Gone are the times of the Google Glass flop, smart glasses are making a comeback with the big names in technology, from Apple to Facebook, via Sony and Snap, which are at work.
In December 2019, Google announced the closure of the Google Glass Explorer Edition project, the latest unsuccessful attempt to bring the innovative accessories to the mass public.
Now, however, something is moving again thanks to the application of augmented reality (AR) in videogames, at work and in social networks.
No direct confirmation from the giant led by Tim Cook, but the Cupertino project to make a pair of augmented reality glasses is standing. Apple's firepower could rekindle interest in this particular category of device which, according to analysts, should be launched in mid-2022. Project partner is Genius Electronic Optical, a manufacturer of clear lenses, working to provide his glasses also to Facebook and Sony.
Apple's project would rest on a lightweight design and a device capable of sending and receiving information from the web via Wi-Fi connection or via Bluetooth with a paired iPhone. There would already be hundreds of compatible apps, with the subsequent opening of a section of the App Store dedicated to the gadget. The first step towards the 'wearable' market will take place for Facebook starting with a smartwatch, a watch with two integrated cameras and an app to directly control the content on the proprietary glasses, which the group will realize later, at the end of 2022. "We want that AR headsets are really useful: we are investing in technologies that will make interaction more natural and intuitive, "said Andrew Bosworth, vice president of Facebook's Reality Labs.
For its part, there are those who are already well on the way to augmented reality. Snap, the company behind the development of the Snapachat app, years ago launched its Spectacles, glasses with a camera on the side to shoot and publish content online, without going through the phone. The second generation Spectacles launched a few weeks ago weigh 134 grams, are cordless and have a battery that offers a maximum runtime of 30 minutes. Two cameras, four microphones, two stereo speakers and integrated touchpad controls to view photos, videos and interactive content normally present in two dimensions on social media in the real world. Then there is Sony, a pioneer of virtual reality in the field of video games with PS VR, already producer of the SmartEyeglass, discontinued shortly after the launch in 2015.The next move by the Japanese will be to resume that project and vote it more for use in the company, a sector that has proven to be very inclined to accept new technologies, as demonstrated by the success of the Epson Moverio, to date the longest-running example of how to combine technology. , innovation and flexibility.
