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1/8 I've had folks ask me if I think this is the Year of Consumer AR Glasses. Some thoughts...
2021 is expected to see consumer smartglasses from various players. These devices will likely be Connected Eyewear (return of Google Glass) rather than AR Glasses (HoloLens for masses)
2021 is expected to see consumer smartglasses from various players. These devices will likely be Connected Eyewear (return of Google Glass) rather than AR Glasses (HoloLens for masses)
2/8 Connected Eyewear typically consist of 1 or a combination of the following
- Heads-up display to project information on a transparent screen in front of your eye (e.g. Vuzix Blade)
- Mic & Spatial Audio (e.g. Bose AR Glasses)
- Camera to capture pics & video (e.g. Spectacles)
- Heads-up display to project information on a transparent screen in front of your eye (e.g. Vuzix Blade)
- Mic & Spatial Audio (e.g. Bose AR Glasses)
- Camera to capture pics & video (e.g. Spectacles)
3/8 Connected Eyewear is expected to be worn "all day" (or as long as the battery lasts) and is good for displaying notifications, listening to music, life-logging & interacting with digital assistants. Recently these devices have also demonstrated value through augmented audio.
4/8 AR glasses sense the world & place digital content in it (e.g. Nreal). AR glasses are powerful but the road is long and hard to create an everyday device. In 2021, consumer AR glasses will be for gaming or early smartphone accessories which will pave the way for the future.
5/8 We gained a lot of learnings from the rollout of Google Glass which debuted nearly 9 years ago in 2012. Among these was a need to address:
- Fashion
- Wearability (including battery life & heat)
- Cultural Readiness / Social Contracts
- Privacy & Safety
- User Value
- Price
- Fashion
- Wearability (including battery life & heat)
- Cultural Readiness / Social Contracts
- Privacy & Safety
- User Value
- Price
6/8 Improvements in tech have moved the needle on fashion & wearability as we saw with North's Focals, renderings from Vuzix's upcoming device & Facebook's partnership with Ray-Ban. Advancements have also helped bring the price down (Focals was $600 compared to $1500 for Glass).
7/8 Society may also be more "ready" for smartglasses compared to 2012 because of:
- A greater familiarity with AR via mobile
- Consumer VR HMDs
- Generations of Smartwatches
- Connected Eyewear in-market for 8 years
- May have used smartglasses at work
- A greater familiarity with AR via mobile
- Consumer VR HMDs
- Generations of Smartwatches
- Connected Eyewear in-market for 8 years
- May have used smartglasses at work
8/8 I am eager to see how the players that launch consumer devices this year & beyond tackle privacy and safety (top of mind for consumers today) and how they create user value to convince users to not just buy but wear these devices.
What are your thoughts on this?
What are your thoughts on this?
