Xiaomi has revealed a new smart glasses concept called, rather unimaginatively, Xiaomi Smart Glasses.
The Chinese brand announced the new concept through a press release and an accompanying YouTube video, which talks about a time when smart phones will become a thing of the past.
To that end, and unlike the Facebook/Ray-Ban glasses, the Xiaomi Smart Glasses will seek to replicate the core features of your regular phone in a smart face-mounted form factor weighing just 51g. According to Xiaomi, however, it will contain the necessary communications gear to act independently of your phone.
Calling, viewing, navigation, and camera functions will all be available via a lightweight 0.13-inch MicroLED display, which will beam heads-up info onto the lens.
Using optical waveguide lens technology, Xiaomi’s futuristic display will be able to output at up to 2 million nits – and all via a display chip that measures a mere 2.4 x 2.02mm.
In the concept video, a Xiaomi Glasses-wearer is shown receiving a message about a date, then receiving heads-up directions to the restaurant whilst managing a call from his companion. Upon arrival, the chap asks his goggles to translate the menu for him, which it proceeds to layer onto his view in a garish green Matrix-code fashion.
A double tap of the side arm, and our man of the future is taking a snap of his and his date’s dessert using an in-built 5MP camera. You’ll be pleased to note that an indicator light next to the camera will illuminate when the camera is in-use, thus limiting the potential for creepy behaviour.
According to The Verge, Xiaomi has confirmed that there are no firm plans to actually release these new wearables to market. But the company is clearly now a major second generation smart glasses contender.
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It’s been more than six years since we said ‘farewell to the glassholes‘ following Google’s exit from the smart glasses market – such as it was back in 2015.
But with Facebook, Google (again), Apple, and now Xiaomi all working on new smart glasses concepts, it seems likely we’ll be greeting a whole new crop of glassholes real soon.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
