When it comes to testing tech, I’ve put a lot on the line over the years. I’ve previously plunged needles into my arm in the name of nutrition, risked electrocution from water-cooled gloves, and trusted cars to drive for me. But when startup Glyde asked me to grow my hair longer than usual before CES 2026 so AI-assisted hair clippers could give me a trim, I must admit I was a little nervous.
These nerves didn’t exactly ease when I arrived at their CES booth. The bloke cutting my hair wasn’t just inexperienced, he’d never done it before. Ever. His job is on the business side of the company. Gulp.
Glyde claims that anyone, absolutely anyone, can cut hair with professional results thanks the real-time AI guidance on the clippers and a very clever app. Naturally, I had to find out whether that promise was real, which is how I ended up with a live pair of clippers on my head, surrounded by a growing crowd at CES.
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How do the hair clippers work?
There’s a screen built into the clippers themselves, showing the current position, cutting zone and blade depth. The blade moves automatically so that you can do more complex cuts, like a fade, with no experience. The clipppers also show you a bubble level on the built-in display, so you know you’re holding them straight and steady. All that lovely information is for the cutter, not the poor sod in the chair. So as the buzzing started, I was essentially in the dark.
My only real interaction with the setup was strapping a rather bizarre black plastic band around my head which acts as a training wheel for beginners doing fades. He started above the band, then took it off to finish the lower part, like peeling away scaffolding once the building’s up. Glyde says the band will ship with the clippers as standard, in case you want a family member to give you a midweek trim.
And you know what? The results were… not bad. Not miraculous, but surprisingly competent. I picked a skin fade style through the app, which is what I usually get from a proper barber. That’s the first rule of being in your twenties, apparently. My sister-in-law, who is a trained hair stylist, gave it a once-over on FaceTime and said the cut was “decent,” though noted the blend could use some work. I’ll take that as a win.
The whole thing took about 20 to 25 minutes – longer than Glyde’s “under 10 minutes” claim, but my hair had grown out quite a bit for testing. There were no hiccups, no blood, and no last-minute interventions from concerned onlookers. Though they were probably all too busy filming me to truly notice. The clippers did get noticeably warm, which the team admitted is something they’re still tweaking before launch.
Would I do it again? It was certainly quicker than my sister-in-law’s trim, even if it wasn’t as neat and tidy, so I would consider giving it a go again at home. Just don’t let her hear that, for the love of Christ.
Glyde’s smart clippers are expected to start shipping in summer 2026 for around $150. They’ll be available directly from Glyde’s website and select online retailers.
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