OPPO is launching and debuting today. The company took advantage of OPPO Inno Day to launch its first self-developed processor, the MariSilicon X, but it was not the only interesting product we have seen. Today was not only about chips but also about OPPO Air Glass, its first “assisted reality” glasses.
Calling them “glasses” is not accurate, since they are not glasses themselves. The OPPO Air Glass is a device that fits on the temple of our glasses and has a Spark micro-projector developed by OPPO to project information in front of our eyes. Having made the introductions, let’s get to know them better.
Don’t call it augmented reality, call it assisted reality
The OPPO Air Glass has been designed by the company and offers a minimalist design, very elegant, but no less striking or light. The set weighs 30 grams and, according to the Chinese firm, can be used as a normal pair of glasses. In this body (manufactured with CNC) there is the battery, the speaker, the processor (a Snapdragon Wear 4100), and the Spark microprojector. The lens, on the other hand, is available in neutral or gradient.
So what does it offer? The key is the Spark microprojector. It has been developed by OPPO and is 0.5 CC thick. Inside is a projector with micro-LED that generates, according to OPPO, up to three million nits of brightness. Its purpose? To provide contextual information directly in our eyes in any lighting situation.
To do this, the OPPO Air Glass mounts a custom optical diffraction waveguide with two display modes. The first, 16-level grayscale. The second, 256-level grayscale and up to 1,400 nits of brightness on average. According to OPPO, two layers of sapphire crystal are used to coat the waveguide on both sides to provide more transparency and strength.
In terms of control, they can be operated with the Smart Glass app via any OPPO smartphone running ColorOS 11, and even via the OPPO Watch 2. They can be controlled by touch, voice, hand, and head movement. For example, you can nod or shake your head to open and close notifications, respectively.
And what apps does it have? Although OPPO is going to release an SDK that will allow developers to create apps for the glasses, there are already several in the works. Among the apps available are weather, calendar, health, navigation (with directions in our eye), and two of the most interesting: teleprompter and translation.
The teleprompter function allows the user to have in his field of vision the speech to be given, something useful for public presentations. The translator, on the other hand, will transcribe into text and in the target language what our interlocutor says and display it on the glasses. Unfortunately, it only works with the Mandarin Chinese-English combination. Mandarin Chinese-Japanese and Mandarin Chinese-Korean are expected to be added in the future.
Being product-focused, for now, on the Chinese market, the interesting apps have been developed by and for this market. For example, OPPO has collaborated with Baidu to develop Baidu Walk & Bike Navigation (walking and biking navigation instruction) and Explore Near (information about nearby stores and attractions based on the user’s location).
Finally, and in terms of autonomy, OPPO claims that OPPO Air Glass can withstand up to three hours of uninterrupted use on a single charge. In standby mode, i.e., wearing them passively, the battery lasts up to 30 hours.
Pricing and Availability of the OPPO Air Glass
As we indicated above, the OPPO Air Glass will be launched in the first quarter of 2022 in the Chinese market and, for the moment, there is no news about their possible arrival in the international market. They will be available as a half-frame and full-frame, as well as in two colors (silver or black).
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.