The wearables sector has been growing at an unprecedented rate for quite some time now. However, lately, we have been seeing a new product on the market-smart glasses. Be it Snapchat or Facebook, companies are jumping on the bandwagon, trying to become the leaders in this emerging market. Today, Xiaomi has tossed its hat into the ring with its all-new pair of smart glasses – its first smart eye wearable – which comes with a ton of features.
While the price and date of launch have not been revealed yet, it can be surmised that it will be a competitor to Facebook’s Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses.
Weighing 51g, the Xiaomi Smart Glasses will be able to display messages and notifications, make calls, capture photos with a 5mp camera, navigate using augmented reality (AR) technology, and even translate text in real-time through Xiaomi’s XiaoAI voice assistant. In short, it is a pair of glasses with the major functions of a smartphone. It also features a touchpad.
Let us delve a little deeper into this new wearable. Coming with a monochrome 0.13-inch MicroLED system “to allow for a more compact display, as well as easier screen integration,” the glasses are powered by a quad-core ARM processor and run on Android. They have a squarish frame with a thick band running on top.
According to the company, “The grating structure etched onto the inner surface of the lens allows light to be refracted in a unique way, directing it safely into the human eye. The refraction process involves bouncing light beams countless times, allowing the human eye to see a complete image, and greatly increasing usability while wearing. All this is done inside a single lens, instead of using complicated multiples lens systems, mirrors, or half mirrors as some other products do.” Additionally, the glasses’ waveguide technology transmits light beams to the human eye through the microscopic grating structure of the optical waveguide lens.
On the “screen,” you will receive the most important notifications. The glasses come equipped with a built-in dual beamforming microphone and speaker so that you can make calls and receive them. AR technology will be leveraged in order to create real-time roads and maps in front of you to aid in navigation.
It also has a display chip measuring just 2.4×2.02mm with a peak brightness of 2 million nits, and the display is roughly the size of a grain of rice, with individual pixels sized at 4μm. Its connectivity features include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Facebook’s Ray-Ban Stories lack a screen, and are mostly designed as an accessory to your phone rather than a full blown different product. Thus, Xiaomi’s glasses will attract users that want a more complete package.
