Google Glass failed and, with it, the smart glasses bubble popped. Ten years after the BBC dubbed the gadget a “fascinating failure”, the tech industry seems willing to give wearables another go – but will it ever be hip to wear a smartphone on your face?
Backlash
At their core, smart glasses are yet another way to present the humble app. However, the software format may have to undergo a facelift, becoming simpler and less distracting.
Mobile games have already made a step towards this new future. For instance, the “idle” genre requires little input on the part of the player. These titles prize the time the app is closed just as much as when they’re in the game.
Facewear is the ideal environment for AR games, like the type Niantic puts out, but other entertainment media may resemble its counterpart on smartwatches. For instance, slot machines found a home on the Apple Watch. The gameplay cycle of Luck O’ The Irish Fortune Play at Paddy Power is much more amiable to gesture and/or one-click controls. Of course, the hit game is still available to play via a browser.
Smart glasses may yet omit complex app functionality altogether. Think of the first smartphones, with a camera, voice calling, navigation, and nothing else. Safety is a concern – humans have never been very good at walking and talking – but privacy issues could keep smart glasses lean to avoid some of the problems that sank Google Glass.
The worry is that the latter was not a “covert device”, to quote the BBC article from earlier, so modern examples are likely to face greater backlash simply because they’re better at hiding their function.
Ray-Ban Meta
Wired magazine has already declared 2025 smart glasses “all the way down”, suggesting that wearables could offer a middle place between real life and the “limiting” VR devices. The author’s rationale is that smart glasses are no longer smart glasses. They’re normal spectacles with hi-tech features.
Again, though, this raises privacy fears. With phones and other handheld devices, it’s often easy to see if you are being filmed (for example). The most popular device in the smartglasses renaissance is the Ray-Ban Meta, which includes a 12MP camera and five microphones. It’s designed for recording.
The good news is that prices have fallen since the advent of wearables. Google Glass retailed for $1,500 at launch (they cost a reported $152 to make, according to IEEE Spectrum) but the Ray-Ban Meta goes for $329. Other examples include the $699 XREAL Air 2 Ultra and the much more traditionally priced $1,299.99 for the Vuzix Blade 2.
Uniquely for a piece of technology, questions of style will influence purchasing decisions. Yes, nobody wants an uncool smartphone but face shape is important to wearable fashions. The Vision Express website claims that round faces suit rectangular frames.
Android XR
So, is there any more evidence that smart glasses could be about to make a second go of it? Google recently announced Android XR, an “extended reality” platform that runs on glasses and headsets.
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The search giant claims its competitor to the Ray-Ban Meta – the Samsung-built Project Moohan – will debut in 2025. It includes support for YouTube, tab-based internet browsing, photos, and even Google TV. Wearers can draw shapes to interact with the wearable or even ask questions out loud to learn more about an object (presumably, via Google Lens).
An ironic addendum to wearables’ return is that they’re incompatible with spectacles. Lenses in the Ray-Ban Meta come with the Transitions technology but are otherwise transparent glass. This effectively eliminates one of the groups that might find smart glasses interesting, i.e. people who already wear glasses. Put another way, Ray Ban Meta aligns with its brand mates, resembling high-end sunglasses.
Will 2025 be the year of smart glasses? How many devices running apps can one person possibly need? We’ll have the answer in another 12 months.
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