Tech specs. Titanium. Bone conduction. Bluetooth 5.3. Those sound like features of a stealth drone but they belong to something more pedestrian: the OWNDAYS × HUAWEI Eyewear 2 now in titanium. It won't carpet-bomb your eyes out but it helps with it being an ocular aid while beaming sweet tunes into your skull.

OWNDAYS, the Japanese optical chain teamed with the Chinese telecom giant HUAWEI back in 2023 for a line of "smart audio glasses" (HUAWEI also worked with Gentle Monster in 2019 and 2021 on a similar concept) and now returns with the Eyewear 2, this time in titanium.

Imagine that the parts to produce the audio and touch controls are located in the arms of the eyewear. The weight won't be an issue—at first—but after a long while, your ears will feel it. That's where the titanium material can alleviate the burden.

Our model is a full-rim piece in a dark gunmetal colourway (there's also a half-rim option; both version comes in two colours: dark gunmetal and silver). At just 5.9mm thick at the temples (there's apparently a 20 per cent slimmer than the last itineration) and about 31.5g in weight, there’s a flex to the build. Clean lines and a double bridge that gives off discreet '80s pilot energy, it looks sleek but only from the front; the thick arms look odd when attached to the thin rims. (A thicker frame like the Boston model would be a better fit with the arms but alas, it won't be in titanium.)

The glasses uses something not quite like bone conduction. It's more of open-ear directional speakers (co-directional dual diaphragm dynamic driver) with inverse sound waves that supposedly cancel out audio leakage. Think of them like “personal sound bubbles” around your ears rather than vibration passing through the skull.

The glasses pair quickly with your phone, and with Bluetooth 5.3 on board, the connection is as stable as they come. Audio-wise, it works astonishingly well. On the MRT, you can hear your playlist without annoying the uncle next to you but there were some instances where the volume was a tad too high that others within my ambit were able to judge and weigh my music taste.

There's around 11 hours of battery life for music playback and the glasses charge via a magnetic clip-on dock that adheres to the end of the arms. Swipe controls along the arms allow you to skip tracks, answer calls, adjust volume, although you do need to practise the right amount of pressure and position for your finger to swipe. Rated at IP54, the glasses protect against dust and water spray from any direction.

We used the OWNDAYS × HUAWEI Eyewear 2 for reading and it does the job. It's marketed as an "smart audio glasses", not "smart glasses" but we feel that it would be the next logical step with this collaboration between the two brands.

The OWNDAYS × HUAWEI Eyewear 2 (titanium edition) retails from SGD438 is available online and in certain OWNDAYS stores.