The now-nonexistent Google Glasses were everyone’s introduction to smart eyewear back in the day. However, the sector has come a long way since then. According to a market report from ReportLinker, the global smart glasses market in 2022 was valued at $218.8 million. This is because of quickly shifting consumer preferences and the high demand for high-tech sunglasses.

Smart glasses are a wearable technology that uses augmented reality (AR) technology to give wearers a mini digital display. Like the widely adopted smartwatches, these glasses often work as a smartphone extension, showing notifications and allowing quick actions.

In a world and time where 84% of Americans expect high-speed internet everywhere they go, the rising adoption of smart glasses may be ideal as wearers can benefit from the many intelligent features that they offer, wherever and whenever. This article will explore how smart glasses will become all the rage in luxury fashion in the future.

Practical use

Most smart glasses offer a variety of features that can be useful for their wearer. From control options to integration with a connected virtual assistant like Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa — wearers can benefit from the hands-free functions and accessibility to info and insights, all from your glasses.

Ray-Ban stories, the new smart glasses from Ray-Ban, are the latest in wearable tech. In collaboration with Meta (formerly known as Facebook), smart eyeglasses and sunglasses allow you to take photos and videos, listen to music and calls, and share content directly to your social media feed. Wearers can enjoy innovative technology on iconic Ray-Ban frames like the Wayfarer, ranging in colors from Matte Black to Shiny Olive. Aside from being a wearable tech with style, Ray-Ban stories will also let you see through the latest innovations in lens coating technology, including blue light filters and polarized and transition lenses.

Accessibility

Aside from allowing you to capture media and listen to music, smart glasses can also be a futuristic tool for accessibility aid. Using AR technology and built-in displays on the lenses as well as cameras and mics in the frames, smart glasses can display valuable information or insights to their wearer.

Ostloong’s new AR headset promises wearers this increased accessibility. After the startup’s Sirius AR ski goggles, this second product of theirs is equipped with AI and AR capabilities. The AI can help generate directions for navigating a city that is then displayed through AR overlays. The smart glasses would also have a multilingual live translator for speech-to-text and text-to-text, making communication easier for wearers, particularly foreigners. The glasses also have integrated mobile data for phone and text communication in case you’re out of Wi-Fi range.

Corrective vision

Last but not least, Apple has just unveiled its first foray into the smart glasses sector — the Apple Vision Pro. Prominently a pair of AR-based smart glasses, the Vision Pro is Apple’s first 3D camera that augments a 4K display through its lens. Wearers can easily navigate this augmented interface using their eyes, hands, and voice. However, normal glasses wearers immediately voiced concern: Will my prescription glasses fit under this headset?

Fortunately, Apple preempted this by collaborating with lens-maker ZEISS. This confirms that the Vision Pro would be compatible with Optical Inserts to suit wearers who need vision correction through extra lenses that magnetically cling in place. This is great news for interested wearers who want that perfect mix between advanced tech, luxurious style, and corrective vision. Apple is yet to state precisely how much these separate Optical Inserts would cost, but it’s reassuring to know that corrective vision is considered from day one.

The outlook for the luxury smart glasses sector is promising. We only need to look forward to the subsequent iterations and features this technology will soon have.

Feature photo courtesy of Pexels