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Bose's AR glasses are all about audio, not video
Bose announced today that it's getting into the augmented reality game. But Bose AR isn't about video, it's about audio and through a "wafer-thin acoustics package," the company says it can introduce a useful and relevant layer of audio into your everyday activities. Bose says the small audio technology produces powerful and clear sound and can be incorporated into wearables like headphones, eyewear and helmets.
Magic Leap's AR headsets will start at around $1,000
Magic Leap is spilling more and more of its secrets as it gets nearer to releasing its first mixed reality headset this year. At Recode's annual Code Media conference, Magic Leap chief Rony Abovitz has revealed the company's plans to release not one, but multiple versions of the headset. He also announced its deal with the NBA to show basketball games in mixed reality.
Rokid’s AR glasses are janky as hell, but they have to start somewhere
Rokid's AR glasses aren't ready for public consumption, but the company is releasing them this year anyway. Rokid is an AI company based in China and it's made a name for itself building smart home products, but its latest gadget is a pair of frames that aim to be the AR glasses of our sci-fi dreams. Right now, however, their functionality is limited.
ThirdEye’s AR glasses come with massive swappable batteries
I know what you're thinking, and yes: These are some dorky-looking AR glasses. What they lack in style, however, they arguably make up for in battery life. The ThirdEye X1 packs two hot-swappable batteries with a combined 2,400mAh of charge -- more than any of its competitors, apparently. That means the glasses, which project a 90-inch virtual "screen" roughly 10 feet in front of you, can last all day provided you have plenty of fresh batteries. At CES, I was able to put them on and get a brief glimpse of its AR capabilities. Unfortunately, though, the team at the booth could summon little more than a misty loading screen. (Lame.)
Everysight's Raptor AR cycling glasses start at $499
We liked what Everysight accomplished with its Raptor AR Smartglasses -- they present helpful cycling info like directions, cadence and your heart rate in front of you so that you can keep your eyes on the road. If you're feeling the same way, you now know when you can get a pair of your own. Everysight has announced that you can sign up for a pre-order invitation at its website today, with pre-orders starting on November 15th ahead of the February 2018 release. That's a long time to wait (sorry, no AR fall rides for you), but the prices sound about right for projector-equipped eyepieces with their own onboard computing and GPS: you're looking at an "early adopter" price of $499 for glasses with 16GB of storage and $549 for 32GB.
Focusing on business might resurrect Google Glass
It's hard to believe that it's been more than five years since Google first announced Project Glass, its wearable-glasses-mounted computer. What I remember most about Google Glass was hype: The company's demonstration at I/O 2012 was perhaps the most dramatic thing I've ever seen at a tech conference. It featured skydiving and BMX bikers wearing Glass, broadcasting their first-person experience straight to the people in the room. It was wild and impressive, but Google misjudged how that hype would translate into actual consumer usage. The look of someone wearing a camera on her face was too alienating, and Google never presented a complete vision of what Glass could do. That was part of the plan: The Explorer Edition that Google sold to early adopters was mostly meant for developers to use and figure out what apps made sense for it. But Glass never progressed beyond that experimental phase, and it was taken off the market in Jan. 2015, before a consumer edition even shipped.
Microsoft's next-gen HoloLens reportedly won't arrive until 2019
If you've been hoping for a cheaper, smaller HoloLens to come out soon, you might be disappointed. Microsoft-focused news site Thurrott reports that the company is eschewing a more incremental follow-up device in favor of something with significant upgrades. For tech enthusiasts, this means it will be at least a couple years before we see a new HoloLens for consumers, as Microsoft allegedly plans to release this more advanced device sometime in 2019.
Epson unveils its third-generation Moverio AR glasses at MWC
Epson debuted the third iteration of its Moverio AR glasses series, dubbed the BT-300, at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona on Monday. The new smart specs boast completely transparent lenses impregnated with OLED displays, a quad-core Intel Atom X5 processor and the Android 5.1 operating system. Plus, they weigh 20 percent less than their BT-200 predecessors, making them the world's lightest AR glasses. They're currently available for preorder and are expected to ship later this year.
