I’ve been thinking lately about why I bought smart glasses in the first place (I’m using Even Realities G1). My main goal was to stay more focused, especially when studying for exams. And G1 really helped with that by cutting down my phone usage.

And ER has launched new features resently, stocks and news. It suddenly hit me how varied the reasons people buy smart glasses are, and how different everyone's expectations for the product’s development can be, cause... Sure, it's cool to have live updates in my glasses, and the news feature is pretty good, but the stocks feature is definately not designed for me. I really hope ER will continue to roll out more features that are useful for students in the future.

What’s the real reason you guys buy smart glasses? Will the development of smart glasses meet our expectations?

Plessey Semiconductors and Meta Platforms, Inc. announced the development of the world’s brightest red microLED display suitable for augmented reality (AR) glasses. The new red microLED display offers unparalleled brightness up to 6,000,000 nits at high resolution (<5um) with ultra-low power consumption–overcoming critical technical challenges that will help pave the way for the next computing platform.

This achievement follows Meta’s recent announcement of Orion, its true AR glasses prototype and the result of breakthrough inventions in virtually every field of modern computing. Orion combines the look and feel of a regular pair of glasses with the immersive capabilities of AR due to its industry-leading 70-degree field of view, silicon carbide high-performance waveguides, custom silicon, microLED projectors, integrated input system, and more.

As part of its long-term commercial agreement, Plessey is continuing to work with Meta by dedicating its manufacturing operations to support the development of prototypes and new technologies for potential use in the XR category.

Jason Hartlove, Vice President of Display and Optics, Meta’s Reality Labs, said: “We are building the future of human connection and the technology that makes it possible. These types of breakthroughs are crucial to build AR glasses that help people stay more present and empowered in the world with a form factor people actually feel comfortable wearing. Our work with Plessey has pushed the boundaries of what’s previously been possible, and it’s only the beginning–the future is starting to look up.”

Dr Keith Strickland, CEO of Plessey added: “Plessey is proud to be working alongside Meta to drive the development of microLED display technology. Our combined expertise and resources have enabled us to achieve something truly remarkable. The collaboration between Meta and Plessey has delivered a major breakthrough in the development of AR technology, and we are excited to see the impact that this innovation will have on the industry. With the world’s brightest red microLED display, we are one major step closer to making AR glasses a mainstream reality.”

"Rokid exhibits the innovative award-winning AR glasses product Rokid Cupcake. Using Sony's Micro OLED display technology, the glasses can achieve contrast of 100,000:1, brightness of 600 nits, refresh rate of 120 Hz, can achieve the equivalent of 6 meters away from the 300 inch screen viewing effect."

I've been waiting for years after trying the XREAL Air as a USB-C monitor replacement. The promise is fantastic, but the specs were unusable (FOV, resolution). I also tried the Quest 3 for the same, but the resolution was still too low (albeit better), and uncomfortable for prolonged use. There's Pimax Dream Air (expensive) and Vision Pro (Mac only, expensive); and Visor, but we'll see. But I'm wondering if the needle has been pushed any recently for AR glasses? I've seen a lot of posts on this sub recently, but the resolution & FOV seem just barely nudged (40ish->50ish); or the device not intended as a screen mirror. So I'm wondering if anyone who has their finger on the pulse knows of any devices that would be deemed workable as a monitor replacement.

Pushing the capabilities of P2P tech used in our app to see what's possible.

https://youtu.be/2gTTu4OqoiM

They are at the Hong Kong Tech Pavilion 63001

In case anyone here is checking it out, let us know what the brightness is. According to the roadmap it should be 200k nits.

Hey,
I'm deeply passionate about smart glasses, AR, and Android – it’s what I live and breathe. I even developed an AI-powered Smart Glass. But a recent conversation made me pause and think.

I was chatting with a friend about smart glasses, the G1glass, Brilliant Lab’s Frame, and all the cool stuff they can do; And it made me realize - Do we really need it?

Me: I was excited, telling him how these glasses, with advanced AI and displays, can book a cab, check stock prices, show navigation – all right in front of your eyes.

Friend: But I can do all that with my Apple Watch.

Me: I explained to him that with smart glasses, you can just ask any question about what you're looking at right then and there. Otherwise, you'd have to pull out your phone, open ChatGPT, upload the image, and type out your query – which you definitely can't do with a smartwatch.

Friend: Alright, Tell me the use cases.

Me: You can ask what type of flower you're looking at, get info on a product right in front of you, or even translate a menu when you're traveling abroad. Plus, it has a camera to capture images, which is super handy for travelers and influencers.

Friend: Come on! These aren’t things I’d use every day. I only need them occasionally, so why should I pay so much for that?

This made me realize that, yeah, we need to come up with some brand new use cases beyond what we have! I thought proactive AI agents could make smart glasses really stand out. Smart Glasses is the future, but we’ve got to figure out some compelling everyday uses for them first.

Oh, and by the way, my "friend" here? It’s just my own mind. I just played it out like a conversation for fun.

True AR glasses with 6DoF are absolutely amazing. But to get them widely adopted, we’ve got to build the market step by step – starting with AI glasses, then pass-through display glasses, and eventually full-on AR glasses.

What do you think? Why do we need smart glasses if we already have smartwatches?