Xiaomi is bringing back the age of smart glasses when they unveiled their new wireless, augmented reality (AR) Glasses. Announced at the MWC 2023 conference in Barcelona, the device is currently at the concept stage and is called the Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition.
The start of a new smart glass generation, powered by Snapdragon
Xiaomi has revealed that this is their “…first wireless AR glasses to to utilize distributed computing, offering a retina-level adaptive display that adjusts to the lighting environment”. We can expect excellent connectivity with Snapdragon Spaces-ready smartphones and more importantly, is integrated with refined hand tracking. It is not a standalone device and needs to be paired with a Xiaomi 13 or other Snapdragon Spaces smartphones to fully function.
The Xiaomi Wireless AR Glasses Discovery Edition will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 platform, most recently seen with the Meta Quest Pro. It will also feature Xiaomi’s proprietary low-latency communication link. This allows low wireless latency of 3ms through Snapdragon Spaces compatible devices and full link latency as low as 50ms, which is comparable to wired latency.
Image source: GSMArena
Innovations in gesture control and retina-level display
Xiaomi has also featured their own self-developed micro gesture interaction that enables precise one-handed micro gestures based on the thumb, inner fingers and knuckles. The gestures allow functions such as selecting and opening apps, swiping through pages, and exiting apps without touching the paired smartphone. It also allows more advanced features such as text input with thumb tapping in the finger area, similar to the Chinese nine-key input method. Detecting these gestures is a low power-usage AON camera which also facilitates other features.
The centerpiece of the Xiaomi Wireless AR Glasses is retina-level near-eye display found in the lenses. The lenses leverage a free-form optical module that houses a pair of MicroOLED displays. This optical module has light-guiding prisms that minimizes light loss and produces clear, bright display with a peak of 1200 nits. The lenses are also electrochromic to adapt to different lighting modes and comes with special modes including a blackout mode to enhance content viewing on YouTube and TikTok as well as a transparent mode that will enhance AR immersion.
Image source: GSMArena
Lightweight design without compromising toughness
Design-wise, the Xiaomi Wireless AR Glasses incorporates robust lightweight material such as magnesium-lithium alloy, carbon fiber parts, and a self-developed silicon-oxygen anode battery. Thought it appears to be on the bulkier side, it only weighs 126g, which should make it comfortable to wear for long periods. They will be available in titanium-colored shade, supports three-sizes of nosepieces for a precise fit and has an attachable myopic clip for nearsighted users.
From the prototype devices that were unveiled, it seems that Xiaomi has really brought out some innovative ideas and cutting-edge self-developed technology to the fore. Currently there is no indication of a release date but Xiaomi is working with their partners to expedite the process. While the history of smart glasses has not been great, especially with the demise of Google Glass, perhaps a new generation will be upon us soon with Xiaomi leading the way.
Sources: Xiaomi, PhoneArena, GSMArena
