Nicosia, Cyprus. Smart glasses are returning to the consumer market with improved cameras, longer battery life and artificial intelligence features, as Meta, Snap and Google prepare new products. The devices are increasingly being positioned as fashion accessories as well as wearable technology.
Meta expands range with EssilorLuxottica
More than a decade after Google Glass drew criticism over social acceptance, current smart glasses offer cameras, microphones, open-ear speakers and AI systems that can interpret what the wearer is viewing.
Meta and eyewear company EssilorLuxottica recently introduced a new range starting at $299. The glasses support prescription lenses and are available in 26 combinations of frames, lenses and colours.
The collection includes rectangular Adventurer frames, sport-focused Fury models and a slim oval version created with Kylie Jenner, starting at $399. The Jenner model also offers her voice for Meta AI.
Audio-based AI features
The Meta glasses include a 12-megapixel camera, microphones and open-ear speakers. Users can take photographs, record 3K video, make calls, listen to music and ask Meta AI questions about objects and scenes in front of them.
The models do not include a display. Instead, information is delivered through audio while the camera provides the AI system with a view of the wearer’s surroundings.
Meta says the glasses can operate for more than eight hours, while the charging case provides up to a further 40 hours of battery life.
Display glasses and augmented reality
Meta’s $799 display model includes an in-lens colour screen that can show messages, walking directions, photographs, live captions and real-time translations.
The model also uses a wrist-worn neural band that detects small muscle movements, allowing users to scroll or select items through hand gestures.
Snap is preparing to ship its first consumer augmented-reality glasses, Specs, this autumn. Priced at $2,195, the glasses can overlay interactive digital objects on the real world, open virtual screens and provide AI assistance during tasks. Their battery lasts up to four hours.
Google plans return to eyewear market
Google is also preparing new eyewear developed with Samsung, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. The products are due to arrive this autumn.
Audio-based glasses are expected to launch first, followed by models able to display directions, messages and other information through the lens.
