Smart glasses have existed for a while now, with the most notable being the failed Google Glass. Most recently, Facebook launched its own offering through a partnership with Ray-Ban. While Google’s product was ugly, the Facebook glasses actually look quite cool — to the average person, they appear to be regular glasses. And today, Xiaomi threw its hat into the ring, announcing a pair of smart glasses called Xiaomi Smart Glasses.
A company spokesperson said that there’s no plan to actually put them on sale, but Xiaomi has provided enough detail to make the concept product seem somewhat plausible — at least for some point in the future, but Xiaomi’s glasses have a relatively conventional form factor, but unlike Facebook and Ray Ban’s just-announced Stories glasses, they actually do have a display that can be used for AR features. Xiaomi says it went with a monochrome MicroLED system because of its “higher pixel density and longer lifespan while having a simpler structure” when compared to OLED. According to Xiaomi, MicroLED “allows for a more compact display, as well as easier screen integration.”
These glasses utilize cutting-edge MicroLED optical waveguide technology and weight just 51g. They run the Android operating system, are powered by a quad-core ARM processor, and offer both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Smart Glasses feature a 5MP camera for taking photos and recording videos, but also, translating text as you view it!
“Smart Glasses integrates a total of 497 components including miniature sensors and communication modules, so it is not just a ‘second screen’ for your smartphone, but instead functions as a new smart terminal with independent operating capability. In addition to basic notification, call display, etc., it can also independently complete functions such as navigation, taking photos, teleprompter, and real-time text and photo translations. Considering usage, key interaction logic has also been implemented to minimize interruptions at inconvenient times, and display important information timely when critical,” says Xiaomi.
The company also shares, “Xiaomi Smart Glasses has a display chip measuring just 2.4mm x 2.02mm. Under a microscope, the display is roughly the size of a grain of rice, with individual pixels sized at 4μm –enabling the display to be fitted perfectly within the frame of the glasses. To allow sufficient light to pass through complicated optical structures before reaching the eye even in harsh direct sunlight, we opted for an ultra-efficient monochrome display solution, which is capable of reaching a peak brightness of 2 million units.”
As you can imagine, the Xiaomi Smart Glasses are not available for sale today. Sadly, the company does not even tease a release date or estimated price. For now, we must only view this product as a concept — something to hopefully come to the market in the not-so-distant future. One thing we do know for sure, however, is that Xiaomi Smart Glasses have no affiliation with Facebook, and that makes them very attractive!
