Oppo is taking a significant leap forward in the realm of wearable tech with the unveiling of its Air Glass 3 smart glasses at the Mobile World Congress 2024. This innovative prototype marks another stride towards integrating generative AI into everyday gadgets, riding the wave of ChatGPT’s success.
The Air Glass 3, designed for seamless interaction with Oppo’s AI assistant, showcases the potential of smart eyewear. This device is tailored for compatibility with Oppo smartphones operating on ColorOS 13 and beyond, suggesting an exclusive synergy with the brand’s own devices. While Oppo has yet to announce specific details regarding pricing or release dates, the prototype stage typically precedes such information.
Central to the Air Glass 3 is its integration with Oppo’s proprietary AndesGPT large language model, mirroring the capabilities of generative AI platforms like ChatGPT. This feature, however, necessitates a connection to a smartphone app for functionality, likely due to the high processing demands incompatible with the device’s lightweight form factor. Initially, this AI-powered assistance will be available exclusively in China, enabling users to engage in voice-activated searches and queries directly through their eyewear.
The emergence of generative AI across various tech platforms—from productivity tools and search engines to smartphone applications—highlights a growing trend. Oppo joins the ranks of companies like TCL and Meta in envisioning smart glasses as the next frontier for AI-enhanced user interactions. This vision aligns with the heightened interest in mixed reality, particularly following the launch of notable headsets such as Apple’s Vision Pro early in the year.
Oppo’s Air Glass 3 distinguishes itself with a design that mirrors traditional spectacles, enhanced by a novel resin waveguide technology. This advancement aims to mitigate the “rainbow effect,” a common issue where light refraction causes color dispersion. Achieving peak brightness levels of over 1,000 nits, the display quality of the Air Glass 3 promises to rival that of contemporary smartphones, offering users enhanced color fidelity and clarity.
Weighing in at 50 grams, the Air Glass 3 positions itself on the higher end of the spectrum compared to average eyeglasses, which typically range from 25 to 50 grams. Despite its relatively heavier build, it promises comfort and a natural fit, akin to wearing standard spectacles.
Oppo has also focused on optimizing the audio experience with the Air Glass 3, incorporating reverse sound field technology to minimize sound leakage and maintain call privacy. A unique feature of the device is its quartet of microphones, a first for smart glasses, designed to capture the wearer’s voice with unprecedented clarity.
Equipped with touch sensors for intuitive navigation, the Air Glass 3 supports a variety of functions, including photo viewing, call making, and music playback. Future updates are expected to introduce additional features like health monitoring and language translation capabilities.
By investing in the Air Glass 3, Oppo is placing a significant bet on the convergence of generative AI and smart glasses technology, two of the most buzzworthy innovations in the tech sphere. As the landscape for wearable tech continues to evolve, Oppo’s challenge will be to demonstrate the practical value and appeal of high-tech eyewear as an indispensable part of daily life.
