MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Pair of Dusk Electrochromic Smart Sunglasses From Ampere

[MacRumors]

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Ampere to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a pair of Dusk sunglasses. The Dusk sunglasses aren't your standard pair of sunglasses -- they have adjustable electrochromic lenses.

You can use an accompanying app or a control on the sunglasses themselves to adjust the tint level, plus these are smart sunglasses with integrated speaker and microphone so you can also listen to music and take phone calls.

Like many sunglasses that play music, the Dusk sunglasses use an open ear audio feature that lets you listen to music without disturbing those around you. The built-in battery gives you four hours of playtime before needing to be recharged, but it lasts for seven days when you're just using tint control.

Listening to music with an open ear design keeps you aware of what's going on around you, so these sunglasses are ideal for commuters who walk or ride bikes and need to keep tabs on traffic. Ampere has also added in Siri integration, so you can access Siri with the tap of a button.

With a classic wayfarer design and a matte black finish, the Dusk sunglasses have universal appeal, and the polarized lenses are able to transition from light to dark to suit your preferences. These are not transitional lenses that react to light -- you have full control over the tint level. There are pre-set tint levels loaded on the frame that can be accessed with a button, and you can create your own preferred tints using the Ampere app.

When you change the tint of the Dusk sunglasses, it takes just a fraction of a second to update, and the polarized lenses block 100 percent of UVA/UVB rays in addition to reducing glare and increasing sharpness, regardless of tint level. Weighing in at 26 grams, the Dusk sunglasses are comfortable for all-day wear.

The Dusk sunglasses come with a matching carrying case that has a little slot for an Apple AirTag, so as long as you're diligent about returning them to the case after using them, they'll be trackable should they go missing. You can also use the Ampere app to play a sound should the sunglasses go missing in the house.

Since the Dusk sunglasses offer IP65 dust and water resistance, you can wear them at the pool, on the beach, and in other situations where they might be exposed to moisture.

There's an optional charging case that can be purchased, which provides up to 40 hours of listening time, and for those who already have earbuds, there's also a more affordable Dusk Lite. The standard Dusk sunglasses offer tint adjustment, speakers, and a microphone for music and calls, while the Lite version just has the tint feature.

Ampere is offering two Dusk prize packs to MacRumors readers, which include a set of Dusk Smart Sunglasses, a Wireless Charging Carry Case with AirTag Holder, a microfiber cleaning cloth, and a Sidekick Tech Sling with AirTag Holder for storage. To enter to win, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

Ampere Giveaway
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The contest will run from today (June 18) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on June 25. The winners will be chosen randomly on June 25 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

The Dusk sunglasses are available for pre-order right now for $250 and will be shipping out in August, but Ampere has a special deal for MacRumors readers who want to pick up a pair. MacRumors readers who preorder can get the Dusk sunglasses for $225, with a free Tech Sling included.

Article Link: MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Pair of Dusk Electrochromic Smart Sunglasses From Ampere

 

[andrewsipes]

This is a cool concept! I would love for them to be able to be truly clear. Side note, the logo has absolutely terrible contrast / readability.

 

[G5isAlive]

all that and fugly too! but yes, a fun concept. looking forward to version 2 in aviator style

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

I can't decide how I feel about these.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗]

Another great giveaway.

Thank you Macrumors!

 

[Adreitz]

This is a cool concept! I would love for them to be able to be truly clear. Side note, the logo has absolutely terrible contrast / readability.

They can't be perfectly transmissive. They operate on the same principle as a reflective LCD display, so they have a minimum theoretical transmission of unpolarized light of 1/2. According to Wikipedia, 37% transmission is about standard for "Polaroid-type" polarizers.

It also looks like these lenses, since they are essentially simplified LCD displays, are cylindrical rather than spherical. You can see it a bit in some of the photos, but I expect it would be a lot more noticeable in person.

 

[Moyapilot]

As a city transit driver this would be really cool. Not sure if you can get a prescription lens though which I would need (I'll have to re-read above again). The speakers on it would be nice as you can listen to music without violating local driving rules (no earbuds allowed).

The adjustable tint is fascinating and I would love to see these in person. My current sunglasses can sometimes get too dark when there is a cloud cover. Interesting!

 

[Surfer13134]

I love the idea but the design in the plastic for the frames looks cheap, reminds me of the glasses from the movie theater. I would want to see reviews before I pop down $225 for them.

 

[jz0309]

if that were available for prescription lenses - that would be awesome!!
But since it doesn't appear to be the case - I'm gong to pass on entry
But thanks MR for another great giveaway!

 

[ahemchipmunk]

Finally! I've always wanted sunglasses that can be bricked in a botched firmware update! I wonder if they come with a privacy policy.

 

[Khedron]

Looks nice. Is there a similar product without the pointlessly short audio playback?

edit: Yes, the Lite mentioned in the text

 

[Apple_Robert]

Has anyone bought a pair? If so, what is your opinion of the sound quality?

 

[macduke]

I can't decide how I feel about these.

Same. Cool concept, doesn’t look great, but fairly innovative. I think something like this may one day be looked at as an early precursor to Apple Glasses. That is, if they sell enough for people to remember.

 

[shamino]

As a city transit driver this would be really cool. Not sure if you can get a prescription lens though which I would need (I'll have to re-read above again).

According to the Indigogo page, they will develop support for prescription lenses as a stretch goal if they can raise $500K.

I assume that they'll add it at some point in the future if the initial release becomes popular enough to fund the development.

 

[jlc1978]

Cool concept. Questionable value.

Without prescription options they severely limit the market. Not everyone wants to have contacts just to wear sunglasses. If they offer prescription lens, it will be interesting to see how the come up with a cost effective working solution. For examples, what about progressive lens? Can they make blanks that can be cut to prescriptions without damaging the tinting function?

 

[ignatius345]

So, Transitions lenses for millennials. Got it. After all, what good is a pair of eyeglasses if it doesn't connect to your iPhone somehow, right?

 

[NightFox]

Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses anyone?

 

[Robert.Walter]

Need a prescription version or they can’t address most of the market.

 

[justperry]

So...if you loose the case without the sunglasses with the Airtag you loose more money then the case is worth...

 

[B4U]

I have a pair of CTRL e-tint sunglasses that does not have tint level adjustments.
This looks horrible comparing to the CTRL ones though.

 

[japanime]

The models in the photos look great. But there aren't too many people who can rock those frames.

Interesting tech, though, and there might be a wide variety of frames available a few generations later.

 

[macsimcon]

More than half of people are myopic, what is this, 2001? Make a pair of sunglasses which can measure the distance from the cornea to the retina in real-time, and adjust the prescription dynamically.

Lame. Yawn.

 

[Makosuke]

The models in the photos look great. But there aren't too many people who can rock those frames.

Am I the only one who got a massive Ray Charles vibe from the design? Not exactly ugly but a very specific sort of look.

4 hours of audio is useless for a lot of things, but that's an entirely practical amount of time for phone calls, and since you don't have to stick them in your ears I could see that being a genuinely useful feature instead of technology for technology's sake.

But the ability to change the opacity of my sunglasses from pretty dark to really dark sounds a lot less useful and a lot more like a gimmick. If they could go all the way to fully transparent and be prescription lenses, I could imagine it being a neat manually adjustable version of those transitions glasses lenses, but as-is I'm not imagining any time when I'd actually do much with it.

 

[geekymcfly]

Seems like a nice idea

 

[travelsheep]

poor iteration imo, still waiting for a full screen helmet with adjustable tint levels, microphone and surround speakers, climate control, HEPA filter, and rear cameras