Xiaomi has just presented the Wireless AR Smart Glasses Discovery Edition, new augmented reality glasses with impressive technical characteristics. It remains to be seen what they could be used for…
After smartphones, tablets, wireless headphones and connected watches, the next mobile product ready to invade our daily lives could well be augmented reality glasses – AR for Augmented Reality in English – or even mixed reality, by adding a touch of virtual reality – VR, for Virtual Reality in English. All the digital giants are getting into it, as evidenced by the efforts of Google, Lenovo, Meta, Oppo and of course Apple, which is preparing a real revolution in this area with a model – which should be presented in June at WWDC 2023, its big developer conference, for a possible fall release. according to the latest rumours.
But Xiaomi also seems to want to actively participate in this new race, and without waiting: the Chinese manufacturer has indeed just unveiled a preview of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 trade show which has just opened its doors in Barcelona $ses own augmented reality glasses: the Wireless AR Smart Glasses Discovery Edition, presented as “Xiaomi’s first wireless AR glasses to use a centralized computer system”. No excitement, however: for the moment it is only a concept intended to highlight the different possibilities of this type of device, and, despite some impressive technical characteristics, one wonders what these famous glasses will be used for. connected…
Xiaomi Wireless AR Smart Glass: massive glasses with bright screens
The first thing that jumps to the eye – it is the case to say it! – is the design of the Wireless AR Smart Glasses Discovery Edition, not really discreet. Imposing, with titanium-colored lenses and an integral gray border that stands out strongly, they are however quite light, with a weight of 126 gs. To provide maximum comfort, Xiaomi relies on lightweight materials such as magnesium-lithium alloy, carbon fiber parts and a silicon-oxygen anode battery developed by the company. The glasses are supposed to have been calibrated using “thousands of head tracking data samples” and are supplied with three different sized nose clips. An additional clip for nearsighted people is also included. Of course, everything is wireless.
The Wireless AR Smart Glasses Discovery Edition are based on a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 chip, which is dedicated to mixed reality, and are equipped with a pair of Micro Oled screens that can reach 1,200 nits of brightness, supposed to minimize the loss of light, and embed spatial audio. Interesting fact: the manufacturer claims that its glasses are the first to have a high-end display “at the level of the retina”, which would allow greater comfort and better immersion. Regarding the angular resolution or PPD (pixels per degree), it is 58, while the ideal one for the human eye is 60. So it looks rather interesting, on paper at least. Xiaomi also speaks of a “transparent” mode capable of producing “a more vivid AR experience and blends reality and virtual elements“. This is intriguing, if very vague.
Xiaomi Wireless AR Smart Glass: what interest for these connected glasses?
To work, the Xiaomi Wireless AR Smart Glass must be paired with the Xiaomi 13 or any other device compatible with the Snapdragon Spaces, OpenXR and Microsoft MRTK development frameworks. The manufacturer also renews its intention to work closely with developers to accelerate the arrival of augmented reality. The connection with a smartphone is made using a “broadband connection developed by Xiaomi”with a wireless latency of 3 ms in wireless and a latency “full link” of 50ms.
Where Xiaomi hopes to revolutionize augmented reality is at the gesture level. Indeed, the glasses are equipped with a low-energy AON camera integrated into the frame which, coupled with a gesture recognition system, makes it possible to recognize the articulation at the level of the hand. Called Xiaomi AR Gesture Control, this system allows you to assign a different function to each gesture. Its operation remains a little unclear for the moment. It is also possible to simply use your smartphone.
Xiaomi therefore flaunts the technologies embedded in the Xiaomi Wireless AR Smart Glass. The question remains: what for? On this point, the firm speaks of a“full range of application support for larger screens” and D’“forward-thinking innovations in cross-device compatibility”. She doesn’t give any examples other than support for apps like YouTube and TikTok. It is therefore impossible to know if the glasses will be a real evolution or yet another overpriced gadget… For the moment, the Xiaomi Wireless AR Smart Glass does not yet have a price or a release date.
