The billion dollar race for truly smart glasses

Compare news coverage. Spot media bias. Avoid algorithms. Try Ground News today and get 40% off your subscription by going to (sponsored): ground.news/techaltar
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
►►► This video ◄◄◄
From the Apple Vision Pro to the Meta Quest 3 and the Meta Raybans, VR, AR and spatial computing is having a moment again. But how do smart see-through AR glasses actually work? And what will it take for them to become good?
The Story Behind
This video on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/techaltar-th...
My Battery video: nebula.tv/videos/techaltar-wh...
Karl Guttag's blog: kguttag.com/
Meizu MYVU Chinese review by BluemanTV: • 鋼鐵俠眼鏡量產了？ 星紀魅族MYVU AR智...
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
►►► TechAltar links ◄◄◄
Merch:
enthusiast.store
Social media:
mas.to/@techaltar
bsky.app/profile/techaltar.bs...
/ techaltar
/ discord
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
►►► Attributions & Sources ◄◄◄
Channel Music by Edemski: / edemski
Other music by Epidemic Sound: nebula.tv/epidemic
Stock assets: Getty Images, AP Archive

[@TechAltar]

Compare news coverage from diverse sources around the world on a transparent platform driven by data. Try Ground News today and get 40% off your subscription: ground.news/techaltar

[@arnold_m_xavier]

Instead of trying to fit transparent o LED with electrochromic glasses. We could try a full blown display with live camera feed serving as a viewfinder. This way we can achieve proper desired resolution and even control the brightness. Something like a cars rear view mirror suddenly turning into a camera's live feed display. Now, since this acts like a camera's viewfinder, we can easily insert AR text and objects into the real world live feed. Something like AR stickers and AR emojis

[@scytob]

long term, quite possibly - but we know what that device looks like with current tech - apple vision pro and it's still sub par for mainstream@@arnold_m_xavier before we get something with cameras we will get what is described in the video - think of this as having different classes of device, its an AND conversation not an OR conversation.

[@timothyhardy1490]

I believe I know a way to get around the issue with the extra AR components that they are having trouble fitting into lightweight frames, just repurpose the Humane AI pin (or something like it) to pair with the glasses to perform all the scans necessary to facilitate AR while keeping the frames lightweight, plus the AI could be trained to coordinate and optimize this process to be cohesive and extremely user friendly, you are welcome, please feel free to hook me up when this actually works ☺️

[@eSKAone-]

Dude I love how you showed all the technologies at the beginning 💟🌌☮️

[@danel1922]

hey, so, while i'm watching this, i'm wondering if i should invest in one of these companies. Then i thought, hell a bunch of research should get into this. But then, you already did that. Maybe you should or could talk about in what companies you would invest. Maybe on another channel? Maybe it's stupid, but you know, just a thought.

[@XLessThanZ]

It's funny how people used to complain how Google Glass looked. Google should learn to continue pushing forward in those situations. They'd be so far ahead by now.

[@Coal_XVII]

this

[@VascovanZeller]

Google just loved canceling projects. It's just what they do.

[@Bomberman66Hell]

@@VascovanZeller Loved? No, *love*! They do it to this day and won't stop any soon...

[@einfachnurleo7099]

Thats exactly my thought. I mean they basically set up a competitor to the smartphone whilst the smartphone was still finding it´s way into society. What they did back then was already really impressive and still somewhat is. Though I guess that many of the challenges remain the same.

[@the_steamtrain1642]

Even compared to now the in concept features would be ambitious, but VR tech has advanced to where it's possible now

[@chompers5568]

This channel is among the small few where you actually learn something new and its not just him reading press releases

[@vedantmungre1702]

This 🫴🏻

[@alenasenie6928]

Yeah, there are a few channels that are more unique, this one and cold fusion are like small documentaries, this one in a new modern style and cold fusion gives me a 90s to 2000ish documentary vibe.

[@BuggiEU]

What are the other ones for you?

[@Muhamed662]

totally agree

[@zimbu_]

Those were really well made explanations of different solutions. Optics and vision are kinda tough topics for brief overviews, so props for that.

[@uss_04]

As someone who is hard of hearing and always uses subtitles, I would love to have smart glasses for real time transcription and translation.

[@Horendus123]

A fantastic use case, and something that I am certain will be available in the near future

[@i_izzzzzz24]

There’s already a glasses for transcription: XanderGlasses and one for translation: Solos AirGo3

[@Sakur.aiMusic]

Really great idea. I need irl subtitles now.

[@iamtafara]

The amount of research that goes into TechAltar videos ia crazy

[@Atikyne]

I feel it would be a lot easier to have the computer part in a separate device (ie a phone or dedicated device) rather than trying to fit it and its extra battery requirement into the glasses. Also you won't lose anything important if the headset is damaged or stolen.

[@geenkizama169]

Exactly my thought. I mean, people are already walking with portable Vision Pro batteries. Nothing prevents a device -that you carry in your pocket- with a processor and a battery from being designed.

[@diredino5299]

It's already the case with xreal rokid viture....

[@Akab]

Most standalone vr devices can already do that, it's just not as user friendly yet 👍 A little bit of processing will always need to be on device but to get more out of them you do need external devices anyways, like I don't care how much power the next xr device is. I want better lenses and tracking options👍 You can connect pretty much any vr device (with a few exceptions) to a pc, which could also be a cloud pc, or a laptop in your backpack 😁

[@diredino5299]

@@Akab there is an exeption glasses called "inmo air" it's standalone glasses with android operating system and cemera

[@Akab]

@@diredino5299 thats why I said most 👍 exceptions do exist, and that's sometimes a good thing 😁 And the quest is also just an android device under the hood 👍

[@meh2285]

I've been obsessively researching this stuff for weeks and didn't know half of this technology existed, thanks a lot!

[@marrow94]

As always, a great video, ready to be shared because it explains everything clearly and doesn't assume the viewer already knows random tech things. Good job!

[@TechAltar]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@fredrickbambino]

Props to the guy who let himself get hit in the eyes with blue lasers

[@nerfgodbigguy1405]

Whos getting blasted by blue light right through their eyes? 💀. (Actually tell me) Edit: just realised you were talking about my man in the beanie 4 mins later☠️

[@fernandoi8958]

Can't make science happen without a few people going blind lol

[@ClearGalaxies]

For real I laughed at each of the animations. Thanks to this comment

[@SleepyPossums]

This is such an incredible video that perfectly describes the current state of affairs with AR/VR/XR. Thank you for your hard work!

[@FringaleABloc]

I hate the fact that all of these are integrated in the Google/Apple/Meta... ecosystems. I want something open 😢

[@ClearGalaxies]

PCVR stuff?

[@ChromiumCastle]

You will never lose your virginity

[@ClearGalaxies]

@@ChromiumCastle You lost?

[@ChromiumCastle]

@@ClearGalaxies Nope. Wanting "open source" operating systems is cringe and anti social even for tech people

[@LoreLibrary-Official]

Meanwhile super techy people use linux..​@@ChromiumCastle

[@m00semanus]

As always, TechAltar sets the bar for tech explainers and industry updates. Thank you for doing what you do. I eagerly look forward to TA and FC episodes.

[@AL-HD]

The video was super informative! Really liked how educational it was. Keep up the great work!

[@tanzeel7ify]

Such an insightful video , the explanation of different AR technologies was really well explained . Keep up the good work !!

[@UXDiogenes]

Wow love the attention to detail on the visualizations, well done. I can see the huge amount of work that went into this.

[@DGCMWC]

This is such a great complete review of what's going on in VR and ar right now along with the technical hurdles.

[@sharanbabu2001]

Was comprehensive and fun at the same time, thanks!!

[@ToySeeker]

Best technical overview of AR devices! Thank you! 🙏

[@giacintoboccia9386]

As someone who wears a mechanical watch and prescription glasses, I look forward at glasses doing even just the smartwatch job.

[@danieldewindt3919]

Grate video❣️ I like the way you explain the technical part. Grate graphics🤩

[@sigasigasiga]

I'm amazed how well-researched this video is. Thank you for an amazing job!

[@dominick253]

I've been dreaming about contact lens computers since I was a young child.

[@Wolfboy607]

10 years ago I wanted to be chipped. Then musk took charge of nueralink. Speaking off, they did their first implant months ago, they said they would update us in the the following week. only 2 weeks ago, they are now reportedly able to click a mouse with their brain.... we could already do that with a fucking EEG....

[@TechAltar]

That's still at least a decade away IMO :P

[@DanielMaixner]

@@TechAltar There was a company called Mojo Vision that was working on contact lens displays and were actually pretty far but decided to scrap it and are focusing on micro led displays instead

[@Xelriek]

​@@TechAltarwell technically we do have those, but they are in very limited capability. But to get where we want I think by 2029 will be seeing an entry into the eyewear market and then shortly after that probably contact lenses.

[@AlexFoster2291]

How would you be able to focus on them?

[@divinusfilius3771]

I had to take so many notes because there is so much to unpack what you have gathered with your incredible, thorough research - as always, amazing job man! Thank You!!!!

[@grapy83]

Your content is so unique in that you do long research and share something learnable out of it. Please 🙏 keep your uniqueness.

[@doannhat808]

7:52 haha they had a Gundam (RX-78) in their patent

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

Nerd alert (kidding, I don't know anything about Gundams, and you seem to know the exact model, though)

[@KalebPeters99]

Wow, this was a brilliant summary of where we're at with AR. I've been pretty checked out for a few years but I feel very up-to-speed now! Thank you, subbed!

[@afjer]

A "thing called a prism". Lol.

[@thec-m]

This was a lot of very relevant information, from various sources, covered in an interesting and easy to follow way. It was informative and makes me excited for the future of AR.

[@aa-xn5hc]

very high production quality!!!!!

[@DavidKennyNZL]

thanks. very informative and interesting. keep it up.

[@gateteallan]

Thank you for all the your hard work you put in the research, I feel like I now know everything (as a consumer) that I need to know in this space.

[@jeromethomas723]

I love the work that you do and I've been watching you since the beginning. Keep up the great job 👏🏽👏🏽😊

[@herval]

Very well researched and informative!

[@NoNoSquare]

This is the best video ive seen on the topic Nice job

[@sommeone]

You briefly mentioned the Focals by North, but I think they deserve some huge kudos for not just making their glasses look good, but being the only smart glasses I've used to date that crossed the line from "A neat piece of technology" to "A product I actually enjoy using in my day to day life"

[@nihilriv3r]

Even though I returned my Xreal Air 2 Pro glasses, the ability to dim the displays as needed felt very cool and was a highlight of the product. I'll go back to AR glasses in a few years once things improve.

[@JO-id6ms]

excellent overview of AR HMD, very well explained

[@konrad7592]

12:25 Thank you for using Wh as a measure of actual capacity and not mAh as every wannabe electrician out there. Greetings from Berlin ❤

[@gljames24]

Ah makes sense when working with a fixed voltage like 48V bikes.

[@kalleguld]

@@gljames24 aka wannabe-electrician projects.

[@RaySmith-zg7od]

Doesn't both mean the same thing😢

[@ClearGalaxies]

😮

[@garethbaus5471]

​@@RaySmith-zg7od No, the energy stored by a battery is dependent on both the voltage and the amp hours either one of which can be changed independently in a battery. Watt hours are an actual measure of the energy being stored.

[@oscarhagman8247]

one thing i dont get is why they keep on having everything packed inside the glasses, wouldnt you solve a lot of the issues if you can house most of the components in a phone shaped block that you put in your pocket, apple is the only one who has done that so far. heck, you could probably off load most of the compute to your smartphone and have it send the data to the glasses over 5G

[@alqamahasnain6428]

Yes I agree with you. Apple's approach is the best at the moment. Considering the fact that the entire power supply is managed by the power bank, it's mandatory to be connected for the system to work. They might as well offload the computing to it too and make the glasses lighter

[@ToySeeker]

Fascinating, thank you for this educated video!

[@alteredalley]

Helpful video. Thank you 🙏

[@mehhehhe]

these kind of technologies just make me so exited about the future

[@Mister0Eel]

Great video, you've got me very excited! very nice animations too, I dig them!

[@yuvrajkukreja1248]

Awesome explanation 😃 specially the multiple types of ar glasses 🕶️ you mentioned.

[@aureliopuertamartin3631]

Fantastic video, really informative!

[@johanavril1691]

wow I know quite a lot about the xr space and this video was way better than I expected

[@iliasbsd]

Nice Video!! Happy to be a part of it :))

[@fxarts9755]

been waiting for a video like this explaining our technological standpoint and what is actually possible. bc of that I really believe this category will split in two and stay separated for quite a while. and that we will have something more like a desktop computer for home and productive use in the form of a headset and another light more assistant-like device akin to a smartwatch for on-the-go. in that sense, i feel like apples vision of spacial computing could become huge. still first gen but the idea and more important the interface and "vision" is there. with true AR glasses really being at least 10 years away still.

[@SaigneurGuerrier]

Having a combination of smartphone, glasses and watch to have AR display and gesture interface would be incredible ! Thanks for the great video !

[@eSKAone-]

Dude I love how you showed all the technologies at the beginning 💟🌌☮️

[@ctmm9700]

PERFECT VIDEO, thank you

[@rich1051414]

I think the future of AR is in VR, weirdly enough. It is easier to pull in the real world rather than push it out. Basically, VR with blacked out lenses, and high resolution cameras to stream the world back into the headset, on it's own terms. Combined with lower resolution 3d cameras, it can map out the real world with a virtual representation that is easier to work with on a fundamental level.

[@ClearGalaxies]

You lost me

[@rich1051414]

@@ClearGalaxiesVR, but with cameras that show you the real world in 3d inside the headset. It can already be done with current technology.

[@iXizXmoen]

@@ClearGalaxies he is basically explaining the vision pro

[@ClearGalaxies]

@@iXizXmoen me caveman now understand. He's saying that passthrough is superior to see-through lenses.. Sorta

[@ClearGalaxies]

👍👍

[@rubyjohn]

Amazing video. Thanks for sharing

[@HagobSaldadianSmeik]

Interesting but I honestly fail to see a use case. A video game style HUD sounds like a bit of fun for a couple of minutes and a minimap could be useful when navigating on foot or a bike. Outside of that I don't see the benefit when comparing it to a smartphone. Maybe Americans have use for an ammo counter in the bottom right corner of their field of view. 🤔

[@ClearGalaxies]

What if I'm too lazy to pull out my phone?

[@mopozuJIko]

@@ClearGalaxies then this device has to be at least on the same level of efficiency at finding information as your phone. And no one talks about the controls for these things - shouting every command makes taking out a phone easy in comparison.

[@sboinkthelegday3892]

@@mopozuJIko The phone does none of that efficiently, it's a trash design of just pooling you likely results. Google doesn't give you pizzerias until all the other users have been the AI nodes to recognize that the results are satisfactory, it's a walled garden of pushing the sheep where the herd wants to go. Brilliant for places that pay most for the ad space. And if you have any long term memory and social reverse-engineering skills, you could more easily just memorize everything a smarthpone CAN tell you. You just don't KNOW what to memorize when the hive isn't guiding you though. And they're not going to tell you how to find some new place NOBODY already knows, it's all just listening to the public radio and asking "what was that song again" because THEY know all the titles in THEIR list. Even if it's jsut a screen, just using the touch panel as a control device would actually make it small enough for your thumb to REACH the whole dang phone, which you NEED in particular because the idjerts designed some kind of return arrow in EVERY corner. But, I don't imagine you could touch-type or use a phone without looking at it. The hive has already gotten to your brain to make this swiss cheese out of your imagination.

[@smokeyfish7435]

​​@@mopozuJIkohand tracking + eye tracking is all that's needed. Apple Vision pro has already proven this method works well, even in a gen 1 product. The only hangup is typing, but I have no doubt some clever designer will come up with a new easy way to type words this way that doesn't require any voice commands

[@TedThomasTT]

This was a really well explained video, will recommend it to my students.

[@porvoonosho]

This was a great video. Thank you.

[@johnlocke8389]

Really nice, very informative video!

[@Dazz_Youniversual_Studios]

0:54 Why Does Mark Zuckerberg look like an AI Avatar?😂😅🤣🤣

[@thelasttellurian]

He intentionally reduces his RL resolution so the difference between his virtual world and our world is less obvious. In the future, we will all look like him.

[@lucbloom]

If you cannot change into a real boy, make them all puppets.

[@florinmoldovanu]

People like him and Elon Musk are the messiahs of our time. They're going to save humanity . . my ass

[@oo--7714]

​@@florinmoldovanuwho ever said that

[@florinmoldovanu]

@@oo--7714 me

[@Redmentoos]

Exactly my thoughts!

[@mrrobot962]

Very well researched. Props for that. But what are the use cases, except writing a message on the fly without a keyboard

[@hynesie11]

Excellent video. Amazing visuals

[@menoahgunzel8146]

Thanks mate, you're definitely 1 of my favorite content creators. Straight to the point, lots of useful information about possible future tech. I think I'll be waiting until 2025 before i buy smart ai glasses but i love it already 😍

[@Tubeytime]

Excellent visuals!!!

[@Slang_Forever]

lwadership what camera are you using , it is dope

[@lgolem09l]

The show Dennou Coil really opened my eyes for what a global AR through glasses would mean for society

[@GregKeane]

I think BCI will be the breakthrough we are wanting for AR

[@ralnou]

Another great video. Thanks 🙏

[@felixsteininger]

You were right about VR, let's see if those smart glasses really do make it to market as well.

[@spacecougar]

You gave awesome information thank you From the information you gave I would place my bets on META. I think the wristband type technology looks awesome I would wear them with my meta Ray-Bans I have as soon as they could project the are content from the company that you said they bought they'll be gold. In the meantime I'm waiting for my Xreal air2 ultra glasses to ship at the end of March. They have two cameras built in for hand tracking and looks like an awesome possibility for some AR content

[@bartz0rt928]

Great overview! So, DragonBall Z style scanners within five years? I'll start working on a power level app right away! Honestly, if someone can get the displays, optics and sensor package right (ie the stuff that actually _needs_ to be on your face), I'd probably prefer them to just have a USB C plug behind the ear to hook them up to something that provides power, computation and an image source. More feasible, probably lighter, easier to repair or upgrade, more open and more flexible.

[@CyanRooper]

*sees man petting a dog* "What does the scanner say about his serotonin levels?" "It's over 9000!" *crushes AR glasses*

[@Atikyne]

Yes! I've been wondering for years why they're trying to fit the computer+extra battery into the glasses! Another benefit would be if you lose the glasses, you don't lose your computer/data.

[@sepia2227]

These are really top quality videos. Chefs kiss

[@HavingFunTimes]

very well researched

[@martin_mue]

I think @TiltFive would have at least deserved an honorable mention as they have a product in the AR space that actually ships, unique as it might be.

[@md4843]

Amazing video thanks

[@fabmartel]

the best feature for me, is possibility change cam for other use case (night vision, thermal) for see in the night easely.

[@widgity]

I'm excited to see reviews for the new Xreal glasses that are coming out soon. I think they might be just about good enough for me to warrant buying.

[@user-kn6mf5cx8g]

Fascinating. I have hope!

[@cern1999sb]

Also running hand tracking or eye tracking will add substantial load to the processor, and consume a lot of power whenever it's running, even if you managed to fit a powerful enough processor in

[@scottwatschke4192]

Very informative video.

[@savagesarethebest7251]

If I remember correctly, Jeri Elisworth kind of solved AR 12 years ago, lots of the problems you describe has already been solved. She was a Valve employee before

[@Datunitooo]

great video! very informative. i'm definitely subscribing :)

[@Bootleg1089]

An idea for the darkening the shades could be using transition lenses so it will automatically dim the lenses when exposed to sunlight

[@garethbaus5471]

Transitions lenses might be a better shading solution since it doesn't add complexity or interfere with normal vision. An external battery with cord seems like the most practical solution to the battery life issue.

[@madzak9847]

15:00 i ve done that two years ago on a first gen tickwatch with the app called wearmouse , it worked so well that I could shoot more frags in OG unreal tournament than with normal mouse , but my arm was getting tired really quick

[@waltermeerschaert]

I hope that there is a good solution for driving with these. It is a real challenge in new places with lots going on, the glasses could either make it worse (at first they probably will), but they could also really cut through the chaff and help simplify the journey.

[@Luminon87]

Why couldn't some of the space required for batteries, compute and cooling be placed around your neck or on your shoulder? Similar to old wireless earbuds that put some extra battery in a wire connecting the sides.

[@daneberryman]

the your very quickly no longer wearing glasses

[@Dayanto]

The optical issues relating to focus already have a known solution in the form of light field / holographic projection. The only company I'm aware of that is currently working on this seriously is CReal. They're apparently going to release the first version of their display modules to headset manufacturers later this year after almost a decade of development, so that's maybe something to keep an eye on.

[@martinomovies]

Very thorough review

[@SpeCarmi]

16:03 Nitpick, event cameras don’t capture the change “from one frame to the next.” Event cameras have no concept of frames. The pixels individually and asynchronously produce events in response to changes on a per pixel basis. That is, in large part, what makes them exciting

[@jamesburke2759]

As a user of technology from 1800s to Future tech like unreleased VR, I have been holding off on headsets until something like this. it just needs to be a wireless display with the liquid crystals embedded between the glass. E-ink display are exciting for this I think.

[@tyisamess]

I always thought it would make sense for glasses just to be the screen, mic, and camera while the smartphone wirelessly does all the computing. Atleast until the glasses are powerful enough to do it all on their own. Or the glasses are connected to the internet and all the processing is done via the cloud.

[@MadisOtenurm]

Still skeptical about AR glasses, but having a smart wristband or watch for cursor/text input sounds promising. So far I've seen an actually released wristband called Tap, but it requires learning a new keyboard layout...

[@elyt]

Woah. I'm excited for that next smart glasses of Meta if that's actually the case! 😮

[@arnoldmbuthia2687]

0:37 didn't expect that distortion with the MQ3 tbh.

[@wolffang489]

This is why the edition of the cyberpunk tabletop game Shadowrun that I play treats all AR enabled eyewear as exclusively digital displays with digital passthrough and not optical lenses. Well, there's balance and mechanics reasons too but I'm pretty sure the difficulty of bending/blending light and competing with the sun is the setting justification.

[@scytob]

Nice analysis, i think your timeframe is too short - we need broader FOV wave guide based glasses. Mass market is more likely to be 2027 given the time we needed for display tech to get where we need. Ideally we need light fields to remove the need for corrective lenses too.

[@webounce]

is that sign in the back actual neon or just some clever led?

[@EricRosenfield]

I wish you would put links to sources to your news stories in the description so we can read more about it

[@akiotatsuki2621]

I think what we need to do is change our expectations, we can def make glasses that display information like gps or text about what we’re looking at but AR is a long ways away unless Zucc invents something new