Any time I have high hopes for something, someone comes along and crushes it.
... You're right. These are weird times.
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Apple Smart Glasses Launching in 2026
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Any time I have high hopes for something, someone comes along and crushes it.
... You're right. These are weird times.
With Meta Ray Bans, there's an indicator light that can't be turned off. The light does a single flash when taking a photo and the light continually pulses while recording. I am not sure how other smartglasses from Amazon and other brands work, but manufacturers are more cognizant nowadays about transparency to avoid the creep factor.
These smart glasses will be Dead on Arrival just like the Apple Vision Pro. Nobody wants to wear glasses and many of the problems that plague VR headsets apply to glasses as well. The AR/VR product category will always be niche, creating many of its own problems and not solving key problems for people across many applications. These products are not mass market.
Almost half the global population wears glasses. What headset problems plague smartglasses exactly? My Meta Ray Bans are comfortable for all-day wear and don't attract any more attention than my regular glasses. My experience is the battery lasts 7-8 hours, considerably longer than the Apple Vision Pro. When the battery dies, I can still use the Meta Ray Bans as normal glasses to see. Smartglasses are added functionality and don't have the same restrictions and limitations as a VR headset...and they're helluva lot cheaper than AVP. Heck, after sales and promotions, my prescription Meta Ray Bans with Xtractive Transitions are still cheaper than some non-smart, non-prescription sunglasses. Win-win.
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You can see some of my past posts on this. The essence of the problem is, first, that this product category doesn’t solve key problems for the mass market. It has niche applications/verticals.
Second, its form factor. Nobody wants to wear glasses or ski goggles. There is a big difference here between wearing glasses because a person needs to for their vision, and wearing them for computing.
Third, the entire concept of VR/AR is flawed: the “reality” it creates is a cheap imitation of actual reality. The best virtual reality is actual reality.
Fourth, its limiting is many ways. Spatial computing for instance is inefficient and imprecise compared to point and click modalities.
Fifth, sixth, and many more points that I could go on about…
I stated before the AVP hit the market that it would fail for all of these reasons and more. And the same will happen with smart glasses.
For these things to be successful on a wide scale, they need to be better at a set of things compared to smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.
I agree with your assessment of AVP and other VR headsets. I also predicted AVP's failure...especially at the high price-point. However, I think you're confusing what smartglasses offer. Smartglasses don't have the power to do VR as long as battery life, comfort, and apperance are priorities. Instead, Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality is definitely possible in the near future with in-lens displays overlaying/projecting digital information over the real-world, akin to Heads-Up Displays in vehicle windshields. I think having your trail route, navigation, or speed/distance/pace overlayed on the lens is immensely useful and practical when hiking, exploring a city, or running for exercise...all while you're still seeing the real world through the lenses of smartglasses.
I have something similar with a pair of FORM Smart Swim Goggles from a couple of years ago that overlay my pace and lap split times on the lens. There is also stroke analysis and coaching too. I find it incredibly helpful during my training and exercise sessions to track my progress.
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I am not confusing anything. I understand the difference between AR and VR. My critique is in context. Having bits of digital information overlayed over someone’s visual system first of all doesn’t necessarily solve fundamental problems for a mass market. In fact, it will likely be the opposite: a distraction and waste of time.
I could write a lot on this topic and have discussed my critique in detail in the past.
I standby my assessment that smartglasses will be niche, and will fail a mass market.
You can see hints of what I’m saying already with things like Heads Up Displays in cars. HUDs are not always well-received due to distractions, their impact on cognitive load, and their potential to be visually disruptive.
Apple Glass needs to arrive with both AI and AR capabilities. Tim Cook has been mentioning AR at earnings calls for a few years. Time for it to materialize
Apples already late to the party so Apple Glass
(Or whatever they’re going to call it) needs to happen soon
Apples already late to the party so Apple Glass
(Or whatever they’re going to call it) needs to happen soon
They can always use this tv-serie as an add....and going forward to the glasses 😂
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Titta på See – Apple TV+ (SE)
I en avlägsen framtid har människan förlorat sin syn. Jason Momoa spelar pappan till ett tvillingpar som föds med den mytomspunna förmågan att se, och…
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I love my AVP, but struggle to think of a reason for these style glassses. Notifications? I already have an Apple Watch and an iPhone, and to be honest, I try to minimize the intrusion of notifications, not maximize them. So adding them to my constant vision would be much too distracting for me.
As for taking pictures? I took my daughter to the Zoo yesterday. We took a ton of pictures. But would I rather use the low-res, no zoom version of the camera that would come in these glasses, or simply grab my phone to take much higher quality photos? No way I'm going to take low res photos when I have a much bettter camera in my pocket.
Directions? I used my iPhone with Carplay to return home from the zoo. Again, I don't want something that is constantly in my vision while I'm driving. For example, again, notifications? But even the directions. Maybe there would be times that I want a constant heads-up display. But mostly, I only glance at the screen for directions every few minutes. Having all the data there all the time is too much.
Listening to music? I'll take my Airpods, thanks.
I get the appeal, but to wear them all day, everyday, is simply not something I want. I look to minimze tech intrusion these days, not maximize it. How often do I need a camera/AI combo to ask "what am I looking at?" Once a month, perhaps?
And there simply is zero comparison between these and AVP.
As for taking pictures? I took my daughter to the Zoo yesterday. We took a ton of pictures. But would I rather use the low-res, no zoom version of the camera that would come in these glasses, or simply grab my phone to take much higher quality photos? No way I'm going to take low res photos when I have a much bettter camera in my pocket.
Directions? I used my iPhone with Carplay to return home from the zoo. Again, I don't want something that is constantly in my vision while I'm driving. For example, again, notifications? But even the directions. Maybe there would be times that I want a constant heads-up display. But mostly, I only glance at the screen for directions every few minutes. Having all the data there all the time is too much.
Listening to music? I'll take my Airpods, thanks.
I get the appeal, but to wear them all day, everyday, is simply not something I want. I look to minimze tech intrusion these days, not maximize it. How often do I need a camera/AI combo to ask "what am I looking at?" Once a month, perhaps?
And there simply is zero comparison between these and AVP.
- They will have to “slave” the device to another device such as an iPhone, iPad or MacBook
- The “problem” is, has been and will continue to be, power.
- The more they enable, the shorter the device will function between charges.
- They will need to get sufficient power in the device to enable it to last at least a full day under normal use if they want wide-spread adoption
- Price is going to be a key factor as well.. especially for people who need prescription lenses in which case there will be no immediate product delivery
As a few posts above have illustrated, these kinds of products are just going to open up a whole lot of legal problems and probably legislation to regulate their use.