[HarperL]

I’m thinking about getting LumaGlasses mainly for walking and biking around the city. Can I get turn by turn directions through the glasses without having to pull out my phone? I know they’re not AR display glasses, so I’m not expecting visuals, but does the audio navigation actually work well enough for that? Would be nice to just leave my phone in my pocket for short trips.

[TommyWires]

Audio nav works fine with phone pocketed.

[Maria_Bakes]

I use mine mostly for walking routes I already half know, and the voice prompts come through the glasses fine while my phone stays in my jacket. What surprised me is how much I like it on the bike path, since I can hear traffic and the directions at the same time instead of one earbud in and one out. The voice is clear enough that I don’t feel the need to glance down at all. I do turn the volume up a bit when it’s windy though. Battery is the one thing I notice, since a longer ride plus music eats into that 5 or 6 hours pretty quick. For short trips around town it’s been totally fine for me.

[Laura M.]

The audio nav side is pretty straightforward since it just pulls from your phone’s maps app over Bluetooth, same as any other earbuds really. The part I’d actually think about is whether you want city noise plus a voice in your ear while biking. I tried something similar and ended up turning the prompts off on busier roads because I couldn’t hear them well over traffic anyway. For walking it’s totally fine though. Battery is the other thing, since nav running constantly eats into that 5-6 hour window faster than just listening to music. For short trips around town you’d probably be fine leaving the phone pocketed.

[Jason Brown]

Biking is where mine actually earns its keep. I don’t have to look down at all, the prompts keep coming and I just ride. Walking around town works too, as long as I know the general area.

[PixelKevin]

I mainly care about keeping my phone out of my hands, so I get the appeal. For me that’s the whole point of any of these glasses, not the translation stuff. If the nav voice is clear enough to follow, that’s a win.

[Marcus Reed]

I tried leaving my phone in my backpack on a walk and it was fine, but I did notice the prompts get a little less frequent if the Bluetooth connection dips when my phone’s buried deep. Kept it in my front pocket after that and no issues.

[Sam West]

I’m in the same boat and haven’t pulled the trigger yet. The thing I keep wondering is whether navigation prompts stay clear when there’s a lot of street noise, since open-ear design lets everything in. That matters more to me than the phone staying pocketed.

[Rachel Cole]

I wouldn’t count on it for anything where a missed turn actually matters. Mine cut out in a noisy intersection and I didn’t hear the next prompt until I was already past it. For a quiet walk it’s fine, but that’s about it.

[Jess Runner]

I’ve used mine for exactly this and it works fine for walking, but I wouldn’t call it a full phone replacement for directions. The prompts come through the glasses and my phone stays in my jacket pocket the whole time, so the hands free part is real. What I noticed is that it’s basically just your maps app talking through the glasses, so if the app is slow to update or you miss a prompt, you’re still stuck glancing at your phone anyway. For short trips around my neighborhood it’s totally fine and I do it all the time. For anything longer or somewhere I don’t know, I still keep my phone within reach because the audio alone doesn’t always give me enough confidence on which exact turn to take. So yeah, it works, just not as smoothly as having the screen right there.

[Jenna Lee]

I wouldn’t expect it to replace your phone for directions entirely. Mine is fine for a quick walk to the store, but on a longer trip I still end up pulling my phone out to double check the route. The audio works, it’s just not something I’d trust on its own.

[Luna Bee]

I mostly want them so I can stop yanking my phone out every five minutes on walks, so this is good to hear. Audio-only directions sound like enough for me since I’m usually in pretty familiar areas anyway.

[Rivers]

Audio nav through these works fine if you keep the phone on you and the app running. I do it on bike rides all the time and never touch the phone. It’s just basic voice prompts though, so don’t expect anything fancy.

[Daniele Rossi]

I don’t buy that you need the phone screen for directions. I’ve been running audio nav through mine for a couple months now and I genuinely forget the phone is even in my pocket. One prompt occasionally lands late if I’m near a loud bus, but for a short ride or walk that’s fine by me.

[Old Dave]

Audio nav is the whole point of these things. I leave my phone in my pocket on bike rides all the time and it works fine. The phone screen isn’t doing anything you need to look at.

[Tessa Lane]

Audio nav works but it eats battery fast. Mine died about three hours into a ride with directions running, so leaving the phone in your pocket is fine until the glasses quit on you.

[Chris Patrick]

Probably fine if you keep the app open.

[Tina Bell]

The part I’d pay attention to is whether you actually trust the audio in noisy spots. I tried a similar setup for walking and the directions themselves came through clearly enough, but in traffic or wind I sometimes missed a turn and had to check the phone anyway. That said, for short trips where you mostly know the route and just want the last few turns, leaving the phone pocketed seems realistic.

One thing that made me hesitant is how the navigation audio interacts with other stuff. If I’m listening to a podcast or on a call, I want the turn prompts to cut in clearly without me fumbling for controls. I haven’t tested that on these specifically, so I’d want to know how the voice assistant handles overlapping audio before buying. Not a dealbreaker, just something I’d want to try first.

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