It’s time for Apple to get into smart glasses. This is an emerging product category that combines AI, cameras and audio… three components that the iPhone-maker is either already expert at or is working hard to improve.
Apple Glasses could be critical for the company long term because it would be an important step toward someday making the Vision Pro AR headset into a viable product.
The new Solos AirGo Vision smart glasses released Tuesday pair with ChatGPT artificial intelligence as a direct competitor to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses. Both cost a relatively affordable $300 or under. And the new entrant introduce several innovative features, including a modular design that addresses privacy concerns common with camera-equipped wearables.
“We promised to deliver on allowing consumers to have control of their experience with AI and smart technology, particularly with privacy options in mind,” said Solos co-founder Kenneth Fan. “That’s why we developed frames that can easily be changed to decide when and where a camera may be appropriate without sacrificing any of the fun features.”
Apple reportedly wants to repurpose some of the technology that went into its Vision Pro headset for simpler products. That includes a pair of smart glasses plus AirPods with IR cameras.
These could launch in 2027, with additions to the Vision headset line coming before then.
Facebook and Ray-Ban teamed up on a pair of smart glasses. It’s essentially a camera you wear on your face, making it a perfect example of what not to do with this type of product. They turn the wearer into a walking, talking privacy violation.
Apple is designing its own smart glasses. These better not have a camera or they’re dead on arrival.
Flows Bandwidth’s Bluetooth audio sunglasses let you listen to podcasts or take calls without blocking out the world around you. Despite speakers built into the stems, the men’s or women’s versions look like any other sunglasses. But they keep you entertained on the go.
I’ve worn these smart glasses for weeks. Here’s why I like them.
Despite Apple’s focus on ARKit and augmented reality, it’s yet to release the AR headset it is supposedly working on.
Tim Cook has previously said Apple will only do it when it can do so in “a quality way.” Snapchat’s newly unveiled Spectacles 3 may be a reminder as to why Apple is hanging back.
Headphones are so ubiquitous we often don’t think about their disadvantages. Lucyd created a pair of smart glasses that let you listen to music or podcasts while still allowing you to hear what’s going on around you. This Bluetooth accessory also lets you access Siri from your iPhone, as well as make and receive calls.
Don’t miss our hands-on review of the Lucyd Loud tech frames.
The iPhone X’s ugly notch could pave the way for Apple to dominate the smart glasses market.
Augmented reality glasses are poised to become the hottest tech gadget of the next decade and Apple’s already laying the foundation with the iPhone X. It may not seem like the two will be directly related, but this clever concept shows how the key lays in the TrueDepth camera hidden in the notch.
Check it out:
One of Apple’s biggest manufacturing partners says it plans to get into the augmented reality business.
Quanta Computer revealed today that it has struck an agreement to start making lenses for an augmented reality headset. Even though the deal isn’t with Apple, it could signal that augmented reality headsets are about to hit the market in a big way.
Apple has updated its Siri design patent in the European Union and Hong Kong to also cover “smart glasses” as a category.
Ahead of a WWDC event where Apple is rumored to be introducing a standalone Siri speaker to take on the Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers, the news suggests that Siri could also be a key part of Apple’s future augmented reality plans.
You rarely see Google Glass anymore, but if Recon Instruments has its way, you’ll be seeing plenty more head-mounted displays in the future.
The Recon Jet, launched Thursday, is a pair of smart eyeglasses for sporty activities like running and biking. Bristling with sensors, the device shows all kinds of biometric data and social stats on its tiny heads-up display. Paired with a smartphone, it can take pictures and video, send and receive status updates, find friends and family on the piste and much more.
But sports is just a start. If Recon is successful — and that’s a big if — we may be seeing smart glasses in a lot more places. Recon is betting hard that the face is the place for smart wearables.
A new book called Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution by Fred Vogelstein revealed the mechanism by which Apple influenced the direction of Android — shock and awe.
Yes, the introduction of the iPhone changed the direction of smartphones. But I don’t think it’s going to happen again in the wearables market. Here’s why.