducing the size would help its design and allow Ango to make the glasses lighter, even though they only weigh 36 grams.

Too: The best Garmin watches you can buy: Strong tracking tech for fitness, sleep, and more

As for the heads-up display, it’s located in the upper left corner of the right eyepiece, and unfortunately you can’t switch it on other lenses. However, there are settings in the ActiveLook app to move the heads-up display around the viewable area.

The Engo 2 Vive is compatible with three watch platforms, but it also works with your Android or iPhone. If you go with a phone instead of a watch, you get the full ActiveLook experience from the smartphone application. Let’s take a closer look at the three watch platforms and available functionality.

apple watch

One limitation of the Apple Watch is that it cannot be used with the native Apple Workout app when paired with the Engo 2 Vive glasses. However, there is an ActiveLook app on your Apple Watch that allows you to connect the glasses and run or bike with them.

Engo also supports several other Apple Watch apps that offer more comprehensive structured workouts, support for sports like rowing, and other features you might prefer over the ActiveLook.

Also: The best Apple Watch of 2025: We picked this year’s top smartwatches

You can choose an open run or set goals for distance, duration or calories burned. The ActiveLook app supports Strava Live Segments, letting you race against your own PR, other record holders, the Carrot (your friend right ahead of you on the leaderboard), and the Wolf (your friend right behind you on the leaderboard).

This Strava functionality is one of the reasons I like to run with my Apple Watch when I want to become a local legend or set a PR on a Strava segment.

There is a new additional heart rate zone widget among the 40+ metrics that you can select for your data screen. This widget shows a visual heart icon illustrated with a line of your heart rate and your different zones. This is great for heart rate zone training and is a very welcome addition. You can set your heart rate zone on your Apple Watch automatically or manually.

garmin

Using the Engo 2 Vive goggles with a Garmin watch offers the most options, allowing you to use the goggles with any exercise, as the ActiveLook connection appears as a data field. there are Detailed setup instructions For complete customization of the data visible on the Engo 2 Vive display.

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With a Garmin watch or compatible bike computer, you can have six screens (aka data dashboards) with up to six metrics on each screen. The numbers available depend on your device, with larger bike computers supporting up to six metrics on a single display.

There is a secret code used to create your custom dashboard, so be sure to check it Complete Garmin Data Field Guide Provided by ActiveLook. It may seem confusing at first, but once you set up these dashboards for each of your favorite activities on your Garmin device, the experience is flawless.

One limitation in using a Garmin device is that Strava Live segments will not project onto the Engo 2 Vive, but will appear on the watch or bike computer, so you will have to look them down to help achieve your PR. I’m not sure if it’s possible for a developer to display Strava live segments on a Garmin connected to Ango glasses, but I check every few months.

Suunto

Support for the Suunto is similar to that of the Garmin, with no ability to display Strava live segments on the heads-up display; However, it supports almost every game where you would want the Engo 2 Vive to show you key data in the specs.

Unlike Garmin, the data fields visible on the glasses cannot be customized when connected to a Suunto Race 2, Suunto Vertical 2, or other Suunto watch. As stated, battery status, time, elapsed time, distance, heart rate, cadence, current speed and current speed are displayed.

Here are the steps to use it ango 2 vive Compatible Suunto Watch with Specs:

1. Install the ActiveLook app on your compatible Suunto GPS sports watch through the SuuntoPlus store on your smartphone.
2. Open the activity you want to participate in on your Suunto watch.
3. With that activity selected, swipe up to see SuuntoPlus and tap it.
4. Scroll down to the ActiveLook app and confirm that it’s on.
5. Turn on your glasses and confirm that the connection is live.
6. Start your activity and enjoy key metrics while looking at your right eye.

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Engo supports developers using ActiveLook applications to provide connectivity with various platforms; So as Wear OS and CoreOS grow in popularity, I expect to see support for these platforms in the near future.

ZDNET’s shopping advice

ango 2 vive The glasses let you focus on the path ahead while seeing key data in the corner of your glasses. The glasses provide several hours of support, are lightweight and comfortable, can be used with multiple apps and watches, and have a 30-day risk-free trial. I’m able to achieve PRs with the glasses because I focus on the live metrics in front of me without having to lift my wrist up and try to look at a tiny watch display.