Eye Health Central

The Next Generation of Smart Glasses

What are Smart Glasses?

smart glasses next gen

Smart glasses, the newest line of wearable technology, are an exciting blend of traditional eyewear and advanced digital technology. These glasses normally have miniature electronic components integrated into the frame, helping those who wear them enjoy a wide range of features, from real-time data to the ability to connect with other devices. These devices offer augmented reality (AR) experiences, improved communication and even the ability to control and interact with our environment in unbelievable ways.


New Smart Glasses in 2024

Last year, with the boom in AI technology, is a significant turning point for smart glasses, as their popularity has skyrocketed, manufacturers have showcased real innovative models designed to try to transform our daily lives. Improvements have been made in terms of look, wearability and functionality. The days of bulky, unmistakable frames are long gone – modern smart glasses have become slimmer, lightweight and more stylish, now almost unrecognisable from traditional glasses.

Manufacturers like Google, Apple and Facebook have launched smart glasses that not only incorporate high-resolution displays but also use cutting-edge AI technology in order to improve functionality. For instance, these glasses can now offer real-time translation, step-by-step navigational prompts, voice-controlled interaction and personalised notifications – all delivered directly to your eyes in real-time.


The Most Advanced Smart Glasses

As of 2024, the most advanced smart glasses are products that have been years in the making constantly improving in terms of their technology and design. Two examples that stand out are the "Apple Glass" and "Facebook Orion".

Apple Glass takes advantage of the power of AR to provide an outstanding interactive user experience. The device easily integrates with the whole Apple ecosystem, giving you real-time updates and notifications from your iPhone, iPad or Mac. Apple's strong emphasis on privacy makes sure that your personal data handling is always secure. Also the device comes with a LiDAR scanner for environmental understanding, helping you with precise, contextual AR overlays.

Facebook's Orion, on the other hand, really pushes the boundaries of how we understand wearable technology. Besides offering you AR capabilities like Apple, these glasses have the goal of replacing smartphones as well eventually. They offer crazy features like capturing photos and videos, making calls, showing information in a small, see-through display and even possessing a neural interface for a potential 'thought-to-text' function in future versions.


Smart Glasses and Better Vision

While smart glasses have normally focused on providing digital features, they have also started tackling visual impairments and disabilities, giving us a new era for vision correction.

The likes of Vuzix and Orcam have made smart glasses that provide assistance to individuals with low vision or blindness. These glasses use AI-powered image recognition to find and present objects, text and people to the user via audio. There's also a rise in adaptive smart glasses, such as the groundbreaking Vue Lite, which can automatically adjust the focus of the lens depending on what the wearer is looking at – effectively beating presbyopia.

Colourblind individuals have had their lives shaken upside down due to EnChroma's smart glasses (as shown by all the viral social media videos detailing their experience), which use sophisticated spectral-filtering technology to enhance colour perception. Meanwhile, companies like Reticare are tackling digital eye strain by developing smart glasses that filter out harmful high-energy blue light emitted by digital screens, a major step in keeping our eye health in shape.

To summarise the smart glasses of 2024 have far exceeded what the first pioneers ever conceived as simple heads-up displays. They have really evolved into unbelievable wearable devices that blend fashion, function and health. This is a new era where digital technology has become an easy, faultless part of our physical world. The next generation of smart glasses will continue to transform how we see and interact with the world around us. 


Author: John Dreyer Optometrist Bsc(Hons), MCOPTOM, DipCLP
Created: 21 Jul 2023, Last modified: 15 Feb 2024