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Have you ever wanted your glasses frames to double as Bluetooth speakers? Boy howdy, do we have a sale for you! Razer, one of the most well-known PC peripheral manufacturers, has you covered with its Razer Anzu Smart Glasses.
The Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset might just be the kick that the smart glasses world needs to really get moving. However, Apple isn’t the first company to make a good set of smart glasses. In fact, there are plenty of great smart glasses options out there, though they’ve all got their own strengths and weaknesses. If you want to invest in a pair, but don’t feel like waiting on the Apple Vision Pro, then here are some great smart glasses options you can pick up right now.
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When I heard Facebook announced smart glasses with cameras, I thought it was a joke. Why would Facebook, a company infamous for misusing data, release a pair of glasses with a camera? Nevertheless, Facebook worked with Ray-Ban and created the Rayban Stories, a pair of smart glasses with a built-in speaker and not one but two cameras. The Stories are good as far as smart glasses go... which isn't very far.
Xiaomi’s Android-powered smart glasses feature a display that’s smaller than a grain of rice
But you won’t be able to buy them
Xiaomi is the latest tech giant to jump on the smart glasses bandwagon. Its concept uses advanced "microLED optical waveguide technology" to display incoming messages, notifications, translate text in real-time, and more right in front of your eyes.
What if Facebook were actually on your face? The company already knows every little detail about you and it's currently happily sitting in your pocket everywhere you go, but I'm talking about literally having Facebook on your face. That's a nightmare you probably didn't want to have tonight, but this is no dream: it's going to be a real thing. Facebook has partnered with EssilorLuxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban glasses, to bring you the Ray-Ban Stories — a pair of glasses that are probably the coolest nightmare fuel you'll see today.
TCL's weird new AR smart glasses look like they stepped right out of a 90s Sharper Image catalog
New product announcements also include a smartwatch and a cellular router
Mobile World Congress, canceled last year and going on delayed this year, is usually the home to big go-to-market announcements with consumers in mind. TCL has decided to take a few shots from the niche corners with a trio of products including a wonky pair of smart glasses.
Razer's Bluetooth glasses are cheaper than Bose's and come with interchangeable lenses
They cost $200, and you can get prescription lenses if you want
If I told you that Razer is making something it calls "smart glasses" (and if you were a cynical and jaded follower of tech news), you might ask, "but where do the RGB lights go?" The answer is nowhere. Surprisingly, Razer's new Anzu smart glasses don't feature any. They're essentially a riff on Bose's Bluetooth audio sunglasses, and they don't feel especially gamer-focused.
Leaked Samsung AR Glasses are ridiculously chonky and optimistic smart eyewear
Concept videos with realistic v1 hardware, and optimistic v10 features
Plenty of companies have attempted smart wearables in different forms, but getting people to put on enhanced eyewear has become the gold standard, and it's a formula nobody has truly cracked yet. However, like many others, Samsung is in the process of developing its own pair of smart glasses, and a couple of leaked concept videos demonstrate a series of ambitious goals that might be available when (or if) these spectacles launch.
Google confirms acquisition of smart glasses maker North
There's probably more to Google's interest than just glasses, though
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Google is acquiring smart glasses manufacturer North Inc., reportedly to the tune of $180 million, shoring up its own hardware, wearable, and "ambient computing" efforts with the acquisition. Google saw limited success with its own "Google Glass" smart glasses, though the project lives on. The new purchase could also complement Google's acquisition of Fitbit.
When it comes to selling what it makes, Amazon's Echo speakers are the company's bread and butter. But those speakers were, at one point, experiments and they've had their time to grow — just as much as that AmazonBasics microwave turned into a smart oven, but whatevs. So, we're here to talk about the new Echo Show smart display, wireless earbuds, a lamp, a pair of sort-of-smart glasses and a sort-of-smart ring.
Huawei announces Watch GT Active and Elegant editions, plus new earbuds, neckbuds, and smart glasses
Alongside the announcement of its new flagship smartphones — the P30 and P30 Pro, for those who missed it — Huawei also unveiled some new wearable gadgets. These include variants of the Watch GT aimed at slightly different audiences and some new audio products.
Earlier this week, The Information reported that Intel will be shutting down its New Devices Group, the branch responsible for developing wearable consumer products such as the Vaunt smart glasses prototype. The news comes a few months after Intel announced it had also given up on developing its own smart watches and trackers.
Despite all of the product's problems, I still wish Google had decided to release Google Glass to the general public (the $1,500 Explorer edition doesn't count). The company decided that medical institutions and industry were the markets for Glass, and now Olympus is following suit with its 'EyeTrek INSIGHT EI-10 Smart Glasses.'
In the battle to become our smart assistant of choice, Amazon's Alexa is currently losing out in one key area: mobile. Apple's iPhones have Siri, and Android phones have the Google Assistant, but with the failure of the Fire phone, Alexa isn't the convenient choice on any smartphone. According to a report in the Financial Times, Amazon plans to address this issue by launching a pair of 'smart glasses' that can interact with Alexa.
Google Glass gives wearers access to notifications, the ability to take pictures of what they see, and other bite-size nuggets of general tech geekery, but the device relies on tactile swipes and voice commands to manage it all. Atheer One, a pair of smart glasses that were recently funded on Indiegogo, promises users the ability to interact with its virtual UI elements using just their hands.